things i
did
in 24.
a moustache-twisting journal of the few things in my life worth mentioning
24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 | 2000 | 99 | 98 | 97
streamed
The Gurwitz International Piano Competition streamed the proceedings from San Antonio to the world, and guess who they asked to be the host. The job hit several of my strong suits. Something like 33 hours on-air in the space of a week, most of it listening to extraordinary performances from the world's best young musicians.
spoke my mind
The Conopus Club, one of our city's many luncheon-and-lecture clubs, has been going strong since 1921, hosting month after month of interesting and semi-interesting speakers. Last January, one of those (whether interesting or semi-) was me. Topic: Interesting Times In The Music Business. I played and talked about America's odd music copyright and intellectual-property problems to a roomful of SA movers, shakers, and sharp minds, seemingly pleased as punch to hear it all. One SA mover, shaker, and sharp mind, my friend Lane, enjoyed that talk so much he asked me to reprise it at yet another of those clubs: Howdy Hour at the A&M Club. Doing stuff like that is one of the things I enjoy most in the world.
supported a children's chorister
Greta, frustrated at the limits of her school choir, auditioned for the Children's Chorus of San Antonio. This last year she's been rehearsing and performing with not one but two terrific ensembles. It's a highlight of her life right now, along with the five other ensembles she performs with. What a pleasure, to see one's kid so fulfilled.
finally had a good black suit made
I'm just not a black-suit-wearin' guy. But the music world has undergone one of those shifts, and in recent years I've had more and more gigs that call for black suit. Not tux, suit. I'd been content to wear, and wear out, the one I bought years ago for Carl's wedding, but it was time to invest in a really splendid suit. The new one, cashmere for maximum huggability, turned out magnificently. That's partially because I had it made in the right place, where we . . .
celebrated our 20th anniversary
That's right, folks. Twenty years. 2004 seems like just the other day, and yet so much has come along in those two decades. Cate and I returned to Thailand, where we spent our honeymoon and then our tenth anniversary, again visiting old places and exploring new ones. A month! While Mom and Dad and Linda took care of the girls (thank you thank you!), we filled it with experiences, just the two of us:
· ziplining through mountain forests near Chiang Mai
· snorkeling in clear green water —– iconic! Bright coral reefs close up with a hundred different varieties of fish all extravagantly dotted and striped
· eating divine Thai food, and Indian food too, and realizing the secret to great chai is plenty of ginger
· getting an abundance of wonderful suits made to measure by Raj, a new favorite tailor
· enjoying some birthday gifts: one of those suits courtesy of one brother; two nights in a stellar hotel courtesy of the other
· spending precious time with Cathryn and Shizhou, whom we don't get to see often enough
· getting some jewelry made by our wonderful Johny for the third decade in a row
· pampering ourselves with massages and pedicures and relaxation
· taking note of Catherine's good health. In days, her skin was clear, her appetite returned, she slept well, she felt better more of the time. We knew that much of her Crohn's condition is stress-induced, but it was revealing to see how much stress a real vacation removed. I vowed to do whatever it took to remove stress from her life when we got back. (Then things happened. More on that in a moment.)
got eclipsed
We went out to Kristen and Randy's place in the Hill Country, right plum in the path. Yes, it was an overcast day, but still an amazing experience, a midnight at noon. It's awakened my desire to chase around and get the next one on a sunny day somewhere on this planet.
shined up the rings
For the 20th anniversary, I took the 1923 wedding and engagement rings in and had them polished and reset, strengthened and sturdier than before. A metaphor for all we inherit, and for all we vow. They're stunning.
danced the last daddy/daughter dance
When Clara was in third grade, the school started having these dances. So there were really only three of them to go to, and the third was last year, Clara's final year of elementary. There are so many last things you don't notice as they happen. Marking this one was a sweet pleasure.
