things i did in 18.
a moustache-twisting journal of the few things in my life worth mentioning

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performed with the national arab orchestra
In town for a show, their keyboardist got sick. This person called that person, all through the network, and they landed on me. Fortunately, my background and skills make for a good fit with their style. After running through some odd (to me) scales, I ended up being ready. Great fun. You never know what gig is gonna come.


did other odd gigs
A 1920s party in which we went all out, down to the outfits and hair dressing, not to mention putting together over 80 charts (30 of which were used). A corporate awards show, in which we played the honorees in and out like at the Oscars: 40 songs at 15 seconds a piece, all styles.


reunited
in West Virginia. It was the first time I'd been back there since I was the age my kids are now. The town of Rowlesburg is divinely beautiful, surrounded by mountains and rivers and verdure. The people were terrific to reconnect with. The trip? Well, considering it was Dad, Mom, Catherine, me, Greta, Clara, and cousin Amanda, all in one car, for 3000 miles round-trip, I'd say it was just fantastic. Great family fun, the kind of road-trip vacation one remembers for a lifetime. In Greta's back-to-school essay, she only wrote about the drive there and back; zero about the actual event.


played a new piano
A beautiful Baldwin Acrosonic. The old 1940s Lester had served well, but I'd never liked its unspacious low end. A duper-cheap price and some fixing up, and the Acrosonic is a joy. The girls like it too.

shot a luger
Paul and I got into a conversation about Lugers. I'd always thought it would be fun to find a replica, but could never find one that could actually shoot. They were all cosmetic. Paul being Paul, he found a dealer who found an *actual* Luger from 1918, with matching serial numbers and the whole bit. The three of us and dad all went to the range with it and a couple other vintage guns to compare it to. The Luger was my favorite. Partially because of the way it handles inertia vertically, it shoots like a dream.


spoke into a great old mic
Not just any mic. My new (old) Dyna-Fidelic DF-675 is gorgeous. Its Space Age Italian deco design, developed in the late Fifties and early Sixties, was used by several brands internationally. Later it became prized for its stylish midcentury look. Rick Astley sings into one — backwards — in his famous video. I've loved using it at gigs. Photographers love it. And it sounds great, because RB Blackstone spent 600 days tracking down parts and restoring it to better-than-before quality. Sometimes I just get it out and look at it: a one-of-a-kind thing done well and done beautifully.


found the royal road
Not just any royal road: the royal road to romance. Not just that: "The Royal Road to Romance," Richard Halliburton's laugh-out-loud great book of travel adventure that birthed a genre. And not just that: a first edition. And not just that: a signed first edition. With so many well-heeled people dying and leaving heirs who don't want their books, I declare we're living in a golden age.


celebrated leonard bernstein's birthday the right way
I mean, how do you celebrate this man's 100th birthday? A man dedicated to music, dedicated to discovery, dedicated to jazz, dedicated to passing it on to the young. I was reading as Greta was playing piano. She called out, "Daddy! Does this sound jazzy?," and then played a phrase from her lesson in a swinging way, with a blue note. She beamed and beamed. So did I.


dove into johnny mercer's music
The amazing Maggie Worsdale had me write 10 arrangements of his songs for a tribute show. Knowing Maggie, I had to find the human pulse in every song, and deliver the unexpected; I also knew I could throw anything her way and she'd knock it out of the park. Mercer's peers — Gershwin, Porter, Hammerstein — were full of wit and wordplay; Mercer shot straight to the heart, every time. A roadhouse blues, a sophisticated rhapsody, a wistful memory of lost love, a funny non-cowboy cowboy song — he brings it all home perfectly. Pure craftsmanship. I count myself lucky to have had a project like this.


made new bookplates
I've always loved the accoutrements of the reading life. I still remember my first bookplates. One of the first things I did for us as a married couple was to make some Mr-and-Mrs ones. The last batch (a lovely pen-and-ink of a bassist) finally ran out. So I did one new one, based on a Blake mermaid, that Cate didn't like. I'll use it for the books I like but she doesn't. Then I did a second new one, with a woodcut bird design, that Cate loved and loves. Literary pleasure achieved.


schooled the school board
The Texas State Board of Education, that is. The standards were up for discussion yet again, and one of the questions was what to do with Moses — keep or kick? The Keeps said "Throw salt over your shoulder and say Judeo-Christian three times"; the Kicks said "That's teaching religion in school" and "Democracy owes nothing to Moses". I woke up at 5, suited up, drank some coffee, drove to Austin, and calmly explained exactly what democracy *does* owe to Moses. (More here and here) Moses stayed in the standards, but his presence in the textbooks is still largely vague religious handwaving. That battle is for another day.


chatted with snuffy
That's right, Snuffy Walden, the composer behind "The West Wing," "Friday Night Lights," "Thirtysomething," and of course "My So-Called Life." Turned on by a delectable MSCL podcast, I got in touch with him and we talked. Composers are notoriously reluctant to talk about music (it's like dancing about architecture, after all). But I played him some scenes — he'd never re-watched 'em in all these years! — and he came to life, talking about nuts and bolts and choices and instruments, and sharing his generous, humble, life-loving spirit in the process. Great talking to you, Snuffy. (More here)


postured
I finally got dissatisfied enough with my posture that I bought one of those braces that looks like a holster. I wear it occasionally — just several times a year, really — but it's already helped me be more conscientious.

made a bow tie
Not finding one in the exact color and size I wanted, I made it myself. Deep plum silk, not too shiny, just right for a tuxedo or a Schroeder costume.

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What a year. Dedicated to the glory of God.

so, what did you do?

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