flip to next page

---

Table of Contents

1. Greetings
2. Thank You
3. Is Music in the     Genes?
4. You're Invited
5. Record Stores
6. Albums
7. End

Does music run in the genes?
My grandmother is very dear to me. For over 20 years, my grandparents were avid ballroom dancers and won numerous competitions. Of note, they won the prestigious Harvest Moon Ball in 1947, and spent a week performing at the Chicago Theatre with Irv Kupcinet as the host for each show. A soon-to-be-discovered Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis received a boost to their careers when Irv brought them onstage during one of the shows that week.
Right now, my grandmother is having a hard time. She has a somewhat rare and fast-moving cancer. She is staying with us and I am experiencing a great deal of tension between wanting to do for her and be with her, and attending to all of the other demands in my life.
My grandmother has always been very supportive of me and encouraged me to pursue my passion for music. When I was a student in junior high school, she would walk with me to the bus stop carrying my book bag while I lugged a heavy saxophone, and later a trombone. She bought my first electric guitar, a Washburn T-Bird which I still enjoy playing today. Later, she accompanied me to my vocal recitals and sat in the audience often by herself. She encouraged me always to find my own way in life and stood up for me in support of my music. Without her, I do not know to what degree I would have developed musically.
My thoughts are with her.