Magical Moment 338, "One out of Eighty-Eight"

Today at work, I sat at the Black Kawai piano, playing for the dancers as they rehearsed their ballet combinations. I love choosing the songs from my repertoire list, and making them sound distinctly different and interesting each time I play them. I experiment with different chords and styles, and it keeps the long day interesting for me. However, I was immediately disappointed this morning, when I found that the low “G” on the piano was not working.

It really put a damper on the music. If I meant for G to be the bass note, it sounded as though someone hit the “mute” button for a split second and disrupted the flow. I was too focused on avoiding that G and playing the lower octave, that I couldn’t concentrate on the overall cohesion of the piece. The longer I played, the more frustrated I became. Now no one will ever know just how beautiful Mozart’s Sonata K. 331, theme from the First Movement really is, I thought with dismay.

When I mentioned it to the office so they could call a repairman, they explained with no urgency, that they already knew about it. But it was only one key, still playable, so it was not an immediate priority. And so I trudged through the rest of the classes, knowing that the beauty of the music was not complete. First because of the missing G, and second because my heart was not in it.

One out of eight-eight, who would have thought it could be so significant? It’s not like it was middle C, or something in the upper register that could affect the melody. When something is meant to work together, each one assigned its own task and purpose, and just one of those things is not fulfilling its role, everything is affected. The song, the piano player, the dancers who did not hear the music at its best and therefore lacked energy in their own art.

If you feel like something isn’t working the way it should, pick it apart. Find out what’s broken. Maybe you know what’s broken but didn’t deem it a priority because it was tolerable. But there is more to life than tolerable. There is beautiful music to be made and when everything is working together as it should, its effects are powerful, meaningful, and rings loud and clear for all to hear.

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

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