Conversations with Calliope- Next to Normal

(Astoria Figs)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Welcome back from your travels.
JOE: Thanks. We rode a whirlwind through Manchester, Connecticut to New York where we settled for a few days.
CALLIOPE: Tell me the highlights.
JOE: As for simple pleasures, eating fresh figs from Mike and Joe's patio fig tree.
CALLIOPE: Anything more complex.
JOE: We saw Next to Normal, a musical about the effect of mental illness on the family.
CALLIOPE: Sounds strange.
JOE: It sounded that way to me too. But then music, better than writing, portrays emotions and relationships which can sometimes elude words.
CALLIOPE: Tell me more.
JOE: The show showed musically the struggle of a woman with her emotions and the effect of her illness on her daughter and son in very immediate and graphic, or should I say musical, terms.
CALLIOPE: Words sometimes struggle to show raw emotion.
JOE: I agree. Music seems to do a better job.
CALLIOPE: Something to consider for your writing.
JOE: I will remember that. I'm not quite sure of the implicati0ns though. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Where Were You

(Spring Flowering)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Where have you been?
JOE: Carol has a vacation this week. I guess the mood is contagious.
CALLIOPE: I guess so. We were in mid discussion about Grass Roots and you promised to elaborate.
JOE: I did. I was telling you about hearing their song Where Were You When I Needed You on Wednesday night.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: They came out with it in 1966, during my first year out of the monastery. It reminded me of feeling like an alien on earth in a culture which had emerged while I was away.
CALLIOPE: Did it bring back memories and feelings about those days?
JOE: In a way, but it didn't through me into chaos as Michael McDonald did.
CALLIOPE: How did you react?
JOE: I quickly moved on to thoughts about all the friends I have developed since then and how much I have learned and grown.
CALLIOPE: So it was a good reaction?
JOE: It was.
CALLIOPE: What's next on your horizon?
JOE: The books I am working on as well as a new awareness of my place in the cosmos and my feeling of responsibility to make the most of it. I'll tell you more next week.

Conversations with Calliope- Grass Roots

(Wagon Wheels)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon, Joe. I missed you this morning.
JOE: I was off to a busy start.
CALLIOPE: Doing what?
JOE: Going for a massage, shopping, and manual labor edging the lawn.
CALLIOPE: Are your musical adventures over?
JOE: Hardly.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Last night several of us drove to Finger Lakes Race Track for a concert by the Sky Coasters and then Grass Roots.
CALLIOPE: Go on.
JOE: I have seen Sky Coasters quite a few times, a band from Rochester which plays quite a variety of songs and I always enjoy them.
CALLIOPE: And Grass Roots?
JOE: Another story. I must admit I didn't remember them from the old days, at least until they sang, "Where Were You When I Needed You?"
CALLIOPE: Did that song have some special significance for you?
JOE: It was their first big hit in 1966 the year after I left the monastery and was just getting back into the real world. It brought back memories of those days. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Hawaiian Hula

(Coconut Palm)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Doing well. I got some exercise yesterday morning and went to say goodbye to my brother Bob and his girlfriend Carol who are returning to Hawaii this morning.
CALLIOPE: Any further musical adventures?
JOE: As a matter of fact yes.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Carol takes lessons and is in a traditional Hawaiian Hula group. She performed a couple dances for us last night.
CALLIOPE: Sounds interesting.
JOE: I thought so. It went beyond the typical Luau dancing. She also took time to introduce and later explain the movements of each dance.
CALLIOPE: A treat.
JOE: Indeed. It reminded me of the unbounded creativity across the world.
CALLIOPE: Any personal message for you?
JOE: It encouraged me to continue exploring my own creative side and express whatever you and the other muses might bring me as gifts.
CALLIOPE: Glad you appreciate them.
JOE: I do. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Mozart on the Beach

(Portuguese Street Tile)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What news today?
JOE: I continued my creative restoration program yesterday.
CALLIOPE: How?
JOE: Carol and I spent the afternoon at her cousin's cottage on Canisus Lake, one of the New York State Finger Lakes.
CALLIOPE: And you relaxed all day?
JOE: For the most part. However the afternoon was punctuated by a musical surprise.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Zack, a thirteen year old grandson of one of Carol's cousin's friends, began talking about his interest in opera. It turned out to be more than an interest.
CALLIOPE: How so.
JOE: He had amassed quite a bit of knowledge about opera, favored Mozart, particularly La Nozza de Figaro and Die Zauberflaut. In mid discussion he broke into song favoring us with several arias from each of his favorite operas.
JOE: How a mature baritone voice could emanate from a thirteen year old boy astounded me.
CALLIOPE: I wish I had been there.
JOE: Some of your more musically inclined sister muses would have been impressed.
CALLIOPE: Perhaps one of them had a hand in drawing him to opera.
JOE: Perhaps. In any case it was a pleasant surprise, bordering on a peak experience.

