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There's been a haze of conscious appreciation over my mind for the past couple days. I get these spells of intense gratitude for the positive facets of my life, which is basically all of it, but especially my friends. It's such a chance occurrence, close friendship. If the counselor hadn't given me to Susan for a tour the first day I went to Lanier; if I hadn't been in Latin and Choir with Jenny; if I hadn't gone into the practice room to ask what Reggie was playing; if I hadn't learned that Stephan knew Rebecca; if I hadn't been in Dr. Farwell's studio with Dan... things would have been different.
In any case, anecdote time. I went with Dan yesterday to pick up his car from its 30,000-mile checkup, and the guy who drove the van had the most bizarre opinions I've ever encountered from a person who didn't look like a crazed maniac. We were talking about cancer research, having just crossed through the medical center, and explaining to him what cancer actually is and that there are many different kinds which is why there'll never be a silver bullet for it. I don't remember how the subject came up, but we mentioned AIDS. He said, with great conviction, "I don't believe in AIDS." We sat there, a little dumbstruck for awhile, then asked him what he meant.
Apparently the doctors made it up so they wouldn't have to admit that they've discovered a way the human race has evolved to rid itself of Haters, because they have an obligation to do no harm and they wouldn't tell you something like that because it would hurt you. It only happens to you if you're a Hater, and your hate consumes you from the inside. "I can put two and two together," he said, "I don't believe everything they tell me. I can think for myself. I'm using what I learned in college to come up with my own beliefs." Okay. Dan asked him about babies that are born with it because their parents are infected, and tried to scare him with big words like amniocentesis, but he just repeated his hypothesis. He said with you from birth if you're a Hater, and that's a pity because he believes there's a place in the world for everyone, even haters, so we can think like them when we get invaded by a foreign planet or something. Okay. I asked him why it was caused by a retrovirus, why it spreads like a disease, and he made evasive conversational passes and repeated that it was his belief that AIDS wasn't a disease. I don't think he knew what a retrovirus was. He got pretty agitated; Dan thinks he was angry, I think he was confused.
So that was very weird, both hysterical and tragic.
The chorale concert was a resounding success, witness Tom's email, entitled "my goodness gracious, you were/are great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!":
dear friends -
(isn't that how a certain song sort of begins? a song sung by ms. mitchell? ok, maybe not in the plural - but, i digress...)
i was sound asleep until about an hour ago...when i realized i was being swarmed by memories/vibrations of your beautiful sounds of just
a few hours ago.
talk about harrassment!?!?! i am getting a lawyer and suing each of you for sleep deprivation...
however, not another moment should pass without sending you my reiterations of how great a group you are...
your sound was thrilling and, frankly, expressive beyond measure.
my favorite compliment/comment regarding last night has come - not surprisingly - from my beloved and beautiful wife...
she said that there was some moment where the phrase was going along and all of a sudden there was a twist of the sound/timing that caught her completely off-guard...you guessed it - it was at "peace and quiet and open air (no breath) WAIT (subito pianissimo) for us sommmmmmewhere...key change...sommmmewhere...etc., etc.
i had never mentioned this particular "way" that i/we were hoping to do that phrase - and, yes, ladies and gentlemen, SOMEONE NOTICED, and was MOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that made my evening!
but, there were so many moments that deserve a notice...
your sound in "sunday"...your sound in "garden grow"...your sound in "tonight"...your humming in "you'll never walk alone"...your sound in "in the still of the night"
EACH ONE OF YOU SOLOISTS DESERVES A GRAMMY for your performance. what a great lineup of talent and loveliness.
the general consensus is that we have now begun yet another "tradition" that needs to be happening on a regular basis.
have a great afternoon off today...and a great/happy/SAFE/restful/HEALTHY spring break ahead...don't forget to come back to school.
I was complimented from all corners on Lazy Afternoon, though I suspect it was the song rather than the performance; that's okay, I can pick 'em. I went with the boys and some voice majors to Amy's for ice cream afterwards in our concert finery, and sucked the life out of the concert high (I almost felt like dancing, and you know how uncharacteristic that is) before realizing we had to have five sources for the paper proposal in VW the next morning. So the boys and I retreated to their house to work on that.
