Ok, Ok…

So its been…awhile(anyone know which movie THAT’s from?), but really, I have a great excuse-no, really. My day job (which is Musician) sometimes has tons of extra stuff required, and last week was one of those weeks. As an aside, I don’t mention specifics about my day job here because I’d like to keep my private life, well, private. I think almost everyone reading knows where I work and what I do, though. And sometime, what I do is very cool–namely, moderating a demonstration for Dame Evelyn Glennie, and later playing in the bass section while she did the soloist thing.

Neil Peart once said, and I think he was quoting/paraphrasing, that “The Toughest Climbs offer the Best Views”. I agree. The best view in this case was sitting 6 feet away while Evelyn wailed on the snare drum. I mean, if anyone thinks that 4-5 minutes of solo snare drum is boring, they’ve never heard Evelyn. Evelyn Glennie, if nothing else, should re-define anyone’s concept of the term “impossible”. In case you’re not aware, Evelyn is a world class solo percussionist, and if she’s not the best in the world, she’s in the top 3. She’s also profoundly deaf. This means she can hear very slightly(She describes a phone ringing as a”distant crackle”), but obviously her conception of sound is very different from most.

First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been around anyone who smiles as much as she does. She’s one of the most open people you’ll ever meet: I had to constantly keep reminding myself I was talking to a Peer of the Realm (she’s not too formal). Second, she describes music as a tactile sensation, that is, hearing is a form of touch. I suppose in hindsight, that’s obvious, but for me, it was a revelation. Especially when paired with the context of her practical demonstration.

I told her she changed my life. I’m sure she gets that all the time. But if you agree with Frank Zappa (Music is the Best), anytime anyone so profoundly alters your perception of reality that much, it is quite the impact. It makes me think of all the other small impacts we have daily. Butterfly effects, but in that insipid movie sort of way.

Many of my peers said things along the lines of EG being beyond anything us mere mortals could ever hope to achieve. I think this is wrong. Evelyn herself said that everyone has a seed, a flame, some purpose–the potential to make a huge impact of their own. I think rather than saying “Well, I could never do that”, I’d rather say to myself “What does she do that I can take away, and possibly transform into a spark that I might, in turn, give back to those around me?” In other words, don’t just look up at Olympus in awe. Climb the damn thing.

I think (were I to turn my my values around, and agree that the Earth is nothing more than the Holding Cell of Misery) that the tragedy of humanity is that we ALL have the potential to discover ourselves this way, and somehow, we content ourselves with the yearning rather than the doing. For sure, it takes many factors to get to the doing: Choices, Luck, and Great Support, just to name a few. My parents, for example, sacrificed mightily of themselves so I might play the bass.

Because of them, because of people like Evelyn (did I mention that she is DEAF!?!?!), because I believe the world is an amazing, wonderful place (and not a cesspool of sin waiting to be purged in flame), because I believe in myself…I’ll have to keep reminding myself: Don’t just look up at Olympus.

Climb the Damn thing.

-Bo