Ongoing Battle

Eyes ever-present,
Every move noted and indexed.
Tentative feints and maneuvers, subtly disguised—
Just passing by, nothing to see here.

Into the kitchen,
Refilled coffee and back quickly.
She’s there, but quickly moves away—
Just passing by, nothing to see here.

A moment of carelessness,
Quickly up to adjust the fan and too late.
Curled up, unassailably cute and fuzzy—
I sit in the other chair.

No Pulitzer Prize for you

So, I've figured it out. The lack of silverware in my trophy case (Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, Grammy Awards, OBE's, etc.) is not really an indication of mediocrity and lack of achievement, but a testament to my great humanity. I get started on something and a furry critter distracts me or demands my immediate and undivided attention, and the perfect formula for cold fusion (or the theme and exposition of the Great American Novel) is temporarily shelved. I shift my focus and fully commit to fulfilling the pressing needs of the said critter. When I get back to it I can't remember what I was doing, much less the solution to world hunger. I will just have to accept the fact that I will only ever be as wonderful as my critters think I am—and that's pretty wonderful.

Gotta go. There's an affection crisis lurking.

Perspective of age

A friend and I visited Fort St. George in Chennai (Madras) some months back. This was the first English foothold on the Indian continent, established in the early 1600's. I had been once before a few months earlier, but there were some additional photographs I wanted to capture, particularly of St. Mary's Church which is the oldest Anglican Church in Asia, completed around 1680.

During the previous visit I had only seen the museum and the church. You're not allowed to enter the Secretariat, since it serves as the main government building for Tamil Nadu State. Actually, the Prime Minister of India (Dr. Manmohan Singh) was in Chennai one weekend to inaugurate the new Secretariat building which is under construction across town, so I'm not sure if the Fort St. George location will be opened to the public at some time.

On this visit, we wandered further afield and explored the complex. The old barracks has been converted into a storage depot for the Indian army, and the balconies were piled high with cases of stuff. We also discovered the old battlements and gun emplacements that protected the fort. The moat on the west side has turned into marsh, and we saw kingfishers, herons and many other birds. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to get a decent picture of a kingfisher who briefly landed on a tree nearby.

Then this elderly Tamil man came by and stopped to talk with us. He spoke very good English, but was still a little difficult to understand since most his teeth were missing. He was thrilled to see us and thanked us profusely for visiting his country. He had been an army officer and spoke of the old days and his fondness for the British. He spoke of Robert Clive and we both had the impression at the time that he was saying that he knew Clive, which is scarcely creditable since later research revealed that Clive died in 1774. It was clear the the man admired the British and was concerned about the condition of self-governed India since independence. There was even a hint of regret that the British had left.

This was astonishing to me at first, but I realized that there was significant turmoil and pain during independence and partition. All of those who lived through those times, and especially those who had success within the British system saw their whole world turned upside down. This man saw Clive (who was largely responsible for establishing British military control over India) as a hero, although I suspect many of his fellow countrymen would have difficulty with that characterization. Personally, I'm thankful that India is free and independent, but history is rarely as clean and neat as we would like to believe.

I was reminded of my trip to China a few years back with a touring choir. We did one exchange concert with the faculty choir for a large university in Hangzhou. They were kind and welcoming and passionate about sharing their music with us. It was a very moving performance. Most of the faculty choir members were elderly and I realized as I watched that most of them were old enough to remember China before the revolution. These were folks who had seen their world completely changed several times over. They had survived (and perhaps even participated) in the Communist revolution. They had survived the Cultural Revolution, where being a professor was a dangerous profession. Now they are living through an upheaval as significant as the others, with the incredible economic and social changes that are occurring in China today.

The perspective of first hand experience somehow doesn't always translate to history once the original witnesses are gone. I'm very grateful for the witnesses to history that I have met, including my parents, and I hope I always take in the stories that describe the personal side of history.

Recycling

Chennai can be a dirty city. Every city produces dirt, grime and garbage, but with an "official" population of 8-10 million and an estimated population of perhaps double that, everything is more intense. One figure I saw had the population density at over 60,000 people per square mile. By contrast, the population density of Seattle is 7,000 per square mile and Bellingham's was under 3,000.

Today, I had lunch with the team from the office, and my mango ice-cream came in this cool container. The inside are leaves that are machine stitched together, and the outside is recycled newspaper. There is a tradition here of using leaves to serve food. If you ever get dhosa and idli with sambar and chutneys, it should be served on a banana leaf.



It's great that there are businesses willing to make a difference, even in this small way.

Significant kitty experiences

I love animals--cats, dogs, otters and even elephants. Since I've been away from my own cats, my encounters with animals takes on even more significance. My recent trip to Thailand introduced me to the following "significant" cats.

First of all there is the Siamese cat (in Siam). He greeted me on my arrival to the Akha village known as Elephant Valley.

Then there is the typical bookstore cat. This was down a side street in Chiang Mai, where there were 4 really good bookstores, although only one cat. In this store, I found a couple of Rumpole books I don't already have.

This cat was my buddy on my visit to a Hmong village on Doi Inthanon (the tallest mountain in Thailand). I stress that his stress is not due to me. One of the village dogs was nearby and the kitten was asserting his authority.

I found this kitty literally outside my hotel. [OK, so it was outside my hotel, a 20 minute taxi ride, a 15 walk through the zoo property and there he was--outside my hotel].

Mentors

Within the space of of a month, we have lost two great mentors of jazz. Hal Malcolm and John "Coach" Moawad were pioneers of vocal jazz education. Beyond that influence, they touched thousands of lives with their passion, humor and loving care. They were more than great musicians and teachers. They were great motivators of people.

For me personally they were mentors and friends. They reached out to me and gave me many opportunities and challenges to foster my growth as a musician and as a human being. I am a better person for them having been a part of my life and this is a better world for the great legacy they have left behind.

Rest in Peace.

Christmas in the Tropics

This is not my first Christmas in a place where a "White Christmas" would be impossible (rather than just unlikely), and the whole experience altered by climate and culture. I remember some creative attempts at Christmas trees as a kid, including one year using the branch of a mango tree. The one family tradition that I remember with fondness, but never have seen elsewhere or attempted to replicate as an adult, was the home-made banner decorations using white tissue paper as the banner and cut stars in red and green foil.

This Christmas will be one of the most unusual. Although all my friends have left town and my family is celebrating on the opposite side of the world, I am sharing it with one of my favorite dogs and she always has her own way of adding color to events. For Christmas Eve, I'll be eating an Italian Christmas meal and joining in with hundreds of others in the Christmas Eve Midnight Carol Service at St. George's Cathedral. Then I'll have a Christmas breakfast and probably a seafood brunch on the beach.

I'm looking forward to experiencing a different kind of magical event which Christmas always seems to bring. Merry Christmas to all, and as Tiny Tim would say. "God bless us, everyone!"