Conversations with Calliope- Michael's Music

(Path in the Woods)

JOE: Good Morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Where where you yesterday?
JOE: Now, now.
CALLIOPE: Well?
JOE: If you must know, I was involved in corporal works of mercy.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: Taking my son to the hospital for cataract surgery.
CALLIOPE: I guess that explains it. Did everything go okay?
JOE: It seemed to. Only time will tell, but the doctor was satisfied with how it went.
CALLIOPE: Good. My regards to your son. Did you get to do anything else yesterday?
JOE: I had planned to work on my writing but got caught up in Michael Jackson's memorial service.
CALLIOPE: I didn't know you were interested in him.
JOE: Frankly I had trouble getting past his weird lifestyle and self mutilation.
CALLIOPE: And did you finally?
JOE: I did and discovered that I like his music once I can put aside my judgment of his way of life. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- More About Musical Emotions

(Shipboard Extravaganza)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Good, thank you.
CALLIOPE: What are you up to today?
JOE: I just finished my column/newsletter for this Saturday.
CALLIOPE: I'm curious.
JOE: It's about musical emotions which I wrote about last week.
CALLIOPE: You mean how a Michael McDonald concert sent you off the deep end into an eddy of emotion.
JOE: Exactly.
CALLIOPE: Why did you feel a need to revisit this troubling episode?
JOE: Partly to see if I had gotten past it and partly to see what I can learn from it.
CALLIOPE: Did you get past it?
JOE: I did. Nothing awful arose in me while I was composing it.
CALLIOPE: What did you learn.
JOE: To pay attention to my emotions and their message and change what can change about memories of past bad experiences. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Musical Emotions

(Troubled Times)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Are you feeling better than you did yesterday and did you resolve your musical dilemma?
JOE: Yes on both accounts. Resolving my dilemma improved my mood.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: I told you I woke up yesterday with my reaction to Michael McDonald still on my mind.
CALLIOPE: You did.
JOE: I started to consider my emotions. I realized I felt sad, on the verge of tears, angry and resentful.
CALLIOPE: Do you hold Michael responsible for all that?
JOE: Of course not. I remained puzzled until on the way to the gym I recalled something I told Carol the night of the concert.
CALLIOPE: Which was?
JOE: That his type of music constantly grated on my nerves at a practice where I worked in the early 1990's. I found the type of music annoying then but did not associate Michael McDonald with it.
CALLIOPE: Just annoying?
JOE: No. The owner of the practice insisted on playing music which I considered bland and insipid at best. When one of us worker bees changed the station to jazz or classical music, he would change it back which I saw as a symbol of his control.
CALLIOPE: And that's the connection?
JOE: Not entirely. That was a very difficult time for me professionally, financially and in my marriage of the time. Altogether bad memories. That's the connection. I'm glad I discovered it and now will work to put it to rest. Talk with you on Monday.

Conversations with Calliope- Time Out for Jazz

(Bonerama)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: A little weary.
CALLIOPE: On what account?
JOE: Last night's fairly late night at the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like fun.
JOE: It certainly was. This was our second visit to the festival.
CALLIOPE: What did you see?
JOE: First were several local jazz groups on one of the free stages.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE; Soul Stew, a group from Toronto which lived up to its billing as a top notch soul combo.
CALLIOPE: Was that it?
JOE: No. We tore ourselves away to see Bonerama in the big tent, a trombone group from New Orleans we had seen before. They also put on a great show.
CALLIOPE: Do you plan to give up writing and spend your time watching music performances?
JOE: Don't be jealous of your sister muses. I'm not abandoning you but am enjoying some time with other creative pursuits. I'm back to my writing work today. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning, Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning, Joe. Glad to see you're up and at 'em early.
JOE: I have been busy. I finished cataloging my photos so I can decide which ones to offer for sale.
CALLIOPE: What about yesterday?
JOE: I worked on the photos and finished another chapter in Marital Property.
CALLIOPE: What was the chapter about?
JOE: Dennis and Cynthia went out for coffee and dessert at a fancy restaurant and for the first time talked about their marriage and what to do about it.
CALLIOPE: Did they resolve anything?
JOE: Of course not. If they did the book would have to end there. But they did decide to get some help with deciding whether to continue their marriage.
CALLIOPE: Good. A new development. What's on the docket for today?
JOE: Exploring ways for them to get help. I also have bread to bake for tonight and some running around to do. I am getting a little low on ink and need to print some more Christmas brochures.
CALLIOPE: What's the bread for?
JOE: Carol and I are going to bring salad and bread to her niece's house to eat before we go to a concert by Bonerama- a group of trombones we missed at the Rochester Jazz Festival last July.
CALLIOPE: Have fun. A little music might inspire you.
JOE: I hope so. I have been listening to light classical music as I work at the computer and think it has made me a little more prolific and focused.

(Aquinnah Lighthouse-Martha's Vineyard)

Fingers Do the Walking

Yesterday in church as I watched Jane's fingers create a mood of meditation, I thought back over the last week to the fingers of Jerry Lee Lewis and Doctor John at the Rochester Jazz Festival and how they could excite the Eastman Theater. I have wrestled with the piano for quite a while but have never been able to make my fingers connect the keys and the music with any proficiency. I marvel at the music flowing easily from musicians as their souls float on their melodies. It is one of life's joys for me.

(Reconquista Festival, Vigo, Spain)

Going to the Opera

When I was a child, my parents dragged me to an opera outdoors on the lawn, "Opera Under the Stars." I don't remember which opera it was but in protest I faced the other way so I would at least not have to look at. Saturday I went willingly. I knew one of the cast members in the New York Metropolitan Opera production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. It was simulcast live from the Met to hundreds of theaters around the world. Not only did I tolerate it, I thoroughly enjoyed it, finding the singing wonderful, the plot line easy to follow and the antics funny in addition to watching Michael perform. When I was a child I never thought I would live through an opera voluntarily. I have come to enjoy a few operas, especially The Magic Flute and Carmen. Now I can add another one. I have been thinking that I might want to explore other operas as well. It is amazing to me that my childhood aversion could turn into and interest. I don't know whether it will ever become a passion as it does for some people. But the process of change is always interesting.