Mercy

I don't know what you do but you do it well . . .

My Beautiful Norwegian Friend

Solvi is studying for her Masters degree in the beautiful town of Trondheim, Norway, which I visited. (See the picture, which features Nidaros Cathedral.) She writes her own songs, sings, plays trumpet and plays guitar in TWO bands.

Her solo work is beautiful, too.

Here is an example, a song called Space Time:

Say Hey I Love You

Say Hey I Love You

It's Bad You Know

"I didn't mean to kill nobody," Burnside later said. "I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head. Him dying was between him and the Lord."

In the Flow

Music helps me stay "in the flow". Recently I had a disagreeable task - - sorting through three file drawers of piano music, which was in no particular order at all! Luckily I had my new headphones with a very long cord. I listened to music as I worked and it kept me going forward, until - - VOILA! -- it was done!

The Woman and the Young Man (A true story)

The woman sat in the great hall of music in Geneva, as she did every year, watching the international piano competition. The next contestant approached the piano. He was young, about twenty, and rather "dumpy" looking. The woman had no expectations about this unknown young pianist from South America. He certainly didn't look very exciting. Suddenly, he began to play a Rachmaninov Piano Concerto. As soon as his fingers touched the keyboard, the magic happened! The woman felt tingly all over. She was captivated by this young man's playing! Indeed, he won the competition that year. The woman went back stage to greet the young man. Perhaps he was pleased to meet this woman, who eventually became his number one fan.

The young South American went on to begin his concert career, performing all over Europe. The woman often traveled to one of the cities where he was playing to watch his performance. They became personal friends despite the difference in their ages and nationalities. She stands by his side, supporting him with her admiration and affection. Now the young man has become almost middle-aged, with a lovely wife and children. The woman is passing through her 70's, while mourning the death of her beloved husband, seeking solace in the beauty of music and taking pleasure in this remarkable musical friendship.

My First Piano Lesson

Night after night, as I lay in my bed waiting for sleep, I would hear my mother playing the piano. Oh, it was so beautiful! I wanted to learn how to play! I begged her, from the age of 4 or 5, "Please, Mom, please teach me the piano!" "No," she answered. "We must wait until you are 8 years old and you can read very well." I was very sad that I had to wait.

Finally, the day came for my first lesson! I was so excited. Soon I could play like Mom!

Here is a picture of my first piano book, the one Mom put on the piano for me that day.


"Oh, wow", I thought. "This is going to be great", as I saw the proficient mouse playing deftly with two hands!

I opened the book to the first picture. Papa Bear says, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"


And now, for the first page of music. "At last, I will learn to play like Mom!", I thought. I was very excited about this. But, what? Oh no! As my mother showed me how to play the first page, I complained, "NO, MOM! This is not what I want to play! I want to play like you!" She calmly explained that this was the way to start out. Later on, I would learn to play with two hands. What a disappointment! What a little dummy I was!! Hahahaha!