You can take the boy out of Wallowa County but you can’t take the sting out of getting scalded. That’s an old saying, right? Well, if nothing else it’s a young saying now. Matt Bell is from these here Wallowas but makes his living playing music these days. He’s based down in New Orleans but goes out on the road with his wife Joy every year, playing shows all over the map. Matt and Joy were on the East Coat a while back on a music tour and got a rare couple days off to rest up at Greg Krolick’s house in North Carolina. Greg’s another longtime Wallowa Countian who a lot of you know. Heckuva musician himself and does some real spiffy artwork, too, including posters for Matt’s different bands.

So Matt is in the home of his Wallowa County buddy and feeling good. Wakes up to an idyllic morning. Birds a-chirping, sunbeams coming in at a slant, all that jazz. He brews him some coffee. Goes real strong on the blend. Joy is still asleep. As the coffee sits there steeping, Matt opens the cupboard and the first coffee mug he sees is a Ted Juve Olaf mug. Just perfect. It’s some of Ted’s early work and an Olaf mug is also kind of an old friend, so the Wallowas are strong with Matt on that North Carolina morning as he pours the coffee and goes for his first sip.

I should mention this was not iced coffee. That comes into play here directly. Also, quick disclaimer. What we’re about to hear does not, in any way, reflect on the craftsmanship of Ted Juve. Ted knows his stuff. Olaf pottery is about as durable as it comes. I’ve driven off with a Juve mug on the roof and had it bounce out fine. Just keep in mind that Greg Krolick is a Wallowa County guy from way back and this particular coffee cup had been well-loved and used and maybe even had undergone a spot of repair on the handle sometime in the past. Pre-existing condition. Keep that in mind. OK. Back to Matt and the morning and all that.

Yeah, so, Matt goes to take his first sip of this perfect cup of coffee on a beautiful morning, filled with thoughts of home and good friends and that is the moment, as he brings it to his lips, when the handle breaks. Matt was not wearing his fireproof pajama pants at the time, so the scalding coffee exits the free-falling cup and splashes this very hot liquid onto, let’s see … how about we call it Matt’s “lower torso region.” Yeah, let’s go with that.

I enjoy this awful, terrible story so much because I had a similar turn of events one idyllic Wallowa County winter morning. Fresh snow. The mountains looked a couple hundred feet taller in the crisp, clear air. It was just a privilege to be alive and beholding such a glorious day. Two minutes later I was whistling a merry tune while getting in some wood, slipped on ice, cracked my tailbone and a chunk of wood rolled out of the upset wheelbarrow and broke my pinky finger. Just like that. I still stop occasionally and realize just how beautiful it is out here. Then I look around for potential hazards.

Go hear Matt Bell make music while he’s in town. You can thank me later. His band, The Wasted Lives, will blow sweet sounds from the Enterprise Courthouse Gazebo at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 7. On Saturday the 9th you almost can’t miss hearing one of his bands. Wasted Lives play the Bowlby Bash at 3 p.m., then magically turn into The Bad Penny Pleasuremakers for the “All That Jazz” fundraiser concert at the Josephy Center, starting at 7. Wear your best 1920s garb for that. Then Matt will presumably drink some coffee — carefully — because they go play the Hurricane Creek Grange late shift at the community dance. That’s a lot of melodies in 24 hours. He’ll be teaching at the Wallowa Fiddle Tunes camp starting July 10, then those Bad Pennies show up at Terminal Gravity at 7 p.m. Friday, June 15.

Phew. Gonna need a lot of coffee for that schedule.

Check the handle, Matt. Check the handle.

Jon Rombach is a local columnist for The Chieftain with a crooked pinky.