The Song of My Childhood....Continued....Final

I was in orchestras as I grew.  My parents were of the mind-set that children needed these kinds of extra-curricular activities in order to be well rounded.  But although I participated, I never did that well.  I didn’t play anywhere as well as I did with Dr. Sheasby.   He was an elderly man.  And so my time with him was limited.  When he finally died, I was devastated.  And I insisted on attending the funeral service.  My Mom really did have a heart.  And I think she saw my connection with Dr. Sheasby, so she made sure I got to go. After his death, my desire to move forward with lessons came and went.  I never felt as good playing music after his death.  That relationship had a strong impact on my life.  He was an unlikely buddy for a youngster, but Dr. Sheasby turned out to be an oasis in the stress that was my life.    

In kind of a side-note, I would like to tell you about my cousins.  They played the piano.  And my cousin P. played the violin.  He was a gifted violinist.  I remember he played a solo with the Chicago Youth Orchestra at 16 years of age. Whatever I did would not measure up to his obvious talent for music.  At his Bar-Mitzvah, one of the orchestra leaders of the program for the youth symphonies said to me that she didn’t realize I had rhythm.  I always loved to dance, and I did a lot of it at that party.  And I was really pretty good at it.  Dancing provided another time when I could lose myself in the music.  And I enjoyed every minute.  Her comment was really pretty funny.  It was obvious that I was not seen as a talented musician. (As a violinist, you are a good dancer...so to speak.)  But whatever money my parents 'wasted' on lessons trying to teach me violin, it was not really wasted.  Playing was a form of healing for me.  And I am grateful for every experience connected with my violin playing time.