Piano Duet

Several weeks ago, Mary and I attended a performance in the Cabaret Series we subscribe to at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.  A young married couple played two pianos in a classical recital, including works by Tchaikovsky and Mozart.  While the themes were familiar, the husband’s duet pieces were unique and very complimentary.

When they finished, the wife asked for questions and I asked, “Being someone whose knowledge of piano duets begins and ends with Heart and Soul, I wonder if your husband has a written score or if he improvises?”  She responded that they write his parts together because it would be unfair to him if he had to improvise.

Hoagy Carmichael

When I got home I wondered where did my reference to Heart and Soul come from.  When I thought about it, it came from when my sister and I were taking piano lessons; she about 12 years old and me about eight.  I did some research and found out that the song was written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1938, and remained popular well into the 1960s because, among other reasons, it was an easy way to introduce students to using the left hand.

You may remember it.  It starts with the A key and progresses up and down to the words, “Heart and Soul, I fell in love with you.  Heart and Soul, and no one else will do.  Madly, that’s how I feel when I am around you.”  The left hand (or the partner) meanwhile is playing, “Dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee. Dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee, dumdee dumdee. Dum.”

I probably can fault my sister for two things; encouraging me to quit lessens when she did, and never developing a left hand.  However, when I was courting Mary, I scored points by showing her I could play Claire de Lune” with one hand, while most people needed two.

When I was in the Corporate World after retiring from the Navy, I worked for at least two companies where the Holiday Party was Black Tie and special.  At one WellPoint event in downtown LA the hotel we stayed at had four or five different areas for entertainment.  A popular one was “Dueling Pianos” with a lively sing-along.  I still remember the most popular song they played, which was to the Sound of Music song, Doe, a Deer”.  The words went like this,

“Dough, the stuff that buys me beer. Ray, the guy I buy beer from.  Me, the guy I buy beer for. Far, a ways to go for beer. So, I think I’ll have a beer.  LA, the place I go for beer. Tea, no thanks, I’ll have a beer. And that brings us back to Dough.”

If you can imagine about 100 people, many of whom had a few beers, singing at the top of their voices; well, you get the idea.

Of course, the song also fit very well into the Hash House Harrier On-On celebrations.

I suspect I’m not the only one who still gets solicitation letters for charities.  I may be more bothered than most by repeat requests from those I to whom I donate.  In my next post, I’ll tell you about what I did to stop that and how successful my program was.  I hope you’ll find the time to join me.

Comets, Asteroids, and Shooting Stars

Comet

A few years ago, when my grandson was in fourth-grade, there was a lot of interest in Comets; mostly because we had one coming as close to earth as anyone could remember.  There were plans to take samples in an effort to explain more about the creation of our universe, and there was even talk of the feasibility of landing on a comet.

Asteroid

I decided that I would ask my grandson what he might know about comets.  “Do you know anything about comets?” seemed a reasonable question.

“I know the difference between comets, asteroids and shooting stars,” was his response.

Meteor (Shooting Star)

“What is the difference?” I asked.

“Mostly it has to do with their size and the distance they are from earth,” he replied.

That got me thinking.  Some college counselor told an incoming freshman class that at graduation, half would be working in a job that had not been invented yet.  I heard that story fifty years ago, and it certainly has been prophetic.  What might my comet-wise grandson be doing when he graduated from college?

At the time of our conversation, They had picked thirteen candidates to train as astronauts to live on Mars.  As I understand it, their journey would require being placed in a “sleep-state” to survive the long journey and in a life-imitating-art they would subsist on potatoes in much the same way as Matt Damon in Bring Him Home.

By the time Ethan (my grandson) is old enough to be an astronaut, that will probably be too blasé for his interest.  He stays current with the times.  For example, he has a small drone now, albeit without a camera. He built his first rocket in third-grade and scored second in his class for distance, height, and time aloft.  And he has a wide variety of interests: for example he learned the violin in fourth-grade and the flute in fifth.

He enjoys swimming, tennis, is learning golf, and has seen two Chicago Cubs games in Wrigley Field. He makes friends easily and is very social, showing empathy and concern with those who may not have his level of intelligence.

I did hear last week that NASA was interviewing for a position as a Planetary Protection Officer.  There are only two positions in the world; one with NASA and the other with the ESA.  As I understand the position it entails knowing and limiting the harmful effects of earth visits to other planets and the effect on earth of samples intentionally or unintentionally brought back from space exploration.  Background would include knowledge of “clean rooms” and ways to assess and limit contamination.

So what if there are only two positions right now.  Who knows what might exist in 10 years, when Ethan enters the job-market?  And if there are still only two, my mother used to say, “They have to choose someone.  It might as well be you.”

Good luck, Ethan.

Please join me next time when I recall how an old memory of a piano tune; Heart and Soul entered my life and what I learned from the memory.