“In difficult times, people just like to hear music.”
Itzhak Perlman
To My Dear Online Ohana!
I am sending this email to everyone on my elist—that would be six hundred CC Strummers AND you—the other six hundred beating hearts who signed up for my blogs and may have wondered if I had “gone off the grid” for the last year.
Nah—just busy with the music thing but I’m really missing our connection in that “bloggy” kind of way. So I’m thinking…let’s try an experiment.
But first let me catch all of you up…
My so-called business model for The CC Strummers and my online music work is based on donations only. I don’t do Patreon, don’t do pay walls and my friends insist I don’t do business very well either. Whatever… But many of you do value what I offer and the time we spend together. I’ve been sharing a “thank you” email with The CC Strummers every month because, to tell you the truth, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to make music with you and be part of our warm and supportive community.
So thank you, my dear CC Strummers, for your February donations and continuing support. And a big thanks to the rest of you for showing up for your lives, however that shakes out in your corner of the world.
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Now, if you haven’t already guessed, this email is about expressing thanks AND writing a SHORT mini-blog about the stories we tell each other in this crazy life.
Which brings me to Itzhak Perlman, one of my heroes and teachers (although we have never met and never will). As a sick kid and someone who is always dealing with health issues, I watch this guy move through his life with grace and gratitude. Think about his relentless challenges, like, just planning how to get from Point A to Point B. Still…he’s a joy maker…a music lover…an eighty year old Zen Master.
It was November 18, 1995 when he broke a string on his violin during a performance at Lincoln Center in New York. What a nightmare! But apparently it happened.* For starters let’s remember that a violin ONLY HAS FOUR STRINGS.
Wanna play make-believe? What if this happened to you? Say, the “G” string breaks on your ukulele…in front of a few thousand people whose expectations are as high as the price they paid for tickets.
Well, if it was me, I would immediately stop playing, tell my one and only ukulele joke:
How do you make a million dollars playing the ukulele? Start with two million dollars…ha-ha-ha!
Wait for someone to bring me a spare instrument and if that doesn’t happen, play a minus-one-string version of Row Row Row Your Boat, wave my arms wildly in the air to get the audience to sing along and if that goes well, try it as a round. Then say “good night everybody” and skedaddle.
But not Itzhak Perlman. He pauses for a moment then signals the conductor that the show will go on as he continues playing his three string Stradivarius (one would assume).
Dude!!!
He is aptly rewarded with a standing ovation and afterwards says this to the audience:
“Sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”
Hey! Not everyone is a musician but we’re all human beings. Yes there’s that mortality thing. Our bodies do their dance then we try chair yoga. Our thoughts whirl and wander and go wonky (then maybe we change the subject by remembering to breathe). And our dear ones, the sentient beings who populate our lives…well ditto for them. We’re all on borrowed time.
And yes there is that ineffable urge to keep going, somehow… To hell with the what if’s and just say “thank you.”
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*It’s worth noting that the internet is brimming with different versions of this broken-string story and one dissent from snopes.com, saying it probably didn’t happen. To be honest, Itzhak Perlman (and other greats) can play beautiful music on three violin strings although that is definitely not preferred. But that iconic quote rings mightily true for me, especially coming from a man who truly walks the walk. Every single day of his life. Click here to see what I mean.
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My friends, I send a weekly email to The CC Strummers which is all about the ukulele, zoom classes and our beloved community. If you would like to be added to that list please let me know.
With much gratitude for your ongoing presence…
Cali
P.S. You can email me and/or leave comments about this blog on my website by clicking here.
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