Blowin' In The Wind

I plunked my way through several years of piano lessons. My dear teacher, Elsie McDow, had to be the patron saint of piano students. She was patient and tolerant of my distracted childhood. I had the initial necessities: a musical soul and good hand-eye coordination, but my lack of discipline and ever-evolving string of new interests kept me from advancing to where I could have gone. My parents were wise in their teaching us to stick to things, even when the going got rough. So I stuck to it for six years. I still love the piano and occasionally whip out my classical favorites on dreamy afternoons. Between my 8th and 9th grade year, I begged for a flute. My folks rented one from Ken Stanton for $5 a month. They told me I had a year to work at it on my own or they'd send it back. With a standard band book and an old hymnal, I worked hard to learn it that summer. Basic flute playing isn't hard, especially if you can already read music. I loved sitting out in the open and playing the lovely hymns. When school started back, I joined the band. I had never played with a group before. Being as I am a social creature, that seemed like a lot of fun, if I could stop talking long enough to play. I remember the first day of class, when the director held up his hands for quiet, and then had us play those warm-up notes. It was magic. A hundred other people, all playing together. As time marched on and we learned to work as one orchestra, I recall the inexplicable buzz that all the harmonies coming together gave me. I had played many times on athletic teams, understanding how we had to cooperate in order to make things happen. But there is simply nothing like a clan of musicians combining their songs into a whole. Music is of heaven, where angels sing and praise rises. No wonder there are titles like "American Idol" -- because music is intimately acquainted with worship. 

I've continued to play my flute all these years, teaching lessons to young players to help buy extras, when our budget was tight. I've also always played at church, enjoying that hymnal and the accompanying voices of exuberant Christian brethren. When we first moved to Villa Rica in 2012, I joined up with the Carroll Community Wind Ensemble, headed by Terry Lowry (Conductor for the Carroll Symphony Orchestra). It was blissful to be back playing with a band and at the same time torturous because the music was so difficult I had to practice every day. I played with gusto with them for years, until 2018, when my Daddy suddenly died. I was overrun with grief, health issues and still had to find a way to work. I cut everything out of my life that was non-essential. I thought I'd take a semester hiatus, but it turned into two years that went by like a blink.

Come to find out, music is essential. It prompts, surrounds, fills and oozes out of some of us. My guilty pleasure has become my necessary medicine. I'm going back tonight, humble and sheepish. I've been playing at church all this time, but nothing that requires practice. I'm up for the challenge now, leaner and wiser, even with the virus scaring us all to death. Some things are worth making time for, even if they appear to be frivolous. Sing on, old heart...