Carolinn & John- July 2013

Carolinn & John- July 2013
Meeting up with Michelle & Mark Hedges

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Friends, Wonderful Celtic Music and Restoration.

This evening, I had the privilege of attending the Celtic Christmas Concert at the First and Calvary Presbyterian Church in Springfield. The venue was gorgeous...a one hundred year old sanctuary (actually older than that) candlelit and decked with greens and wreaths with white lights and stained glass windows. When I entered the room, I knew I was in a special place.

The instrumentalists played violins, guitar, mandolin, piano, cello, bass, hand drum, tambourine, pipe organ and the high whistle. Four women sang; beautifully arranged Celtic carols and songs and the Springfield Boys Choir dazzled us with their crystal clear voices that harmonized so wonderfully and rang throughout the room that the chill and dampness of the night quickly faded away.

As I listened, and experienced the music, it swept over me, through me and became part of me. The music gave me wings on this blustery, wet evening. It allowed me, if just for a little while, to escape from my dungeon of limitations and once again get back to feeling what music has always made me feel...whole. I need music in my life. It is who I am, what I'm about and what I love.

Teaching music doesn't always give us the "musical" experiences that we musicians long for. Don't misunderstand, there are MANY, MANY wonderful musical happenings with students who are our young musicians, but when we are teaching music...we get into the "drudgery" of the next performance, the next favor, the next contest, the next festival, etc. And sometimes, as in my case, it has taken me a year and a half to not be involved in music education to KNOW what I had lost. I'm not talking about not being able to teach...yes, I've lost that too, but...I had lost the music experience. It had been too long since my heart had been warmed, goosebumps had crawled across my skin and my eyes had watered because I was EXPERIENCING the music with every fiber of my being. But, this evening changed all of that. I am once again..."in tune" with my musical needs and wants. 

I can't thank Kelly O'Bryant, Erika O'Bryant, Mark Lawley and all of the other incredible musicians who gave me such a wonderful Christmas present tonight. My heart has been warmed and my musical self has been restored. Merry Christmas.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Politics, Bad Drivers and Decor

Why is it that all of the Republican Candidates seem like egomaniacle, self serving, ignorant, lying sacs of putrid waste?? Oh, that's right, BECAUSE THEY ARE!!!  Now as far as politics go, here's my quick and easy take on the entire situation.

All politicians, no matter with which party they are affiliated, lie and look out for number one...which I understand, in our political world is very necessary sometimes. But, I have to say this....when watching a political candidate debate, I ....as an American citizen, should NOT feel embarrassed for the people who are trying to debate each other to get a leg up for the next party nomination for President of the United States of America. I'm shocked at the stupidity, lack of knowledge and closed mindedness that these people are displaying. 

I don't even care if Herman Cain has boffed women....or men for that matter - while he was supposedly in a committed marriage. Yes, it shows lack of character, but the question is....could this man run our country?? The REAL question is.....Could any of these people LEAD our country?? At least President Obama is smart enough to be able to speak in public and not embarrass us in front of the rest of the world, and whether we like him or not, whether we agree with him or not, he, unlike any of these candidates I've been speaking about... has the ABILITY to lead our country.

I heard a sound bite of Chris Christie going off on President Obama a couple of nights ago. I said to John, "Really???? Coming from the man who isn't willing to run and do something about it???? Shut the hell up and concentrate on your shore." I don't necessarily agree with Christie's political views, but I think he'd be a good leader. But if he's not willing to throw his hat in, then don't complain. That's like all of the American citizens who constantly bitch about politics, the President, the Congress, etc....but don't ever vote. I have no patience for that kind of blatant disregard for the rest of America who does vote and try to make positive change happen in our society.


Okay, enough about politics. Let's talk about people who are asshole drivers. If you are an asshole driver, here are some things I'd like for you to stop and start doing.


Stop: Texting     Start: WATCHING THE FREAKING TRAFFIC LIGHTS

Stop: Talking on the phone   Start: Paying attention to your kids in the back seat!!!!

Stop:  Riding my ass when I'm going OVER the speed limit  Start: Getting a clue that you're an ass.


