Holidays with the modern American Family...

It's Christmas and families across the world are spending time together. For my own family, we are exploring our own unique "modern family dynamics". Yes, it's Christmas at Great Grandma's.

Great Grandma is 96 years old and still as feisty as ever. Family members reflecting several generations find their way to grandma's house...

And what do we see at grandma's?

...one of the recently divorced grandaughter's is making out with her latest fling in grandma's kitchen. (Yes, she is in her 40s) Don't worry, one of the grandsons and I caught a glimpse of the action and diverted g-grandma's attention from the kitchen. Oops!

...said grandson has determined that this particular grouping of family and situations is worthy of a shot of Jack Daniels. A shot which is conveniently supplied from the bottle in his trunk.

...another grandson arrives with his partner. Don is introduced to g-grandma and makes rapid friends.

...son-in-law who is a Catholic deacon and father of above mentioned grandson cannot believe that the happy couple are present at the family festivities. Wife and mother of above mentioned grandson says tsk tsk...sits down and also makes rapid friends with Don. Deacon leaves during snowstorm for a walk

...previously mentioned grandson who is stashing the bottle of Jack suggests we all make a group trip for a swig. Happy couple, Jack toting grandson, and I make a trip to the car.

...our foursome returns and g-grandma wants to know where we were. Jack-toting grandson tells her. She asks why he doesn't bring in the bottle because she would really like a shot as well.

...dinner is over and g-grandma is demanding that we play cards. Happy couple, g-grandma, daughter and I play cards. G-grandma insists that we not hold back, because she is a tough card player and can whip us all. Her enthusiasm is diminished later in the game as I have skunked the table. All players learn a few more Flemish swear words from g-grandma. G-grandma asks where "Jack" is.

...my mom says it's time to go...I bid my farewells. On the way out Don asks if all of our family gatherings are this amusing and if so, can he come back? You are always welcome Don.

Official Alligator Handler

Yes, it's true. One of my previous jobs involved handling alligators. (In addition to other Mississippi River critters.)

One of my colleagues learned of this previous job title and believed it was worthy of long term preservation. He captured the title on a personalized clock. Now the piece has a place of honor in my office.

Hmm, I wonder if the title, 'Official Alligator Handler' may be too intimidating in my current role as personnel manager? Eh, musicians...alligators, quite a similar pair.

Service surprises...

For a few months I have been selling my unwanted books and CDs on Amazon.com. The venture has proven to be a profitable one as well as an effective method to declutter my home. Today, I was surprised by one of my buyers.

A few weeks ago a customer received a damaged package. The contents were effected by the damage. Without asking any questions, I issued a refund to the customer. After all, it's just a CD and a happy person is worth more than a disgruntled buyer. Today I opened my mailbox to find a package from Kenai, Alaska. The buyer sent me a piece of handcrafted jewelry in gratitude for my "excellent customer service".

Wow. Unexpected...there are still some genuinely kind and appreciative people in the world.

Question of the Month

How do you know if you miss a person or if you are really only missing the idea of that person?

Crack the Nut

What happens when you place 55 people in a hole in a theater and keep them there for 6 days. What happens if they are musicians? What happens if there are playing a body of music that is practically memorized? Mix well and feed with sugar.

Yes, it's the Nutcracker.

Mix these factors together and you are bound to have a episode or
two of silliness. In fact, I think these episodes are necessary to keep the sanity of the orchestra. I must say, this is one group of people who certainly know how to mix tradition with a good time. The violas gift the conductor each time he enters the pit, the horns string christmas lights from their music stands, several musicians are designated "chocolate bringers", Thursday is fudge night, the conductor directs the "Dance of the China Dolls" with chopsticks...

Seriously though, this is one production of the Nutcracker that is a pleasure to watch...pyrotechnics, growing trees, flying people, and adorable small children. Although...by the 3rd or 6th viewing, it does grow a little old.

