The hours go by fast. I try out many of the instruments in the privacy of a corner but don’t do much jamming. I can play a few slow songs, like “Kentucky Waltz” and “Ashoken Farewell,” and I understand that folks will slow down to my fastest speed (maybe 75%) for “Red Haired Boy,” “St. Anne’s Reel,” and “8th of January.” But today I’m content to simply listen, sample the goodies, thrash a little rhythm, take photos, and talk mandolin.

It’s particularly fun to watch Larry jump fearlessly into the action. He’s only been playing a little more than a year, but he’s got the fever. He knows a lot of tunes, some of which are up to speed. It helps that he quit his job, after saving enough during the dot-com boom, to take a year off to learn to play. Now he realizes he’s only scratched the surface and is trying to figure out how to keep going at the same rate for another year. Larry really pushes me by his enthusiasm and example when we play together.