I remember some of those bright red and yellow records, too [from the previous story]. I think some of them were even my mom’s that we still have at her house. She plays her old Woody Woodpecker records for my kids now; they think it’s awesome. The treasured possession I was going to talk about is my banjo. I’d wanted to learn to play the banjo for a long time but I kind of never got around to it, and…
My prized possession is the old Zenith record radio console my parents had—they bought that before I was even born—and the records. I had brothers, so they bought a lot of these red, yellow, orange, black, children’s records. And I learned very early on how to stack those things and just let them plop onto the turntable. And I even remember some of the titles; there was The Duck With Big Flat Feet, Henny Penny, Early to Bed Early to…
Describe a treasured possession: It’s a picture with me and then-running-for-president Barack Obama. I think it was taken in 2008, the first time he ran, and it was in the Press-Citizen after he made a stop in Iowa City. I was telling him that I was a patient at the VA Veterans’ Hospital, and I thought it was great. And he said “The problem was not the care you receive once you were there, it was getting in to the…
I wanted to play the accordion, but I was told it was only for boys. So I was given a clarinet. I played it half-heartedly and quit. Now I play what I want to–drums–in my 70’s.
What is your life philosophy? The purpose of life is to share. And the most important thing to share is love. The purpose of the evolution of life is to ever more meaningfully share one’s love. We are all cells in the spiritual body of God. We are all unique selves, with unique perspectives. We can each contribute to God’s functioning in the most positive way possible for us individually. At our best, we express what God inherently is.
Describe a turning point in your life: My divorce was a turning point in my life. I couldn’t grow as a person in my relationship with my husband. He saw me as a fantasy in his mind and would not permit change into that vision he held of me. I came into my marriage with emotional baggage and needed to grow beyond the young woman he had met. This was not possible.
Describe the effects music has had on your life: It gives me joy when I am down. It sets my soul to dancing. It refreshes me and gives me peace when I fear. It can put me to sleep when I cannot sleep. It tells my story when I can’t find the words to say. It sets my feet to dancing. It can bring light to me.
Describe a place that is meaningful for you: The Senior Center is a most meaningful place for me. I’ve been coming since 2007, and it is like a home away from home. It’s also like going to school again with my class in math and its homework. The Great Course lectures are great. And I belong to the chorus, which is like being in a club after school. It keeps me and my brain and body (line dancing) young.
Usually it was an exotic ottoman, a set of new dishes or even a substantial piece of living room furniture, but not this time. This time she brought in a brown wooden guitar with 6 pegs and 4 rusty strings. I was eight and she was thirty-two. I have memories of plucking a guitar string and listening to it reverberate. I was mesmerized and hooked. My best friend Mindy was rich enough to have private guitar lessons in 1970 and…