Coming Attractions

At 4:17 A. M., on Friday, September 27, 1940, I was born in The Holy Name of Jesus Hospital in Gasden, Alabama. My mother later told me that she laughed out loud when she first saw me. I'm glad that she got at least one laugh because of me.

And it takes only minimal skills in arithmetic to see that I'll be 67 years old next month. This comes at something of a surprise to me, as I never really thought about, or believed I would ever be, this damned old. But here I am, a certified senior citizen, though my head doesn't believe it. Further, at this age, when one's head won't tell the truth, one's body certainly will. I am today, all things considered, at least grateful to be on this side of the great beyond.

This birthday will definitely be celebrated. Though my wife doesn't know it yet, I'm going to purchase an ice cream cake for myself, not only to celebrate my birthday but to celebrate losing over 30 pounds in the last few months. Sensible, huh? Well, it makes sense to me; besides, I can rationalize darned near anything. No gifts, please, just ice cream.

But the largest part of our celebration will be another trip to Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis to hear the Minnesota Orchestra entertain us and itself with Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Standing alone, this work is magnificent. I'm further awed, however, with the knowledge that Beethoven never heard this symphony performed. He was totally deaf when he composed it. And when he conducted it, he had to be turned around by an orchestra member to "see" the waves of applause that the audience gave back to him. It truly is an "Ode to Joy."

I wrote in a previous post that the music on my first Orchestra Hall trip didn't lift my spirits as I thought it would. But the fault wasn't in the music; the fault was in me. My mood was dark, and truthfully, the seats in Orchestra Hall are some of the most uncomfortable theatre seats I've ever sat in. Now that my physical pain is being relieved, I'll surely enjoy the music more. I'll also take my own, special ordered seat cushion, the one I'm sitting on now as I write. This is a world-class orchestra, and I look forward to sharing my birthday with them. I plan to talk about music more in later postings, and I thank you for being here!