This morning has been relatively uneventful in comparison, but I'm still feeling the love. I can't believe I've got the friends I have. Whence came such unlooked-for luck?
In any case, anecdote time. I went with Dan yesterday to pick up his car from its 30,000-mile checkup, and the guy who drove the van had the most bizarre opinions I've ever encountered from a person who didn't look like a crazed maniac. We were talking about cancer research, having just crossed through the medical center, and explaining to him what cancer actually is and that there are many different kinds which is why there'll never be a silver bullet for it. I don't remember how the subject came up, but we mentioned AIDS. He said, with great conviction, "I don't believe in AIDS." We sat there, a little dumbstruck for awhile, then asked him what he meant.
Apparently the doctors made it up so they wouldn't have to admit that they've discovered a way the human race has evolved to rid itself of Haters, because they have an obligation to do no harm and they wouldn't tell you something like that because it would hurt you. It only happens to you if you're a Hater, and your hate consumes you from the inside. "I can put two and two together," he said, "I don't believe everything they tell me. I can think for myself. I'm using what I learned in college to come up with my own beliefs." Okay. Dan asked him about babies that are born with it because their parents are infected, and tried to scare him with big words like amniocentesis, but he just repeated his hypothesis. He said with you from birth if you're a Hater, and that's a pity because he believes there's a place in the world for everyone, even haters, so we can think like them when we get invaded by a foreign planet or something. Okay. I asked him why it was caused by a retrovirus, why it spreads like a disease, and he made evasive conversational passes and repeated that it was his belief that AIDS wasn't a disease. I don't think he knew what a retrovirus was. He got pretty agitated; Dan thinks he was angry, I think he was confused.
So that was very weird, both hysterical and tragic.
The chorale concert was a resounding success, witness Tom's email, entitled "my goodness gracious, you were/are great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!":
dear friends -
(isn't that how a certain song sort of begins? a song sung by ms. mitchell? ok, maybe not in the plural - but, i digress...)
i was sound asleep until about an hour ago...when i realized i was being swarmed by memories/vibrations of your beautiful sounds of just
a few hours ago.
talk about harrassment!?!?! i am getting a lawyer and suing each of you for sleep deprivation...
however, not another moment should pass without sending you my reiterations of how great a group you are...
your sound was thrilling and, frankly, expressive beyond measure.
my favorite compliment/comment regarding last night has come - not surprisingly - from my beloved and beautiful wife...
she said that there was some moment where the phrase was going along and all of a sudden there was a twist of the sound/timing that caught her completely off-guard...you guessed it - it was at "peace and quiet and open air (no breath) WAIT (subito pianissimo) for us sommmmmmewhere...key change...sommmmewhere...etc., etc.
i had never mentioned this particular "way" that i/we were hoping to do that phrase - and, yes, ladies and gentlemen, SOMEONE NOTICED, and was MOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that made my evening!
but, there were so many moments that deserve a notice...
your sound in "sunday"...your sound in "garden grow"...your sound in "tonight"...your humming in "you'll never walk alone"...your sound in "in the still of the night"
EACH ONE OF YOU SOLOISTS DESERVES A GRAMMY for your performance. what a great lineup of talent and loveliness.
the general consensus is that we have now begun yet another "tradition" that needs to be happening on a regular basis.
have a great afternoon off today...and a great/happy/SAFE/restful/HEALTHY spring break ahead...don't forget to come back to school.
I was complimented from all corners on Lazy Afternoon, though I suspect it was the song rather than the performance; that's okay, I can pick 'em. I went with the boys and some voice majors to Amy's for ice cream afterwards in our concert finery, and sucked the life out of the concert high (I almost felt like dancing, and you know how uncharacteristic that is) before realizing we had to have five sources for the paper proposal in VW the next morning. So the boys and I retreated to their house to work on that.
This morning has been relatively uneventful in comparison, but I'm still feeling the love. I can't believe I've got the friends I have. Whence came such unlooked-for luck?