As is tradition, I am taking a moment to reflect upon the past year, both in appreciation and as a way to share. I enjoy the format of an Annual Top 10 list. It sketches rather than paints, but hopefully, it captures what the year has been.
1.) Carolina Connection. South Carolina continues to bring unanticipated experiences. While visiting my dear friend Nancy Thomas in Greenville, we visited the studio of artist Ellen Kochansky in Pickens. Our day started with design decisions for a new quilt and quickly spilled into a hike through woods aside a meandering creek. With all the grace of a Southerner, an impromptu meal followed, artfully assembled from leftovers -- only exceeded by the engaging conversation. It was a magical morning in South Carolina that is still with me.
2.) Retirement? As I consider the freedoms afforded by an unimagined salary and unforeseen income, I have begun to see new possibilities for my future. Plans have evolved to the point where I can realistically set a retirement date. By 9/1/03, I fully anticipate being in position to move finances to a secondary position in my life. If I can execute as planned, I will have zero cashflow requirements by that time, thus exponentiating my options. Ultimately, it is the quest for balance, passionate work, and healthy relationships that drive these plans.
3.) Virginity. In July, my cousin Robyn Miller married Matt Raffa in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in a wedding befit this wonderful young couple. I flew to this tropic island in need of its restorative beauty. Just the night before, I completed a final push at AT&T Wireless, working several 70+ hour weeks to complete a year of work at this client. Physically exhausted, I began a 6-week vacation by being among family in this tropical paradise. It was precisely what I needed to recover.
4.) Building Frenzy. Following my weekend in St. Thomas, I escaped work by using all my accrued vacation. Rather than relaxing, though, I was up to my eyeballs in construction. I ripped out my entire back yard and literally built from the ground up. Through 6 rainy weeks, I coordinated the efforts of demolition crews, architects, county inspectors, masons, electricians, plumbers, roofers, fencers, carpenters, and painters. I was General Foreman during construction of a new upper deck, a lower porch, a flagstone patio, and a stonewall garden. Instead of using pressure-treated material, all building materials were finish-grade. As a result, I now have two front entrances -- a front entrance for tenants who separately occupy the top two floors, and a "front entrance" in back for entering my portion of the house. It's a clever solution, I think, but not without price. These 6 weeks took more energy and money than planned -- a familiar strain to fellow homeowners. But the heavy construction has yielded a house with qualities of home.
5.) QBR at 12. In its 12th year, our brass quintet continues to flourish and have fun, performing at picnics, weddings, graduations, and numerous church services. In July, we helped premiere a piece for brass, percussion, organ, and choir, and in September, we performed at the wedding and reception for my Mother and Aaron Suleske. (How many people can say they have performed at the weddings of both parents? I have completed the cycle! ) In December, we concluded the year with a Christmas Eve marathon, playing 4 gigs in a single day. This little quintet provides everything I could want in music -- friendships, experiences, unplanned musical moments, hilarity, and loud brass fanfares that fuel my spirit.
6.) Inside D.C.W. My column in Drum Corps World seems to be slowly finding voice. Throughout the year, I contributed articles on an ad hoc basis to this publication. I find it gratifying to have this creative outlet. As I see people and experiences worth highlighting, I have a medium for doing so. Daily journal writing is an internal process that primarily serves me. How rewarding, then, to take these writing skills and use them in ways that can be of value to others. Failing this, it is at least a fun and creative process!
7.) Mr. Bly's Opus. As it turns out, my high school band director, Mr. Bly, is retiring from teaching in 2001. In celebration of Mr. Bly, generations of former students secretly gathered to help perform the National Anthem at his last home football game. Huddled against the cold were people from Mr. Bly's band program in the late 70's all the way to current students. To his surprise and under the extended light of fireworks, we joined his current band in arc formation and played the Star Spangled Banner under his baton. It was a scene straight from the pages of "Mr. Holland's Opus."
8.) The Other Side of the Pond. After a two-month stint in Dallas at the XO Communications client, I traveled to London to attend a professional conference. This was my first visit to London, and I happened to be there with a colleague who is also one of my best friends, Christopher Corr. Joining with other colleagues from around the globe and through typical London drizzle, we toured by bus, boat, and foot, going to pubs and plays and sites with enthusiasm only possible through abandoned spontaneity with friends. Quite by accident, we came across the Golden Hinde, a replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship that was launched in 1973 and whose home dock is in London. When I was in 3rd grade in Panama, my Mother took our class on a tour of this ship during its maiden voyage. To heighten the coincidence, a 3rd grade class was touring the ship when I stumbled across it in London --- typical of my experiences during this memorable trip.
