I Love to Sing

I love to sing.  It is one of the things I do that make me the person that I am.  I have been singing almost all of life.  I remember singing in kindergarten the song Heart of My Heart.  I liked the song so much that one time I got up at a restaurant where there was someone playing a piano.  I asked him if he would play that song while I sang it in front of everyone there.  I would not dare do that today, but kids have no fear, or maybe I just didn't know any better.  I don't think I knew all the words to the song.  I would have not made it to American Idol.

In third grade I joined my first choir, the Cadet Choir, at my church.  In school, they would sometimes let me sing a solo.  I was in the youth church choir starting in seventh grade through senior high, and I sang some solos in church as well.  Now don't start thinking that I am, or was, a great singer.  I am not a great singer, but sometimes I do have my moments.

As an adult, I sang in church choirs, and I sang in the Manassas Choral Society (they no longer exist) and in the Manassas Community Chorale.  They let me sing solos as well and in small groups.  I really enjoy singing in small groups where just a few singers are making music together.  I like the team aspects of singing in a small group.  You must blend together to make a good sound.  There can be no divas in a small group.

I am not singing with any choir or group right now.  I have had an issue with my hearing this year, and I have had to drop out of my church choir, the Trinity Singers, who sing at the 8:30 service at Trinity Episcopal Church in Old Town Manassas.  Let me explain what happened.

First of all, I am completely deaf in my left ear.  My hearing has been that way all of my life, probably from birth.  I have never made a big deal of it.  I actually have been more embarrassed by it, so I have always tried to hide it by having people be on my right side.  When singing with others, I make sure everyone is on my right side.  My hearing in my right ear is not 100% either, but it is good enough (I know one or two people who might debate that).  As a result, I usually do not have a problem hearing someone unless they are on my left side or are speaking away from me.

Last May my church choir was rehearsing in the sanctuary when the organist hit a couple of notes on the organ really loud.  He did it by mistake, but the result was I started to have hearing problems in my right ear.  There was a roaring in my ear, and sounds started to sound distorted.  It was like I was missing some frequencies.  I finally went to an audiologist to have my hearing tested.  She found that I had some low frequency loss.  She recommended that I see an ear, nose, and throat doctor so that an MRI of the ear could be done in order to determine perhaps the cause of the hearing loss and the roaring.  I was able to get a prescription for the MRI, but I did not get the MRI done right away because I do not have health insurance. 

In September, my hearing started to improve.  The roaring became less and less, and the distortion started to decrease.  One Saturday morning I woke up to find my hearing was back to normal.  There was no roaring nor distortion.  I told my audiologist about the improvement, and she told me to wait a few weeks before making another appointment to have my hearing tested again.  Meanwhile, I did not rejoin the choir, but I continued to go to the 8:30 service.  I just stayed in the back of the church so that the music, especially the organ, and other sounds were not so loud. 

However, I had a setback.  At the 8:30 service one Sunday, the organist hit a loud note on the organ, and I started to have the same problems with my hearing.  I was not so worried this time.  My hearing had come back before, and I trusted that it would come back again.  I made one change though.  I quit going to the 8:30 service, and now I am going to the 9:45 service where the piano is played only and the organ is not played.  My hearing has indeed come back again, but I am being very careful not to be around loud noises.  I miss being in the church choir with my fellow singers, but I cannot risk losing my hearing.  I can go without being able to hear in one ear, but not in both ears.

When I think about it, it is amazing that I am a singer at all.  Even at my best, my hearing is just okay.  I probably miss some sounds that I am not aware of.  I do have a tendency to sing louder than I should.  I may do that to compensate for my hearing.  Over the last few years, I think I have done a better job of not singing so loud.  When I sing a solo, I will sometimes sing a little loud, which makes my pitch go a little sharp.  I have to concentrate on not singing loud, and I have to realize that I do not have to sing loud for people to hear me. 

I do not know what I am going to do about singing again.  I certainly cannot sing when the organ is being played.  Even though there is no organ playing at the 9:45 church service, I still am sitting in the back of the church.  I sing along with songs on my CDs or songs being played on the radio, but that is not the same as singing with others in a choir or a small group.  I love to sing, but I also love to hear.  I am very thankful that I can hear.  My singing with others will just have to be on hold. 

I am Changing Lives

As you may know from reading my previous posts, I am a GED teacher.  I help people get their GED diplomas.  This week I found out that two more of my students from my GED Math Only Class took the GED test this past weekend and passed.  That means at least five students that I know of from that class have earned their GEDs.  That certainly makes me feel good, but this will have a much greater impact to the lives of these students.

