Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The birds, the trees, and me

The drive today from Erie, Pennsylvania to Chatham, New York was spectacularly beautiful. That section of I-90 has to be one of the most beautiful roads in the country; the splashes of color were worth the drive.

I listened to an odd assortment of music. The Ipod does that, even when not on shuffle; you find things you forgot were on there. A bit of Rostropovich, most of Zoe Keating's One Cello X 16 Nations: Natoma (which got turned off by mistake), a Joel Osteen podcast (OK, he's intellectually shallow and kind of goofy, but he's also energizing and comforting for someone recovering from years of self-hate; he radiates an optimism that needs no scholarship to be powerful), and a bit of a Nero Wolfe novel borrowed from my parents.

What a contrast Keating and Rostropovich make, especially back to back! Two incredibly different worlds.

I arrived at my friend Robin's house about 5:30 PM. She has a beautiful home, secluded in the woods, with a deck overlooking the forest. As soon as I arrived, I just took the cello out to the deck, and played for over an hour until Robin arrived. After a long drive, which was stressful in addition to beautiful, it was perfect to sit out with this incredible view and improvise. That led into some actual practice and a some Bach. It cleared everything away and brought me back to myself.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eric -
Glad you're back! I had quit checking your site when you stopped for a while but recently looked and there you were. I plan on sending a brief e-mail in the near future to intoduce myself. Thanks for all of your efforts and your candor.

Tom H.

Anonymous said...

Hi Eric,

I choose to think of myself as your other friend, "Robin." One of the many things I wanted to talk to you about, but we ran out of time, was your collaboration with the modern dancer (your other friend, "Robin," right?). I was a professional dancer at one time, though a long time ago now, but dance stays close to my heart. I hope you write about this new venture.

robjeny