9.) Guy's Night Out. In yet another spontaneous moment, I packed up for a Sunday drive with my Father. We visited the wrecked property he recently acquired with his wife Pam. It was littered with the debris of neglect, but progress was already evident in their rehabilitation of this property to its natural beauty. As we braced against the bluster of a November day, I could see their vision of a Bed & Breakfast and the expansive view of open waterways. We sketched through ideas during lunch and just enjoyed a day together that was infinitely rich.
10.) Floored! After nearly two years of design, Nancy Thomas completed a masterpiece rug for my living room. This 9 x 12 rug is more Frank Lloyd Wright than Arts & Crafts, but no matter how it is categorized, it is a work of art. (That is, I still take off my shoes when I walk on it!) I found that the process of making the rug was by far the most rewarding aspect. This process has yielded life-long friendships and great memories. Yes, I will enjoy the final product. How could I not? But the product wanes in comparison to the byproducts -- something I never quite anticipated at the outset.
Other experiences color my memory of 2000-seeing Wynton Marsalis in the audience at the Village Vanguard, catching gigs at the Blue Note, being in the audience for a live taping of the David Letterman Show (and meeting the trumpeter in the band, Al Chez), seeing spectacular performances at the Drum Corps World Championships in the DC area, the vicarious thrill of Olympic spirit, the tumult of election which engrossed us all, a memorable trip to Miami in December which included an overtime playoff victory for the Dolphins (the first Fins game ever for this lifelong fan), having to unexpectedly find new tenants in December.
As I headed into 2001, I began working on a new project at Andersen Consulting (renamed Accenture on 01/01/01). This internal project was spread out over 3 time zones, taking me to New Jersey, Dallas, and the San Francisco area. The demands of this project are what delayed the mailing of my 2000 Yearly Summary. My apologies for being so late this year, but as you might guess, I would never miss this yearly chance to connect, no matter what. Look at it this way - only 8 months or so until the next yearly update!
"...we wrote this new song for Tony that's a killer. "Something's Coming'...It's really going to save his character - a driving 2/4 in the great tradition...but it gives Tony balls so that he doesn't emerge just a euphoric dreamer." - Leonard Bernstein, writing to his wife Felicia, in 1957 about his musical West Side Story
"History constantly presents old problems in new disguises." – Robert E. White, former ambassador to El Salvador and Paraguay
"Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it's a small price to pay for living a dream." – Peter McWilliams
"Many of my favorite shamans are rock stars. They probably don't even know they're shamans, but they know how to get to ecstasy and back, and how to take others with them. They may not have a license, but they know how to drive." – From "Maps to Ecstasy," by Gabrielle Roth, and as listed in the liner notes of the Carlos Santana album Supernatural
"Confront the past honestly so you can have an honorable future." – paraphrased remarks of Alons Steinberg, Executive Director of the World Jewish Congress and member of the Volker Commission (which examines Nazi persecution and illegally held funds in Swiss Bank Accounts)
"All you need to grow fine, vigorous grass is a crack in your sidewalk." – Will Rogers
"Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." – Mark Twain
"Sex is a misdemeanor – the more you miss, de meaner you get." – Mae West
"Do what's life-giving to you." – Rossana Turina Marsh (friend)
"Feeling good is sort of the bottom line for most people." – Anonymous friend of mine
"All hope lies in one's openness to experience and ability to change." – Alvah Simon (author)
"Give me something I can use!" – Elaine (character from Seinfeld), reacting to an unrealistic sex scene she saw in the movie The Thomas Crowne Affair
"Pursuit of excellence always takes people further than mere pursuit of success." – Thomas Boswell, Washington Post
"You cannot beat a man who is stronger than you are, who has more talent than you, and who works harder than you. Tiger Woods is competing against records and golf courses. That's what people don't understand. It's not a foot race. He's racing against the clock." – Lee Trevino, winner of 6 golfing majors
"No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined." – Henry Emerson Fosdick, as contributed by Christopher Corr (friend)
"The list of basic necessities for survival – food, clothing, shelter – is incomplete unless we add 'information.'" – Criton Zoakes, Leto Research
