music

While living with ALS, I have days when I’m low in spirit and need something to lift me out of the doldrums. When this happens, two things help me: a visit from my daughter and some great music. Recently, I got both at the same time. What a…

A friend who visited Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for a serious health issue posted a video on social media of a string quartet playing in the towering glass atrium of the Gonda Building there. It brought back memories of when my husband, Todd, and I went to Mayo for…

Music had been a source of connection and mild contention early in my relationship with my husband, Todd, but it hadn’t been much of either since Todd became paralyzed due to ALS. Our first date was to an Alison Krauss & Union Station concert. Todd was new to Milwaukee…

One evening, I took my daily walk in the Nara Nature Park in Houghton, Michigan. As I made my way around a network of wooden boardwalks, through a marsh, and alongside a riverbank and lakeshore, I listened to a symphony of birds. I saw a few couples walking,…

“The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.”  Time fascinates me, now more than ever. In my own way, in the face of ALS, I’ve learned to enjoy its passing.  I am writing this seconds after hearing…

“By the rivers of Babylon Where we sat down And there we wept When we remembered Zion But the wicked carried us away in captivity Required from us a song How can we sing King Alpha song In…

“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I’m sixty-four” Paul McCartney wrote the song “When I’m Sixty-Four” four decades before reaching that age himself. McCartney admitted that the number was chosen arbitrarily. He later quipped during an interview that 65 would have been a…

“Keep off the path, Beware of the gate, Watch out for signs that say ‘hidden driveways.’ Don’t let the chlorine in your eyes, Blind you to the awful surprise, That’s waitin’ for you at, The bottom of the bottomless, Blue, blue, blue pool, You’re livin’ in your own private Idaho.”…

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” Last week, my pastor humorously suggested I should challenge folks to put forth songs or lyrics they believed I wouldn’t be able to kick-start a column with. He further suggested the above mentioned track by Iron Butterfly would be such a stumper. I respectfully submit that he…

“Well I don’t know why I came here tonight, I’ve got the feeling that something ain’t right. I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair, And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs. Clowns to the left of me! Jokers to the right! Here I am stuck…