My best friend and duo partner, Diane, and I have been traveling together to rehearse and perform for many of our almost forty years of friendship. Right now we are in the mountains of western North Carolina, enjoying a lovely cabin as we celebrate the end of Diane’s third battle with cancer, rehearse for our … More On the Aging Clarinetist
Today is your birthday, and I am so grateful that you were born. After the many years of our long friendship, we know that each moment is precious and never guaranteed. I hold onto those moments with you; the laughter, the joy, the challenges, the tears. I am a better person for having you in … More A Birthday Ode to my BFF
I was on a dark airplane, finally taxiing toward takeoff and Birmingham after nine hours of a layover in Detroit that wasn’t supposed to be. In a perfect world, I was scheduled to be home by 3:10pm, in plenty of time to walk Marley and settle into being back home with Dan. In my not-so-perfect … More On Appropriate F*#ks
I am bone- weary tired from driving much of the day, but wanted to get some thoughts down while things were still fresh in my mind. I’m in Knoxville, Tennessee, finally tucked into my hotel bed after leaving Birmingham before 8am with my best friend and Amicitia Duo partner, Diane. We’re here to attend the … More On Road Trips, Memorials, Clarinets, and Life
Diane showing relief as we finished our part of the editing for the CD. Whew!I have spent a good part of May in Lincoln, Nebraska, with my best friend, rehearsing and then recording our first Amicitia Duo CD, Play Pretty, that will be released in the fall by Potenza Music, with all of the music … More The Journey Home
I am back in Lincoln for the week after spending much of last week here with my BFF, rehearsing for our Amicitia Duo CD project that begins today, Play Pretty, named in honor of Diane’s sweet mother who passed away last year, as well as for the first movement of a piece written for us … More On BFFs and WTFs
My BFF came to visit me this past week from Nebraska. Normally it would already be a great thing to see my dearest friend of over thirty years, but this time was extra special and meaningful after four hundred and twenty long days apart- the longest separation of our friendship. It wasn’t only a ‘we … More Through Thick and Thin…and Everything in Between
A dear friend from North Carolina paid us a surprise visit for a couple of days. This woman is a mother figure to us, a sweet and gentle soul who has been there for me through my darkest days. I tell her that she saved my life, and I mean it with all sincerity. It … More Reflections
Yesterday was one of those really tough days that we all have at some point or another. It wasn’t all bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it had enough challenge and emotionally prickly stuff to bring me to my knees by the end of the day, completely tapped out. A rare thing for … More Three Things
My best friend Diane is good for me in so many ways; where I tend to be shy and reserved, she is gloriously confident and bold. Where I am soft-spoken, her wonderfully boisterous laugh rings out across a crowded room. Diane is like my Dan, their inner child is alive and well. Mine? Well, she … More On the Enforced Outing of an Inner Child
The View from Here 