Coda

On a dark winter’s night sometime in the 1980s, an ice storm came to East Lansing. Crystal trees creaked and power lines fell (but not too many). The wind was slight and so the damage was minimal. Ice storms here are not uncommon. We get one every year it seems. Some years the storm that comes is destructive and some years it is just a nuisance.

On the particular evening I am now holding in my memory the nuisance factor was high. We had concert tickets that night and we decided to brave the elements. My wife and I lived close to campus so getting to a show was not all that difficult. We had purchased tickets to see Oregon a jazz quartet of the highest caliber. We got to the show on time but there was nobody there really. The hall had maybe a hundred people.

Well Ralph Towner the guitarist from the band came out to the edge of the stage at approximately the set starting time and made the following announcement. Due to the ice storm we will be performing just one show tonight. If you came for the early show you can just stay on and we will treat the second show as if it were just a second set. Just sit back and enjoy yourself. We did and it was amazing.

Over the course of the night another 50 people may have straggled in. But the trip was worth it. The music was richly textured and the band was relaxed and at times goofy and fun. Sometimes when the circumstances prevent a normal performance the pressure is off the beauty will emerge. Sometimes a bunch of people who have nothing to prove and who have a lot of time to work with can create magic, Oregon did it that night.

Sometimes I think life should work that way for all of us.