Stop:  Putting on your make up   Start: Getting up 20 minutes earlier to do it at home


Stop:  Speeding through the neighborhood where kids are playing   Start: Considering the fact that there are other people in the world besides you.


Stop:  Driving like you're in a hurry ALL OF THE TIME!  Start: Using your turn signals, braking BEFORE you get to a stop sign or traffic light, and try turning down your stereo so that I can't hear it in my car when BOTH of our windows are UP and MY stereo is on!!


*The next person I see texting while driving when we are at a stoplight...be warned...I'm going to get out of my car at the stoplight and pound on your window and show you a gruesome picture of dead people from a car accident caused by a driver texting. You've been warned. It's stupid and careless to do it any time....but when you're driving your kids around and texting....I think that's criminal. 

Also, if you have so many Christmas lights up... that you leave on all night ...that it causes your neighbor's bedroom to be lit up like Rockefeller Plaza, you might want to reconsider your holiday decor. 


Just a few thoughts running through my mind this morning. I'm glad it's Friday and I'm glad I'm feeling better. Yesterday was NOT a good day for me physically. But, today is looking up and I'm anxious to get the rest of the Christmas decorations properly placed and the boxes and tubs put away!! Have a great weekend everyone.



Thursday, December 1, 2011

B.R.A. A.R.A. (Before R.A., After R.A.)

There are times in our lives when we all have to pause for a moment to think about what we are going to do next in our existence that is continually bombarded with obstacles, negative events and rude people. The good thing is, that there are usually good events, obstacles that are easily maneuvered around or moved, and nice people that we come across too. But, when faced with the earlier mentioned situations, decisions have to be made that are not only hard, but heart wrenching. In fact, it seems...many times...that it is impossible to make a "good" decision. 

The decision to stop teaching one and a half years ago was one of those decisions. I'm so out of the loop...I feel really estranged from the music education world, in fact from music itself. I'm not able to perform right now because of my physical limitations. I can't stand through a concert to sing, or stand to conduct a concert. I could play horn, but it would take months to get my chops in shape and I don't have an instrument. So, I'm kinda stuck right now. 


The people...other directors... in this area (Springfield) have no idea what my teaching abilities are. They don't know that when I'm feeling well and not in pain, that I'm an excellent music educator. No one knows that when the RA is not drowning me, I'm one of the best teachers around. This is not bragging. I've worked hard over the last 25 years to become the best music educator I could be, and the last 8 years that I taught with the disease, there were some days I couldn't even function at work. I never was able to teach "full out" like I did on a daily basis B.R.A. (before R.A.) I miss having the energy, excitement and the feelings of accomplishment that I got from being in front of a group of high school kids that wanted to make me proud. The looks on their faces when that one chord came together and sent goosebumps crawling across their skin...that's one I really miss. 


I also miss teaching elementary music. After having taught high school for so many years, then getting certified in Kodaly, and teaching elementary for a while, I really learned a lot about being a better music educator. The Kodaly sequence brought it all together for me. I became a better high school teacher because of my elementary experience using Kodaly. However, I was so sick while doing all of this, I never REALLY got to give my teaching one hundred percent.


This isn't a pity party. I'm just thinking through some things. I love teaching privately and have some students who will probably be starting private lessons again soon but it's still not the same as being in front of a choir or band. And it's not the same as taking kindergarteners from the first day of school and teaching them how to make a circle sitting on the floor, to performing, reading, improvising and composing music at the end of 5th grade. There is a sense of accomplishment...contentment... that comes from those experiences and I guess I'm going to have to find another way to be able to feel that same sense of accomplishment once again.

I've been vocalizing, getting my voice back into shape which is a good thing about NOT teaching. My voice has had time to rest and I'm able to extend my range once again and not be hoarse and vocally exhausted from teaching all day. I even was able to have so much resonance that it made my inner ears tickle! IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE THAT HAS HAPPENED!!! For those of you who are not vocalists, that means that there was so much muscular freedom and vocal ease that the vibrations in the mask of my face actually tickled down in my ears. That's a GOOD thing! :)

Well, I'm going to go sing for a while and make myself feel better about my current situation. The Christmas tree is up, the mantle is decorated and after I sing, I'll finish the rest. Thanks for reading.