Voice. Listen with intent. Speak simply.

  • Depression 101

    Yesterday was a difficult day. I was coming off a very busy weekend followed by a round with a virus that left me feeling a bit weak. The real stimulus for my malaise, however, was a wonderful choral concert that we attended the evening before.   I found myself immersed in music that I love, satisfied…

  • Odyssey

    Odyssey, noun:  a long series of wanderings or adventures, especially when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc It’s been a week since the sibling part of the Rodgers Odyssey came to its conclusion. Our family and friends gathered household goods and made plans for three months. Three of us drove a well-loaded, rented moving van more than 700 miles (through the fiery smoke of yet another disaster in…

  • Rocking Chairs & Letting Go

    When a new wave of disappointment or depression rolls onto the shore of my existence, I struggle anew with the reality of what Parkinson’s Disease has taken from me. Even with advanced degrees in music, vocal pedagogy and organ, I can no longer coordinate the complexities involved in playing my beloved instrument. The muscles that…

  • A Trip Through the Mountains

    Last Monday, I flew steadily west for most of the afternoon. Headed for Denver. For the Rocky Mountains. With my camera. It was one of those “strike while the iron is hot” moments, when the rest of life’s responsibilities are on hold while I walk through an open door. But let me back up a…

  • Passion

    How is it that music knits us together, erasing barriers between souls, easing tensions, restructuring minds and emotions? How could a man, old enough to be my father, as tough as nails, bull-doggish in his approach to life, “untrained” in the fine art of music, a master in the world of banking and finance ……

  • “Reverend”

    It is a title we bestow on clergy, a form of address for those set apart as ministers or religious leaders, an identity for those who have found a servant towel with their names on it. And today, it is an official part of my identity. It has been part and parcel of my thinking…

  • Comfort

    I love the word, “Comfort.” I love being comfortable. And I am fascinated by the many guises it takes. It can come in the form of a first cup of coffee or hot tea, early in the quiet of the morning, before the rest of the world is awake. I sit in my easy chair,…

  • Parkinson’s Disease – Living with It. Moving on…

    Friday was “Tweaking Day.” Eight weeks after optimization, I returned to my neurologist for evaluation and adjustments to this imbedded Boston-Scientific device. For the first time since this all begun, I had slept right through the night, off meds. I could finally enter the examination room feeling and acting like my normal self. The very…

  • Parkinson’s Disease #6 – Reality Check

    The DBS current has been constantly flowing into my brain for 6 weeks now, and there are some realities that demand an audience. First: there will be a continual need for adjusting, or “tweaking” as we DBS folks like to put it. DBS is not a cure for Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s is progressive and will continue…

  • Parkinson’s Disease #5– Taming the Beast

    I begin this entry with an ending:  If you ask me, “Would you go through all of this again?” I would now answer with a resounding “YES!” My sister was correct; the difficulties of the last five months are rapidly fading as I rediscover much of what is “normal.” Today, I ordered some new music…