50 Questions

Today I received an invitation to a 50th Anniversary Party that raised 50 questions.

The invitation is to the 50th Anniversary Party and Mass in honor of my father's parents. Yes, my grandparents.

Well, I think that's what they are...and genetically that may be the case, but life has a funny way of complicating things.

The afternoon my father unexpectedly announced that he was filing for a divorce from my mother, he called his parents to tell them the news and then put my brother and I on the phone. Chris and I each had a phone at our house and listened to these words...

"The day your father's divorce is final, we are divorcing you as well."

Can grandparents really divorce grandkids? Even if they can't legally, this pair certainly managed a good attempt.

It's been over ten years since these events transpired. In that time, I have not heard from couple who were for 14 years my "active" grandparents; nor have I heard from my father. And then the receipt of this invitation....nothing personal, just a typed note to arrive at a certain time in sit in the front row of the church...

So many questions...no real answers...

Why now?

Knowing the value of appearances to this family, I can guess why now. Having the entire "family" in attendance would look good. The sincerity of the guesture is certainly questionable.

How do I feel? What am I going to do? How do I respond? And the 47 other questions that follow...

Honestly, I don't know.

Dignitaries

This evening I attended the Tascosa Pops Concert. The orchestra director for the high school provided me with complimentary tickets to the combined dinner and concert event.

As an orchestra education director, I like to attend concerts of area bands and orchestras to evaluate existing programs and assess our program. Further, it is important to support the students in all of their activities. This practice was part of my routine in Dubuque, so I assumed that it would continue to be a part of my routine once I moved to Amarillo.

Apparently, the orchestra directors are a little surprised...and even a little thrilled to see me at their concerts. I learned of their excitement at this evening's performance.

Emcee: "At this time we would like to take a moment to recognize the important dignitaries in the audience" (Audience members total appx. 900 people)
"The mayor of Amarillo"
"The superintendent of schools"
"Ms. S., Director of Artists and Education for the Amarillo Symphony"
"more dignitaries, more, more"

So, at this point my table is chuckling pretty darn loud. Who would have counted me among the dignitaries? Certainly not I. But we go with it...

Needless to say, I scored a few points by attending tonight.

Do you do anything else?

So, someone asked me today if I do anything outside of concertizing...well, I do. But like most people in music related fields, December days are filled to nearly overflowing with concerts and events. Last week there was a series of 2 rehearsals and 1 concert related to the Tuning, 1 rehearsal and 6 performances related to a series of education concerts...and this week the 35th annual production of The Nutcracker (2 rehearsals and 6 performances)...so, yes, for this week all I do is concertize.

Tuned Out

A few hours ago we wrapped the Tuning Concert for the concert hall. The musicians are wiped. The crew is wiped. And yes, the stage is wiped. This evening's performance was a success and enjoyed by all...and only a few (ok, more than a few) incidents that the audience would never know about. During the performance, the accoustician demonstrated the unique features of the hall. Several aspects of the hall can be adjusted to alter the accoustics including 3 baffles and 4 sets of accoustical drapes. In this way the hall can be transformed from opera to symphony to jazz to rock to single speaker....further, the hall is intended to serve as a concert hall and a theatrical space. Rather than construct two separate spaces, an accoustical shell was built to move from a garage to stage. (You can see the shell move for the first time here). To see this engineering feat move is truly amazing. We are all looking forward to future performances in this space.

Tuning the Hall

It's 1:30 a.m. and I have just returned from a tuning session at the new hall. The orchestra rehearsed until 10:00 p.m. Following rehearsal the accousticians, Jim and I "tested the hall". This is one project that would make my physics teachers proud, or maybe even a tad jealous. I'll write more about the experience later. For now, it's late and I would like to get some sleep before my 7:30 a.m. call. Tomorrow the symphony is presenting 3 education concerts during the day. In the evening we will collaborate with many local artists and the accousticians to present a Tuning Concert.

This article appeared in the newspaper today.