ALS

ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is an incredibly devastating illness. Familial ALS ( fALS ) multiplies that devastation by the number of family members who are stricken. So far, it has taken my dad, his brother, and my sister Patty. Another sister may have it now, and a cousin in his mid-sixties is in a nursing home with frontotemporal dementia, which is caused by the same gene. Dad has still more children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren who may be affected, but nobody has been tested. Nobody wants to know.

Will I Write Another Book?

People keep asking. At first, my answer was a quick and easy “No.” Why? Because I cannot make up a story with a plot and a twist and details to keep a reader interested. I didn’t have to make up anything when I wrote “My Father’s Daughter” – all I had to do was remember. But now, I think more about the possibilities. There are plenty of things to write about that don’t require creating fictional characters and fictional events. So, now my answer has become “maybe.”

Dad

Dad. In many, many ways, the most positive influence on my life. Was he perfect? No. Was he a “great” man? No. But he was a good man. An honest man. A kind, hardworking, reliable, loving man. He was smart, talented, patient, and capable. He figured things out, solved day-to-day problems, made things work. He taught me to be strong, independent, resourceful. He loved me , and in a strange, unexpected way, he put his hand on my pen and caused me to write this book – as a tribute to him, so you, and others, will know who he was. I miss him. Please read my book; you’ll love him too.

…and more Music

I am a Sweet Adeline. Best hobby in the world! I first joined in 1988 after seeing a newspaper ad. Except for things like “Lida Rose” in Music Man, I’d never really heard barbershop harmony before, and I certainly didn’t know women did it too. The chorus I joined wasn’t that great, but I didn’t know any better. I was instantly hooked. And under the direction of a dynamic and talented woman, we grew and improved ourselves all the way up to #13 in one of the several International contests we eventually participated in. I also started competing in quartets in 1989 and have competed many times regionally and three times in International competitions. I now sing with the wonderful Harmony Celebration Chorus in Ridgewood, NJ. It’s a five-hour round trip for our weekly rehearsals, but it’s worth it. Love the chorus, love the women, love our director. And now another International Competition is in our future in Louisville in 2020!

My Musical Journey

Mom played piano, until she couldn’t any more. Dad played accordion and it fascinated me. I used to sit on the floor at his feet and watch him play until I was allowed to take lessons and learn to play for myself. My sister Patty took trombone in school and played in the band. Eventually, she mastered many brass instruments, but trombone was always her favorite. We used to sit in our bedroom for hours at a time and play together. Sometimes Dad would join us. I played in local shows, a couple of times on TV, and at weddings and other galas. Patty played in dance bands, German oom-pah bands and other types of groups, including Tuba Christmas. Tuba Christmas is a whole lot of individual free public concerts, held in cities worldwide. It celebrates those who play, teach, and compose music for instruments in the tuba family. Tuba Christmas is supposed to be strictly instrumental. In fact, each group plays the same arrangements of the same songs. But Patty once arranged with her conductor to allow me to sing with them. Just me and dozens of tubas and euphoniums performing Christmas and holiday favorites. It was a blast!