Music, Music, Music

Music lifts my spirits and calms my troubled heart. I love music. In fact I think music is my thing to think when I have a free thinking moment. My favorite music is gospel, soft rock, some jazz, show tunes, classical, and finally my own. Yep. I make my own music when it suits me...on the piano.

I have had trouble lately with my left arm and hand and so I have stopped practicing. I don't know why it hurts when I play but someone suggested I go see a physical therapist who specializes in hands. The problem is my whole arm. If I don't practice, it doesn't hurt, so that is the simple way to solve the problem. I sneak and play sometimes though because I can't stay away from it all the time but I limit how much I get so that my arm and hand don't ache all the time.

One of the memories I have about music is when Kristen, Jenessa, and I were coming home from dropping off Cherie. It was late at night when we drove down the mountain into Pendelton Oregon. I knew that I had to stay awake to get home and I didn't want to stop so we put on Simon and Garfunkle and cruised on home. I have always loved their music and my favorite when I was a teeny bopper was Sounds of Silence. I thought the lyrics were really cool. But, I also like Bridge Over Troubled Water.

There is lots of things that music can do for a person like me. I feel the spirit when I listen to gospel music. I like it when Kerry and I listen to the hymns on Saturday when we go to the temple. Kerry started putting on General Conference tapes when we drive. We have a great spirit in the car when we do. Spiritual music has helped me to understand many gospel concepts better. The lyrics of the hymns are profound and inspiring.

I absolutely love show tunes. When I was in high school I was introduced to a song called "When You Walk Through a Storm". I love the movie too. Lately I have been listening to "Phantom of the Opera". The music can been a little dark but it brings back memories of the time when Kerry took me to the Broadway Show in New York. Another song I like is "Memories" from Cats. I made my own piano arrangement using the melody line. Show tunes are the best and there are many more that I like.

When I get a line of music stuck in my head I keep it there for awhile. Last week I kept singing "How Great Thou Art" over again in my head. Of course, I only sang the first verse and part of the second because those are my favorites.

I was asked to play the organ one time in church and ended up playing for 9 years. I took the children to the church to practice and brought coloring books to entertain them. I'm sure they remember the long hours we spent there. A friend Larry Ensminger said that he wanted to request his favorite song all the time. It was "Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goal Post of Life." We always laughed at his antics and I never got the music from him. I'm sure that it would have been an afterthought...after the meeting song. I loved playing Bach and many other classical composers, but Bach was my favorite.