Well the end of the world has come and gone. Lookie! Lookie! We are still here and celebrating the holidays. Or un-holidays for some. And getting ready for a new year, new beginnings or more of the same. Ah the great mystery. We just don’t know what’s going to happen.
Speaking of unexpected twists and turns… My husband Craig, the guitar player, never dreamed he would give up the six-string for the little four-string marvel and become extraordinarily accomplished on the ukulele. Or that his 90-year old guitar teacher/mentor, Howard Heitmeyer, would take the uke trip with him and create masterful chord melody arrangements for the low G tenor ukulele. The Mayans didn’t predict it and neither did we.
One thing led to another. Craig made two CD’s that feature Howard’s sublime arrangements and folks all over the world responded with kudos and requests for sheet music so they could play the songs that way too. These are people who can read music and tablature. That would NOT be me. Although I can read restaurant menus…
So Craig proposed the idea for a book to the well-known music publisher Hal Leonard and before we knew it contracts were signed and deadlines loomed. Just like that… I’d wake up in the middle of the night and notice his side of the bed was empty. That’s when I see the bluish glow of his computer screen. He was at it again, working tirelessly, note by note by note, making sure every song was correct. He uses a computer program called Finale. It looks like the cockpit of the Space Shuttle. At least to me. I can turn it off and on. And prefer it off. But Craig really thrives on this stuff.
Finally the book was assembled and the lovely staff at Hal Leonard sent us their proposed cover picture. It was a headless man holding a concert size ukulele. The name of the book is “Jazz Chord Solos For Tenor Ukulele.” Those of you who are not uke players wouldn’t know the difference between a concert and tenor. But believe me, ukulele players DO KNOW the difference. It would be like publishing a book called “The Perfect Pie” with a picture of a cupcake on the front. Several of his friends put in their two cents when Craig uploaded the concert uke picture to his Facebook page. One person asked sadly, if we’d gotten a divorce because if that was Craig, he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
Now here is the happy ending… The Hal Leonard team agreed that consistency is a good thing so they chose another photo for the cover and alas it is Craig. With his wedding ring and signature bowtie. Oh yes, he is holding his beloved Ko’olau Tenor, like he means it. That’s my man
So we are feeling especially blessed this December and marvel at how the currents of life move us in unexpected ways to unexpected places.
They say you can’t control the waves, but you can learn to surf. And trust that through sunshine and storms, all is well. Even when it’s not. Here is wishing you (and the Mayans) good surfing in 2013.
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