Connecting with Like-Minded People

From Making Music to Protest Gatherings, the Joys of Connection Are There for the Taking

Fran Davis and Linda Stewart-Oaten at the No Kings protest | Photo: Melinda Palacio

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the chance to connect with people who share my enthusiasm for playing ukulele and guitar. I also stood shoulder to shoulder with community members who share my political views and the thousands of people who do not wish to be ruled by a king or dictator. I experienced some anxiety about attending the No Kings protest. Nights leading up to the demonstration, I had trouble falling asleep and I kept envisioning myself choking on tear gas. With our wannabe king sending the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, all the while ramping up ICE raids and separating families, who can sleep? On the morning of the No Kings protest, I resolved to attend regardless of what opposition we, the people, were met with. Part of me kept telling myself that there was nothing to fear in Santa Barbara, especially since Santa Barbara’s sheriff had sent local police to guard federal buildings in Los Angeles. Knowing that these tactics are meant to frighten people into not speaking out, I was able to overcome my fear. After settling on a spot on Cabrillo, across from Chad’s, and seeing the joy on people’s faces, I started to feel relaxed and happy to find so many like-minded people. Next time I attend a similar demonstration, I will bring an instrument and sing some protest songs.

Poster for ‘Brave Migrants’ book launch | Photo: Courtesy

I read somewhere that one of the best things you can do for your brain is to study music or learn how to play an instrument. During the pandemic, I learned how to play ukulele in several online classes. While learning anything online has its challenges, it is surprisingly effective. Also, for myself, music has become more than a hobby. I have integrated music into all aspects of my life and have made friends with online classmates near and far, some as far away as Kenya. So when one of my ukulele friends told me she was holding a strum along in Santa Monica at the library she works at, I knew I had to go, even if it was just to support my librarian friend and fellow ukulele enthusiast, Barbara C. Fleeman.

Sure there are closer places than Santa Monica to commune with fellow ukulele strummers, such as the Ventura Harbor, where I sometimes meet Barbara to spend the morning strumming with dozens of people and singing familiar tunes that Gary Ballen puts together in ukulele books he shares online. However, Ventura is where I find friends I’ve met online who live in Camarillo, Santa Paula, or Culver City. The harbor is perfect during months when the weather is not too hot and not too cold, but that glorious mix of just enough cloud coverage and blue sky.

Santa Barbara’s harbor also has a weekly ukulele meet up on Saturday, but none of my online friends are part of that group. I find that one of the most exciting things about learning ukulele online is when I have the opportunity to meet classmates in real life. It’s thrilling when it happens. I have found myself hugging strangers because we once only saw each other on a little Zoom square. Sometimes, I recognize a voice rather than a face. You learn so much more when you can play live with other people, rather than by yourself.

I feel lucky to have joined the Ladies’ Strumming Social Club in Santa Barbara. We meet once a week and play a variety of string instruments. Most of our members either play guitar, ukulele, or bass. We will be playing at the Farmers’ Market, Saturday June 28 at 11 a.m. Join us.

If you’re interested more in words than music, there are a few spots open at the Santa Barbara Writers Fest, an abridged version of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. The annual conference is on hiatus this year, but a few of the regular faculty, including poets laureate Perie Longo and Laure-Anne Bosselaar will carry on the tradition. There’s also several opportunities to hear poetry this week, including a variety of poets included in Gunpowder’s Women in a Golden State Anthology, poet Brendan Constantine at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and poet Matt Sedillo joins Michael Montenegro and editors of Brave Migrants: Stories of the South and North at Cafe La Fonda.

Upcoming Poetry Events:

Wednesday, June 18, Book Launch, Women in a Golden State: Anthology, Ojai Roots (314 North Montgomery St., Ojai), 4-6 p.m. RSVP required: diana@dianaraab.com.

Saturday, June 21, Brave Migrants: Stories of the South and the North book launch moderated by Michael Montenegro and special guest Matt Sedillo, Cafe La Fonda (129 E. Anapamu St.), 3-5 p.m.

Sunday, June 22, Parallel Stories, Tony de los Reyes and Brendan Constantine, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2:30-4 p.m.

Tuesday, June 24, Women in a Golden State: Anthology. Book reading with 10 poets, Chaucer’s Books (3321 State St.), 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 26, Poetry Book Club, a discussion of the poetry book, Pause the Document by Monica de la Torre, Timbre Books (1910 E. Main St., Ventura), 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Monday, June 29, Elizabeth Torres, Chris Buckley and Michael Torres, host: Phil Taggard, EP Foster Library (651 E. Main St., Ventura), 3 p.m.

Wednesday, July 9, Blue Whale Reading, Pamela Davis and Amy Michelson, 227 E. Arrellaga Street, 5:30-7 p.m., Santa Barbara.