said goodbye to joyce slocum
Texas Public Radio's CEO died after a brief cancer bout. What a leader: I never saw her lose her cool, never saw her flag in her desire to do things right —– and, when persuaded of a better way, never saw her fruitlessly stick to the old way. Classical Connections was largely at her instigation. For that and much else, I'm grateful we had her as long as we did.
reunited
For the second time in 6 years, we 3000-mile-road-tripped to West Virginia, where our ancestor arrived 350 years before. This time the focus was a new family store, on Rowlesburg's main street, bearing the ancient family name, Carrico's, and the fingerprint of the indefatigable and infinitely hospitable Tim and Victoria. We (just Cate and I and the girls this time) ate and drank and laughed and caught up, all the while getting some good breaths of that mountain air.
ran out of polo
I'd kept the bottle Jeff Walker traded to me in about 1990, using it once a year or less, when the mood was just right, until, one March day, there was no more. Fragheads take note: it has the Warner label on the bottom, which means that it was bought before 1984 —– original formula, redolent beyond the wildest imaginings of today's whippersnappers. I like to describe Polo as the Journey song of colognes: flawless, perfectly mixed, wildly popular, subtler than you give it credit for, and for some reason considered a guilty pleasure. No guilt here. You can get it new, but it's not the original animal juice. An era has ended.
played some olivia
I got a call to play electric piano and synth for The Olivia Show, a tribute to Olivia Newton-John. I was glad to see guitarist Jason Valdez on the gig. We marveled at the complexity and joy of this woman's catalog, performed with unstoppable energy by the terrific Sabrina Plaisance-Sia, with superb arrangements and musical direction by Dan Sia. An hour and a half of cloud nine. I love what I do.
tried cascatelli
A new pasta! Its inventor wanted the ultimate in forkability, sauceability, and toothability. After one meal, we pronounced success on all three counts. They don't make 'em like they used to, but sometimes they make 'em like they never used to. Here's to innovation.
marked a spiritual milestone
A biggie: fifty summers ago, having already, I guess, accepted it unconsciously, I accepted the great gift of Christ's atonement consciously. At 7 years old, did I even know what I was doing? A half-century later, I'll say yes I did. By this point, much has fallen away, hopefully all barnacles. What's left is, I hope, the love and grace and perseverance.
quick-release adapted
I do lots of setting up and taking down of microphones. All that screwing and unscrewing got a lot easier last year when I finally got some of these things. One end goes on all your mic cradles, and the other on all your stands. Then you just snap 'em on and snap 'em off. It's a pleasure. What will I do with all the time I save?
serenaded the irish again
Two years later, mensch/producer Paul Boskind invited Ken and me back to perform yet again. Some new pleasures this time around: a visit to nearby Galway on a festival day, and a gasp-inducing gander at the new, modern house on the grounds that somehow fit the 15th-century castle perfectly. And of course great American music played for a spellbound Irish audience.
settled in to the performance studio
Starting from just about the first Classical Connections episode, we've done live shows. But this last year, it took off. Time after time, performers came in to TPR and played live on-air, just like in the first days of radio. It's always a thrill. There's no energy like it.
moved out
Our house on Eleanor, built in 1910, was a wonderful home for us, a place to introduce two kids to the world, in a neighborhood with bookstores, museums, shops, parks, and mom-n-pop restaurants nearby. We spent 5743 days there. Then it was time. Reluctantly and eagerly, we . . .
moved in
After years of talking about it, we moved in to the house I grew up in. We're upstairs; my parents are downstairs. Both households shed and shed possessions, shuffling things around. (We're still not through tripping over boxes.) Lots of adjusting all around. Fortunately, we're all up to adjustment —– though do you recall my saying something about reducing stress for Catherine? She got far worse for a couple of months there. But we did it, and now we're a household of six. A new chapter begins.
said goodbye to Glenn Sr
This one hit home: Glenn Jr and Steve and I all shared each other's moms and dads for a good several years. Glenn Sr is the first to go. He was one of those steadfast, supportive, loving dads who went the distance, in work and in marriage and in fatherhood and grandfatherhood. I think if you could calculate such things you'd find that he was one of those pillars society is built on.