"If I said (your name) wrong, charge it to my head, not my heart." – Gospel Brunch Band at Windows on the World in New York City's World Trade Center
"The question is, 'Will we use what we have to make a world of difference?'" – Dr. Craig Barnes, Pastor, the National Presbyterian Church
"100% of us lose our jobs. 100% of all marriages come to an end. 100% of us will lose our health. 100% of us will return to dust. You are not going to beat these odds. So, why do you want to waste life worrying if this is going to happen? Fear and worry can take up your whole life." – the paraphrased remarks of Dr. Craig Barnes
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." – Nelson Mandela
"It is very important to transcend the places that hold us." – Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, boxer who was wrongly imprisoned for murder
"If I am what I have and if what I have is lost, who then am I?" – Erich Fromm
"True health is more than the absence of disease." – Kripalu Magazine
"Vulnerability is one of the critical passageways to being an honest person." – Nancy Thomas (friend)
"What ought one to say then as each hardship comes? I was practicing for this; I was training for this." – Epictetus
"If you're a spectator, it's no longer a democracy." – Michael Moore, corporate satirist
"I like to see people having fun." – Ray Charles, jazz pianist (who happens to be blind)
"Musicians are usually the most far-looking people." – Dr. Benjamin Dixon, VP for Multicultural Affairs, Virginia Tech
"Mediocrity's everywhere – now and to come. I absolve you all." – Antonio Salieri, "Patron Saint of Mediocrity," in the final line of Mozart's Amadeus
"There is a lot of theology wrapped up in artistic integrity." – David Welch
"People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness." – John Wanamaker
"I can't think of a better gift to give someone (in a relationship) than knowing who you are." – Rossana Turina Marsh
"Chance determinations." – euphemism for "luck," as quoted from Myron Marty, Drake University History Department, Author, Lecturer, and Frank Lloyd Wright Scholar
"Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose – a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye." – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
"Be a life long or short, its completeness depends on what it is lived for." – David Starr Jordan
" Love not what you are but only what you may become." – Miguel de Cervantes
"Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives." – A. Sachs
"...do not spend yourself carelessly..." – excerpt from an anonymous poem, as read by Garrison Keiller on The Writer's Almanac
"We're all the same age – we're right here right now. It just took some of us longer to get here than others." – from an overheard conversation at Black Mountain Bakery in Montreat, NC
"When I hear the word 'expensive,' it phonetically translates in my mind to 'expense of.'" – David Welch
"If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else." – Laurence J. Peter
"You can't pull bread out of a cold oven – you've got to heat it up." – Isaac Hayes, composer of the theme from Shaft
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." – Henry David Thoreau
"Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there." – Josh Billings
"Find what you love – and go there!" – Ellen Kochansky (friend)
"All you are unable to give possesses you." – from a journal entry by Andre Glide
"It is the story of a million nights, when, against all odds, men and women of all colors and often extraordinary gifts, came together and made great art. – Film Maker Ken Burns on Jazz
San Bruno v San Francisco v San Ramon
England
Gatwickv London
Florida
Coral Gables v Miami v Miami Beach
Illinois
Chicago v St. Charles
Maryland
Bethesda v College Park v Gaithersburg v Greenbelt v Kensington v Lanham
New Jersey
Berkley Heights v Englewood v Fort Lee v Hackensack v Madison v New Providence v Paramus v Parsippany v Ridgewood v Short Hills v Summit v Teterboro v Washington Township
New York
Brooklyn v Greenwich Village v New York v Queens
North Carolina
Asheville v Black Mountain v Charlotte v Fletcher v Montreat v West Asheville
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia v Pittsburgh
South Carolina
Columbia v Greenville v Greer v Pickens
Texas
Dallas v Plano v Richardson
Virginia
Alexandria v Annandale v Arlington v Ashburn v Bailey's Crossroads v Barcroft v Blacksburg v Centreville v Chantilly v Charlottesville v Christiansburg v Clifton v Dunn Loring v Fairfax v Falls Church v Fredericksburg v Herndon v Irvington v Lake Barcroft v Lake Fairfax v Lexington v Merrifield v Mount Vernon v Oak Hill v Old Town Alexandria v Palmer v Pentagon City v Reston v Roanoke v Rossilyn v Seven Corners v Shirlington v Springfield v Sterling v Tyson's Corner v Vienna
Virgin Islands
St. Thomas
Dupont Circle v Washington, D.C.
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