I was thirty when I had a heart attack. OK, it wasn’t really a heart attack. But it sure felt like one. When the pain in my chest first started, I thought it was no big deal. I took some pills for what I thought was muscle pain. But as I sat there, arms wrapped […]
Month: December 2020
The Hope Series – Part 2: Singing
I have twice lost my voice to illness. Not just colds and flus either. I’m talking prolonged periods of hoarse talking, effortful breathing and painfully reduced singing ability. And those voice problems have not responded to the usual treatments. That’s because my vocal problems have not been caused by the usual culprits: bad singing technique, […]
The Hope Series – Part 1: Music
I absolutely love the piano. I love the grandeur and subtlety of the sound, the evocative and rhythmic range and the feel of the smooth keys. I love the roar of the lower octaves and the tinkling sweetness of the higher ones. The piano can make me dance and cry and sing all at once. […]
Why I Don’t Mind Turning 40
Some people are terribly afraid of ageing. In my early twenties I travelled with a group of girls who were petrified of the big two-five. ‘I really struggled with turning twenty,’ one of them confided. ‘I don’t know how I’ll cope with being twenty-five.’ I was in my thirties at the time. It baffled me […]