Passion Makes All the Difference

I agree completely with Ms Graham. It is passion that makes a dancer great. I would extend that to any kind of artist. Great musicians aren't great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. The same for great singers, painters, writers, any kind of artist. Which is not to say that technique is not important, it is. But it's the passion that makes the artist stand out.

I was never by any stretch of the imagination a great musician or dancer, but I have done both. I miss both greatly and want to do both again.

I was very good at both, not great, but very good. One thing I learned has really stuck with me over the years. There were songs I knew by heart and loved to play on the piano. I practiced them over and over and over until I didn't need music.  I didn't think about it. I just put my hands on the keyboard and played. It was at these times that I was my best.

Simple, Elegant, Beautiful

In the year that the Nazis invaded Poland, physicists confirmed the process of splitting atoms, John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" was published and "Gone with the Wind" dominated the Academy Awards, we were also given the gift of "Moonlight Serenade" by Glenn Miller. The epitome of big band music, it's romantic, light, fun, happy music that makes you want to hold your partner close and dance across the floor. It brings to mind images of finely dressed men and women at tables smoking cigarettes and drinking martinis as they listen to Mr Miller.  Enjoy.

In 1965 one of the coolest men to ever walk the planet put lyrics to Miller's masterpiece. Frank Sinatra romances us with his version of "Moonlight Serenade".

And one more before we part. Something that may seem very different, but I don't see it that way.