Please allow me to introduce myself . . .

Please allow me to introduce myself . . .

For most of my life I've been, well . . . reserved. An introvert, really. But as I've reached a certain age, I feel it's time to write about my life and my work, if for no other reason than to share with my daughter and grandson. From a fairly young age I self-identified as a musician, and then by age 19 or so, as a songwriter and of late as an author.

In those capacities, I've had lots of adventures, revelations, failures and peak moments. Looking at it as if from a high-flying raven's point of view, my life appears as a winding river – seeming to meander, but always gently flowing to the sea.

One of my earliest memories is of a visit with my maternal grandfather, Elmer Pratt. He lived in an old house on State Rt 40 near Brandt, Ohio. There was an upright piano in his living room. On one visit, someone lifted me up to the piano bench. As a toddler I was careful and cautious (so I am told), and I remember gently pressing random keys and then thinking to myself, “this makes sense . . . the low notes are down here (on the left) and the high notes are up here.” (on the right)

Around the age of 8 or 9 I was home with a childhood illness – I think measles. Looking to find an activity to engage me, my mom handed me her ukulele and the Ukulele Ike songbook. I had heard mom play these songs so I knew the melodies. The book showed fingering charts along with the lyrics so I figured out how to play them. When I got over measles and went back to school, I found the elementary school music teacher, Miss Cleo Vradelis, also played ukulele and she encouraged me. I have vague memories of playing in class and on the playground. I found, one, that others could also be captivated by music, and two, validation from a beloved teacher.

This was the beginning of my love of music, and the beginning of my understanding that music is a most powerful form of magic.