"LOO-a-vul" Kentucky

Also known as Louisville: birth place of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, Muhammad Ali and Thomas Edison, this large jem of a city in Kentucky sits on the Ohio river. If you want to say the name as a Louisvillian would, however, you need to leave out a few consonant sounds, for in the city, locals refer to it as "LOO-a-vul."

I ventured south, for a change, to Louisville and beyond to visit my high school best friend, Kim this past weekend.



She is playing in a band, called Mamakitty Southwood. She has always been gifted musically. But she is really pursuing her dreams now. It's amazing to witness.

Here are some photos from her gig last Saturday at the Phoenix Hill Tavern in downtown Louisville.


A wall on Bardstown Road in downtown Louisville, Kentucky begged for me to take its photo.


Kim belts it out as bassist, Dwayne Spears, looks on from the background


Dual vocalists: Mark DeWitt accompanies Kim in harmonies and harmonica


Kim sings with Mark DeWitt and lead guitarist, Tom Yerkey, in the background


A mirror within the Phoenix Hill Tavern beckoned (can you see my reflection?)


The grill of an old car parked outside of the Phoenix Hill Tavern

It rained the entire weekend in Kentucky. Kim lives in a very old, huge five bedroom farmhouse on thirty acres with three dogs, a half a dozen cats and several horses. The house is full of things indicative of its age: wood burning stoves in several of the rooms, and a giant hearth-like fireplace in the kitchen. The doors and floorboards creak and groan.

And a tire swing.

All old farmhouses have to have tire swings. And Sophie made use of that swing.


My Sophie queen, hanging in the tire swing

My favorite photo, however, is of one of her farm dogs, simply named Brown. Like life in the heartland of Kentucky, Brown moves slowly. But his bright eyes shine with fire and love.



With love from the heartland.

A video montage of Holleroo fest 2009

To get a nice feel for the weekend in Kentucky last weekend, please click on the video above. Music is by various members of the Heartland Songwriters' Association performing a cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds"; all photos are by me. Special thanks to Kim and Mark Swickard for having such a wonderful party for a beautiful collection of talented individuals.

"Y'know, there's a lot to see in the middle of nowhere"; a road trip to central Kentucky

"Hi, my name is OTR (otter); what's yours?"


"Sophie, huh? Well, Sophie, you smell good!"


"Sure, you can rub my head! I get awful itchy...



We knew we were in for something special when we hit the rolling blue-green hills of the heartland. Kentucky. Horse country. Home of the Kentucky Derby, many a thoroughbred, and home to my best friend since I was 17, Kim.



Kim moved to a 150 year old farm house in Kentucky with her husband, Mark, about six years ago. My dream was always dogs; Kim's was always horses. We worked together as counselors at an equestrian camp near where I live, giving 10 year olds riding lessons during the hot sweltering summer.

Now, it's my own 10 year old who I'm showing the ropes to.

Kim is also pursuing her dreams of being a musician. And she has blossomed down there in horse country, as a musician, a middle school science teacher, and as someone who I admire for pursuing her dreams.

As we drove toward Louisville, I plugged Kim's address into my GPS. "No known address." She is, literally, off the grid. On one of our classic road trips, Sophie and I followed the winding, wildflower-covered road toward Kim's house, walls of sweet corn paving our way. Summer's love.



Nature's bounty was everywhere. Along the way, Sophie said, "y'know, there's a lot to see in the middle of nowhere." And she's right.


these pretty blue flowers line the road leading to Kim's farm


A little bit of southern work ethic...


...a little bit of southern hospitality





I went to Kentucky to shoot my best friend's birthday party and musical line up of the Heartland Songwriters' Association. And despite the 88 degree temps and 94% humidity, it was an absolutely beautiful day. I met so many wonderful people, and spent the day with the unique and beautiful woman I am honored to call my best friend for nearly 20 years. She's been there for me through so many things: chemistry, my first broken bone from breaking a wild Arabian stallion, marriage, divorce, marriage again. She and I were zoo keepers together, partners in crime, best friends always.

I shot over 400 photos - clearly far too many to upload here. But, here's some of my favorites.






Virginia Napier playing mandolin









Of course, there had to be dogs:


"Tommy" the dog


"Buddy" the spaniel, begging me for a rib


And my own Gracie dog, who joined us on our trek southward

And then, there's Kim and her awesome five-person band. I am in the process of uploading videos of their performance to youtube and will post when available.


Vocalist/guitarist/harmonica extraordinaire, Mark Dewitt









Thank you, Kim, for a wonderful weekend. And for your friendship.