One of these students who passed the GED test this past weekend has been working to get his GED for seven years.  His father once told him that he was not smart enough to amount to anything.  Despite this and a lot of other obstacles, he did not stop going to classes, and he kept on working to get his GED.  He has always wanted to be a mechanic, and now he can get the training he needs to be a mechanic.  He has other paths he can also take.  He can get a better paying job, or he can go onto college.  With his GED in hand, he now has choices in life.

The other student who passed the GED test this past weekend came to my GED Math Only Class Tuesday night with her two children to tell me that she passed the GED tests.  She now wants to go onto college.  She also now has choices of what to study and and what she wants to do for a career.  She has choices in life.

What better job can one have than a job that impacts people's lives in a positive way.  By helping them obtain the knowledge that enables them to have choices in their lives, I am having a positive impact on their families and the community as well.  I would have to look hard to find another job that does the same thing.  I also enjoy teaching them and working with them.  I will not get rich doing this, but I am rewarded in so many other ways.  I feel very fortunate to be making a difference. 

Art, We Take It for Granted, at Least I Do

I fess up.  Today I did not go to church.  I just felt like relaxing (drinking coffee and reading the newspaper), watching the CBS Sunday Morning Show (this show conflicts with church, so it was a treat to watch it today), and doing some things around my place (laundry and such).

There were two pieces on the CBS Sunday Morning Show that got me to thinking, a sometimes dangerous thing to do.  One piece was on Roy Lichtenstein, the person who started pop art.  The other piece was on actor Geoffrey Rush, an Oscar winner who is in the film "The King's Speech".  Both people are involved in very different forms of art, one being painting, the other acting.

I started to think about how much I take art for granted.  Art is all around us.  We see it everyday whether we think of what we are seeing as art.  Art might be a building, a bridge, even a laptop.  It might not have been built as a piece of art, but it can be art nonetheless.  Art is really in the eye of the beholder, to coin a phrase.  What I see as art, or what I see as art I like, can be just junk to someone else.  I think that is okay.  Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion.

I do have art in my condo.  I have several prints and one original painting by Kenneth Aunchman (I am not sure that "Kenneth" is his correct first name).  It was given to me by my ex-wife for our 10th wedding anniversary in 1995.  It is a sea scene with a view both above and below the water.  Above the water is a sailing ship and the sun partially hidden by the clouds (having the sun in his paintings is a signature of his).  Below the water are two whales, three porpoises, and a school of small fish.  One of the whales is breaching, jumping from the water into the air, half in the water and half out in the air.  When I look at this painting, it makes me wish I lived by a body of water.  There is something calming and peaceful about being around water.

I worry that we really don't appreciate and support art like we should.  In tough economic times, like the present, things like art get cut from school budgets, and financial support to both artists and art galleries goes down.  We need art and artists in our lives, whether we understand it or not.  Art, in my opinion, is part of what makes us human beings.  We as a species have had art in our lives since the stone age with the paintings on the walls of caves.

I certainly want to have more art in my life.  I especially would like to hang more prints on the walls of my cave, my condo.  Alas, my current cash flow does not support such a desire.  I have to admit that in someways I am no different than the people who put together the school budgets.  If the choice is between a new print and eating, I have to choose eating.  I can do one thing at least.  I can do a better job of not taking art for granted.  I can do a better job of recognizing the art that is all around us.  I can go to art galleries (especially the free ones) and look and admire art of all kinds.  I can see and understand what each art piece means to me, after all art is personal.  It might be a small thing to do, but it is something that is guaranteed to enrich my life.  

Today is my Birthday

Yes, today is my birthday.  For most of us, we look forward to our birthdays.  I certainly do, although not as much as I used to.  Another birthday means we are another year older.  The older you get, the more you realize you have already had the majority of your birthdays.  That is certainly true with me.  I am 62 years old today.  There is certainly nothing wrong with being 62.  I believe I am a somewhat wiser person now.  I certainly have more knowledge.  I always tell my students that if they are not learning, they are dead.  I am always learning, so I am not dead yet.

Being 62 makes me think of my parents.  They both died in their early sixties.  I am not worried about that from a genetic point of view.  I am adopted, so I am not worried about dying in my sixties because they died in their sixties.  I do realize however that I can still die in my early sixties if I don't take care of myself.  I must do something about that.  I am overweight, and I am out of shape.

What am I going to do about it?  Well, I am not going to go on a crash diet to lose weight.  I have heard too many stories about people losing weight and then putting the weight back on.  I have lost weight before, but after I reached my weight goal, I stopped the diet (which was really just eating better with more fruits and such) and went back to my old eating habits. 

