I've been busy ...

Just had an amazing 24 hours.

Last night I went to a local college and heard Bob Simon, CBS veteran news correspondent, address the question “Is peace possible in the Middle East?” His answer was a resounding “no”. He lives near Tel Aviv and has covered the region’s hot spots for over twenty years. Since I do not usually discuss politics in my blog, I’ll leave it at that. I’m sure that many of us have already come up with the same answer.

After sleeping on Simon’s sober but honest assessment of international relations, I was off to a morning workshop where I got to network with local guidance counselors and learn a board game which will be a fantastic tool in preparing middle-and-high-school students for college. Encouraging youth seemed a better focus than dwelling on the insurmountable obstacles to world peace.

It was then time for family. Sophie had no school today and worked hard on a schedule for me, her mom and herself. We had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant where the staff adore Sophie and always play with her. One of the waiters showed her how to fold the linen napkins and make place settings. Last time, they taught her origami. Next time, she will be making fabric roses. The lovely Indonesian manager confessed that she would rather be making art or music than running her restaurant. Her eyes lit up when she found out that I play the piano. She wants me to give her lessons. We moved on to a local bookstore where I treated Sophie to a set of American Girl books. She was thrilled. We finished the afternoon with a quick trip to the Wal Mart where Sophie got to select some costume jewelry for her expanding collection. She, in turn, donated some of her “little girl” jewelry to her sister. It was a win/win situation.


David came home and agreed to put the girls to bed so Jenn and I could go to a local art gallery where a resident folksinger, Bernice Lewis, was giving a concert to kick off the release of her new album. I had never heard of her but Jenn had made her acquaintance and she’s a big fan of Jenn’s blog. The event was a sellout, standing room only, and we hadn’t called ahead for reservations. We thought we would have to leave but fate was kind. A seat in the front row opened up; I claimed it while Jenn got to sit even closer, along the wall. The woman rocked. She is so good and I found myself wanting to meet her, to tell her that I want to make music with her. I swear I had not been drinking. It was so energizing to hear this woman belt out her own songs and do it with such joy and passion. Something started to wake up in me. I have not played nor practiced in months, make that years. Yet, this is one of the reasons I wanted to move here – to be close to the arts, to artists. So we now have a date for coffee, the three of us: Jenn, myself and Bernice. Her eyes twinkled when I mentioned I play the accordion.

La vie en rose.