I'm accepting my seniorhood by singing in my hood. Central Park.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday morning from 9am-11am when Gavin and I sit singing at Strawberry Fields, it's physical therapy.
I'm not kidding. I'm not a scientist. But I'm an expert in the healing power of music. By which I mean the kind of loose, free, fun congregational style singing that happens when we launch into "We all live in a Yellow Submarine..."
You're singing it right now in your head even as you read those words. Welcome to the choir! If you live in the city, come share the experience!
If I were starting over, would I have seen this as my life?
Literally wearing a John Lennon t-shirt, a bright pink Sgt. Pepper jacket with gold epaulettes, retelling the story of having played the Imagine piano?
I wrote a new song asking that question. It came quickly so I played it for my songwriter group and they liked it.
Then I saw that interview with Billy Joel who told Rick Beato he records piano and vocal at the same time. And I haven't been doing that!
So I set up my camera, Leo is in the shot looking right at you. I record the song, good or bad. It also gave me a chance to play around with the new captions and backgrounds, etc.
So ask yourself. If you were starting over, what would you do?
This is my answer. It's not on Spotify. It's as if we were just together and I was showing you my new song which I will probably rewrite based on your feedback:
I know that I'm glad I have so many of you along for the ride.
PERSONAL NOTES
Yes, this has been your not-so-regular newsletter. I've been doing a lot of cooking and singing and cleaning and going to the doctors. So no big news. Jim is getting wonderful responses to his book. Leo is a lot more playful and sits on us more. I also have friends who are suffering catastrophic health setbacks and one we lost this past week to suicide. Sometimes when you don't know what to say, it's best to just go silent.
But other than that, we roll along. Merrily, even!
THE LAST SESSION
I put all my old diaries into Notebook and asked "What was I doing 30 years ago today?" July 21, 1996. We were in the middle of our little experimental three week run of The Last Session, the first time audiences were seeing it. This was the response:
On Sunday, July 21, 1996, you had a glorious day of relaxing and resting:
Ticket Reservations: You handled a ticket order call for The Last Session from a woman who sounded like she was from Beverly Hills or Malibu. She wanted four tickets and offered her credit card, but you let her know it wasn't necessary since tickets were just a $10 donation at the door.
Lounging & Resting: You spent the day moving back and forth from the couch to the computer all day long.
Catching Up on Sleep: You slept a lot and took it easy.
That sounds good. On the other hand, it might rain today. But we'll be out there until it does.