built a nice bed
One thing in the big move was that we wanted to have a new bed. We never saw one that really answered our needs, so I got out the thinking cap and related tools, and designed one. Quite simple: put bed on top of drawers, finish it with lovely ornate headboard. Some hours later, with several volunteer Brake builders, it was done. Useful and incredibly comfortable. A pleasure to sleep on, every night.
kept updating charts
You may remember I started organizing and revising and filling in all my charts back in [looking it up] ... 2016?!?! Zow. I got on another tear, since I had so much free time, and did more. At this point, I'm almost done. It really is nice to have those charts organized.
marked a gig-iversary
In August of 1984 I went to the grand old Gunter Hotel and persuaded them to hire me as lobby pianist. I played 3:30 to 7:30 every weekday, for a whole school year: my first real, steady gig. I'd gigged before, since I was 14, but this one whipped me into shape and marked the outset of my career. My band director consented enthusiastically, working around school commitments; my youth minister was Disappointed; my parents were proud; I was pleased and completely unsurprised. One day last August I looked around at a gig and said to myself, "Forty years." Man.
watched a cub become a scout
Clara went through the whole Cub Scout thing: knots, camping, projects, marching through the requirements. Then Arrow of Light, and now she's officially a full Scout. She's doing more, and doing it more independently. She can build a campsite, administer emergency medical aid, and wear a scarf like nobody's business. I think she's gonna take it all the way to Eagle.
lived my 21,000th day
As is my custom, I cordoned off the day, saving it for meaningful things. I spent some time being thankful for the many blessings in my life. I chose a few friends —– this time, the musicians closest to me —– to write enumerative notes to. I ate at a new-to-me Indian place deep in the heart of SA's Silk Road area. I ended up doing much of the thing that has become my Assignment recently: Talking People Down From Ledges —– fittingly, in each of the areas assigned me: religion, politics, relationships, and the music biz. I tended a sick girl; I chauffeured a well one. And I celebrated with the partner I'd spent 7527 of those days with.
made a 3d cross-your-eyes image
My first try! I finally sat down and tried to figure out exactly how these things work. My goal was to create 4 levels of depth: the grid, dad, girl 1, and girl 2. I figured you'd have to space each plane a slightly different distance apart, but didn't really know which would appear closer and which would appear further. Turns out the closer together they are, the closer to you they seem.
Cool!
CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
went onstage
for my yearly high school musical gig, playing in costume and under lights instead of down in the pit. It was the final musical before my friend Chad, the inspiring drama teacher kids remember for life, retires after this spring. So I got to dress up and slick my hair back for Chicago, and even do a little comic relief.
toured baylor
One fine day, Greta came up and asked if I could take her on a Baylor campus tour. When that's the question, the answer is "Let's do it!" We spent a whole day at my alma mater, falling under her spell. We met professors, conferred with students, drank more frosted Dr Peppers than any doctor would prescribe. The entire day she was beaming and squealing and grinning ear-to-ear. It's safe to say a fire was lit.
knocked it out of the park with the chamber choir
Superconductor Rick Bjella got in touch with me early in the year, asking if the Jazz Protagonists could perform again with the San Antonio Chamber Choir. You kidding? The choir is one of the best of its kind: superb musicianship, every detail sanded to a sheen. I drew up some special charts for the occasion. In two concerts, the Protags swung, the choirs shone, artistic heights were reached. It was a highlight of my year.
broke out
Several people noticed and commented that my cheek was getting a rash. I didn't feel stressed out, but my body was surely telling me I was. A good solid four or five months of teen face! What on earth. It's only now beginning to settle. They say when you're old you have the face you deserve —– what if they're right? As wonderful as this year was, I would not say no to an uneventful 2025.
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What a year. Dedicated to the glory of God.
so, what did you do?
24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 | 2000 | 99 | 98 | 97