Percussion with Richie

I've been searching for this all my life, and I didn't even know. Well, I sort of knew it. I've always been drawn to drums and drum circles. Those of you who knew me in college know that although I struggled through many classes, I shined in "Bells, Gongs, and Drums". I've never actually participated in a drum circle, but I do own a talking drum. And those of you who know Collin know that he is a drumming/rhythm master. He used to clap along in his Early-On program before he could talk and walk, and I mean clap along on the beat. So, I've kept my eyes open for a drumming experience for little kids for quite some time, but never really found anything that was in our price-range, age-range, and waking hours-range.

So, while randomly serving the web, looking for stuff to do in Boston, I came upon an innocent enough looking description.

Percussion with Richie
Phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Schedule: Saturdays, 9:30-10:30 am (Toddlers, children & parents)
Saturdays, 10:30-11:30am (Ages 7-14)
Feel free to drop in!

I didn't get my hopes up. I have a knack at finding activites that happened once 2 years ago, dance studios that don't exist, and disconnected phone numbers. But, I called and was told that the "jam session" was on for this Saturday and a $5 donation was appreciated. So, we went, and were we in heaven. One full hour of little kids and the adults who came with them playing, beating, and shaking their hearts out. And the best thing was that all the instruments were made out of recycled materials: old overturned 5 gallon buckets, cookie tins nailed to wooden boxes, spring water containers suspended in mid-air. And, Collin, the rhythm master, was presented with his own white bucket on a rope (to hang around his neck) and complementary mallets make out of plastic pipes and cloth. Oh, it was a splendid morning. I promise to take a video next week (after I catch the kids flying around the house on their tricycles, after I unload our camera which is full, after I figure out how to load the new iLife, after I figure out how to load the new operating system update, now that I know what disk permissions are . . . )