Actually, I have already started to make some changes in my diet.  A couple of days ago, I bought some navel oranges.  I will eat them instead of eating cheese sticks or Oreo cookies for snacks/deserts.  Yesterday I saw a piece on the Today Show about eating whole wheat bread.  I know whole wheat bread is good for you and white bread is not so good for you.  The trouble about white bread is that it tastes so good, especially when you put butter (not real butter, but soft margarine) on it and bake it in the oven.  I bought some honey wheat bread, and it actually does taste good.  I had it this morning with my breakfast.  I also have some yogurt in my fridge, so I will eat more of that for snacks.  These changes are not major in scope, but I want to make changes that have a good chance of sticking.  If I make these changes as a lifestyle change and not think of them as going on a diet, I hope I won't drop them when I reach my weight goal like I did before.  One might say I am playing a mind game with myself.  However, if I really want to make it out of my sixties, I have got to make changes in my diet.  As I continue to ponder my diet, I am sure I will be making more changes to my diet.  I feel good about the changes I have already made.  They are small changes, but you have to start somewhere.

Now, what about exercising?  I have to do that too if I want to lose weight and be in better shape.  I am not so sure how to approach this.  Exercising is not my favorite thing to do.  You get out of breath, and it can be hard to do.  I know I can at least start taking walks.  I am certainly able to do that, and it does not cost anything like belonging to a gym does.  What would help me to do that is having a walking buddy, a person who encourages me, a person whom I would also encourage.  I would feel bad if I missed a walking session with my walking buddy, so I would more likely do the walking if I had a walking buddy.  Until I do find a walking buddy, I will just have to do it on my own.  I just have to remember why I am walking (and changing my diet), to live a longer life and a quality life.    

Both Our Differences and Our Similarities are Good

"Infinite diversity in infinite combinations".  This is a quote from the TV series Star Trek.  I do not know if Dr. King ever followed Star Trek, but I think he would have liked this quote.  At least to me, this quote is saying diversity is good.  We are all different, but those differences can bring progress.  It would be boring if we all looked alike and thought alike.  It is when someone thinks in a different way that new ideas are born and new ways of doing things are discovered.  I am not saying that every new idea or new way of doing things is good.  It may not be good for me, but it might be good for someone else.  There is nothing wrong with that.  We must always remember our similarities, but we can also celebrate our differences, differences that make us both unique and special.  If we can all realize it is both our similarities and our differences that make us human, make us grow into better humans, and make us create a better society, a free society where we all can live in peace and prosperity. What a concept!   

Another Reason I am a GED Teacher

I want to relate what one of my GED students said at the jail today.  He said he had some good news to tell.  He had just heard that there is a GED graduation ceremony for the students who earned their GEDs.  Not only that, but the GED graduates get to wear caps & gowns during the ceremony.  That part means a lot to him.  He had promised his mother that he would someday wear a cap and gown for graduation.  He would be the first one of his brothers and sisters to do so.  The others had their GEDs, but none of them had worn a cap and gown.  When he dropped out of high school, he said that it really hurt him that he was breaking his promise to his mother that he would wear a cap and gown.  Now he has the chance to do so.  I firmly believe that he will get his GED this spring.  He seems to have the ability to do so.  They take pictures of each GED graduate in their caps and gowns and with them holding their certificates.  My student said he will not tell his mother about the cap and gown.  He wants her to be surprised when she sees his picture.  He also said that she will probably cry when she sees the picture.

I always look forward to GED graduation.  All of the graduates have overcome so much to earn their GEDs.  This next graduation will be even more significant.  A student will be fulfilling a promise to his mother.  How special is that?  You can see why I see GED graduates as such special people.  Getting those GED certificates mean so much to them, much more than we will ever know.

Will What Happened in Tucson Really Change This Country?

The horrible events that occurred in Tucson this past Saturday has really started a discourse on how we conduct our public business and debate issues.  In the past few years, public debate is more about making political points for the next news cycle and making personal attacks instead of really trying to solve our problems.  Now it seems that violence against public servants is being used to get one's point across.  I don't think we know yet the motivation for these killings.  The killer may have some mental problems.  There may have been political motivations.  It is too early to know the reason or reasons for this horrible act.  Maybe, just maybe though, this act has made us realize that we all have gone too far in how we debate the issues of the day.  Many people are now saying we need to tone down our discussions a few notches.  I was encouraged by what President Obama, among others, said tonight at the Tucson Memorial Service.  He called for us to remember that we are all Americans and that we all love our country.  He said there are more things that unite us than divide us.  The memorial service has given me hope that we will tone down our discussions and really attack our problems together.  There was some of that bipartisanship during the last lame-duck session of Congress.  However, there have been events in the past that have united us for a time, but only for a short time.  The events of 911 are a case in point.  Despite this, I am choosing to be optimistic and believe that we will change and do a better job of working together and solving our problems.  This change will not happen overnight, and there will be setbacks.  Hopefully the events in Tucson will make us realize that what we are doing now is not working and that we must make changes in the way we debate and discuss the issues in order to get a handle on our problems.  Something has to be done, and maybe this is a start.