I enjoyed hanging out with other writers last night at Salon Rouge’s Songbook PDX. Yes, to being in community during these edgy times. Even better: listening to a variety of writers share their work, followed by a song selection. Writers and poets like Beth Cartino, Nathan Tomkins, James DiPadua, Ian Caton, Stephanie Shilling, and Adam Strong. I offer a big thanks to those who put such energy into supporting creative work.
As I headed to the mic as the final speaker, I was glad I had chosen a lighter topic. No, not lighter in respect to the fact that it reminds me of loved ones long gone. But glad to have lines that the audience thought worthy to laugh out loud at. Since I have recorded and narrated audiobooks of My Music Man and From First Breath to Last: A Story About Love, Womanhood, and Aging it’s simple to share tracks here. And so, in case you didn’t get to join us last night but are curious, listen below to the full track for the chapter “Heart Strings” from My Music Man. Last night I read bits from the first 15 minutes of the chapter. I too added a short excerpt from From First Breath to Last and a new paragraph which you can find at the end of this post. Yes, and it was only fitting to select “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” written by Burt Bacharach and sung by B.J. Thomas, to follow my reading. And, if you listen to the very end of the chapter, you’ll understand how this book found its title.
Oh…and you can order the entire audiobook in all the usual audiobook platforms.
CHAPTER 5 HEARTSTRINGS FROM MY MUSIC MAN
And last night’s reading “add on”
And in Mom’s final months when conversations lagged, we listened to classical music during the day and different musicals each evening for dinner hour, her tired body propped up in her hospital bed. Yes, in our dining room with the lilac wallpaper. Mom smiled and even sang along with Mary Martin in South Pacific, and other leading men and women in original soundtracks.
All songs I slowly introduce to my wee grandson as Mom and Dad’s spirits hover somewhere in the hereafter.