When I was young I went through a ‘Captain Crunch’ phase at breakfast. It was all I ever wanted. I can still picture the TV ads touting its ability to stay crunchy in milk. Today about the only use I can imagine for the stuff is to add it to cement as a rock aggregate […]

By the time we reached my house I was cursing a blue streak. And I knew then I wasn’t going to wait ‘til my wife drove me to the ER to act on the source of the most extreme pain of my life. My day had gotten off to an excellent start. Double-shot, good practice […]

Yesterday I said today’s newsletter would have something special in it. It concerns an adventure I took myself on some years back. But I’m going to wait ‘til next week to tell the story. The telling requires a bit more time than I’ve got today, and there is another question I’d like to address. Got […]

Last night, as I lay awake staring at the ceiling, I thought about some of the things Milstein said to me. I then remembered a fellow playing for him at the class at the first class I attended who was having a devilish time getting through the 5th Caprice of Paganini. He kept tying himself […]

You may’ve heard this one before, but I’m going to tell it anyway. A young person, holding a violin case, stops a passing cab in New York city and asks the driver, ‘Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall.’ The cabbie, without hesitation, quips, ‘Yea, practice.’ Yes, it does take practice if […]

Yesterday I received a little nicety in the mail informing me my credit card had been automatically docked $100.00. Seems I was caught on camera in my last rental car for ‘failure to stop where posted.’ When the ticket came back to the rental car people they just paid it. I was accused, tried, convicted […]

Last night after supper my daughter and I played ‘challenge.’ It’s a little playful game we do together, kind of like ‘follow the leader.’ In the course of it I challenged her to rub her tummy and tap her head, at the same time. We both had a good laugh as she struggled to overcome […]

This past Sunday I opened the door to a violinist come all the way from Hartford, Conn.. Two flights and a night in a local hotel were just part of the admission price, but she wasn’t agoin’ to allow anything to stand in the way of her pursuit of excellence. I felt honored and inspired […]

I was struck by an interesting thought, just now. You’ve got to GET resolved before you CAN resolve. For the past several days I’ve been wading into some pretty deep waters, technically speaking. Specifically it’s a brew of Paganini Caprices; V, VII, XI, XV, XVII, XX, and XXI, to be specific. Yes, I’ve gone through […]

Last night my wife and I were at it again. No, not being disagreeable to each other; and not getting all lovey-dovey neither. We were in front of the old teevee watching skaters. It was the men’s ‘long program’, we’d taped from the International Championships a couple of weeks ago. Now, if you’ve ever tuned […]

Sir Thomas Beecham was an interesting case. He came from a family with oodles of munny – ever heard of Beecham gum? – and he found a most unique way to spend his inheritance. He used it to create orchestras Which he then conducted. By the early 1960’s London had 5 major orchestras. Sir Thomas […]

Yesterday afternoon I spent the better half of the afternoon biking through the rural mountains of Western North Carolina. To say it was picturesque would be an understatement. But there was something that occurred to me in the midst of all the beauty that I thought to share with you. You see, at a certain […]

Sky’s turned a steely grey outside, temp’s down in the 30’s, a few snow flakes blowin’ past my window. I guess we’re putting spring on hold here in Western North Carolina. So what better time to talk about reaching beyond the comfort zone. This morning I set about pushing outside of mine in Caprice # […]

Last week I was invited for an interview on a new online radio show It features guests who are walking through life ‘off the beaten path.’ I guess playing the violin these days qualifies one for such distinction. Well I’m game for just about anything, so I agreed without hesitation. The conversation covered quite a […]

Last night, after a visit with a good friend, I walked out to my car, opened the door, sat down, swung my legs in, and turned on the ignition. I was greeted by the radio booming the most climatic moment of one of the most dramatic chamber music masterpieces ever written – the ‘B’ section […]