Truth be told I haven’t felt much like blogging since Don Dale
died in December 2015. He was my number one reader (and I his). His death hurt
and it took me a long time to get used to the fact that he was no longer around
to hear or read my latest tale. But I am used to it and of course my life has
gone on.
This week brought me together with two people from my past –
one from my very distant past – so I thought it a good time to revisit these
pages. Not sure I have it in me to write regularly, but we’ll see.
David Tittle worked for me when I was in the Concert Office
at the Yale School of Music, about twenty years ago. We developed the habit of
talking long and late – his job no doubt suffered because we liked each other
so much, but who cares? College is more about the relationships you form than
about anything else.
David and I stayed in touch; I went to his wedding in
California and he visited me when he came back to Yale. Facebook helped.
David is one of the finest young men I’ve ever known and so
I was thrilled that on this trip to California we’d get together for dinner and
an opera. The meal was excellent, the opera (Rigoletto, L A Opera) not so much, but all was eclipsed by the quality of the conversation.
I told him that one of the things I am proudest of is that I
am fiercely loyal. Once I’ve decided to love you, I’m not going to let you go,
or give up on you, no matter how much time and space come between us. Talking
with David Wednesday night was just the same as those conversations all those
years ago. The foundation we built was strong; it will weather the weather,
survive the changes and grow with the years.
The other person I got together with on this trip was Sandy
Adams, my first boyfriend. We were together for two years starting in January
1972. We’ve lost touch more than once over the years but, again, thanks to
Facebook, we started chatting over the last few years and when I knew I was
going to be on the West Coast for a week, Sandy generously invited to put me up
for my two nights in L A. I arrived after the opera and then spend the next day touring
the Huntington (fantastic!) and that evening listening to the Los Angeles
Philharmonic play Schumann at the amazing and wonderful Walt Disney Concert Hall
(my first visit).
As I write this in Redlands, CA, four hours before Ransom conducts
the final concert of the Redlands Symphony season, Sandy is heading this way to
enjoy it with me. What a treasure is our friendship.
Some people live their lives, never looking back. I’m not
one of them. I try not to wallow in former glories but I sure appreciate remembering
them and, even better, sharing them and creating new memories. Don and I did that
for fifty years. Just because he’s gone is no reason to stop.
The stunning Walt Disney Concert Hall
