Archive
Last night we had a very special visitor. I got up to let our dogs out at about 1 am and did not turn the lights hoping to not really wake up. I opened the door, my dogs ran out like crazy and suddenly very slowly showing off his beautiful tail walked in a Skunk. […]
A pianist comes on stage in concert tuxedo, bows, and sits at the concert grand piano. He sits there for exactly 4 min and 33 seconds without making a sound or moving a muscle. What are you supposed to do as a member of the audience? You paid for your tickets; you made a great […]
Have you ever experienced silence? I mean true silence when there is no sound of birds or water or electricity or a refrigerator or an airplane? Real silence is impossible to find these days and I suddenly realize how much I miss it. Not long ago, Rob and I visited Tent Rocks National Park in […]
This summer I lost my muse. I have spent many worrisome months at the hospital with my father and got a little depressed. He is doing better now and Rob and I decided to take a trip to Santa Fe in search of inspiration. I am not the first to search for my muse in […]
It is Monday, July 16th, my mom and I are in Methodist Hospital waiting for four hours for the outcome of my father’s open heart surgery. We stand up at the glimpse of Dr. Zorilla entering the waiting room. “The surgery went well, better than I expected. Your father is as strong as a rock.“ […]
I met Robert on Match.com. On our first date, he brought me a CD of a Russian Jazz pianist, and I, a Cactus Pear Music Festival brochure. We started our acquaintance with conversation about music and it definitely worked in his favor when he said, “I know about this festival. I am a big fan […]
Austin has a vibe – youthful, cool, casual, and artsy. It has accomplished something that the rest of Texan cities can only dream about: Austin has a vibrant downtown where young people want to live. All of my friends who have spent some time there are raving about its livability. I visited Austin many times […]
This summer I visited Spain with my dear friend and Musical Bridges Board President Dr. Awilda Ramos and her family. I was the fifth in our group – I was the Daughter of the Regiment. Half way through our trip Awilda’s family went on tour to Morocco. Awilda and I chickened out and went to […]
I had not seen Europe for five years, and I did miss it. I have a world map on my wall with colorful pins designating all of the places I visited over the years, and the only place in Europe without any pins was Spain. This summer, I was determined to fix this, so I […]
Salsa! The Grand Finale of Musical Bridges’ 14th Season was a fascinating weekend with Gibaro de Puerto Rico. Beside many beautiful performances they introduced me to the way they relate to the world. Puerto Ricans are very warm people. If they know you for a few hours and they like you, you instantly become Mi […]
I like to grow a garden, both figuratively and literally speaking. My earliest childhood memories are those of the light in the garden lying under the apple tree on a sunny day, light winks at me through tender spring leaves taking on a life of it’s own. My grandmother had a green thumb; her spectacular […]
“We are approaching San Antonio; it is beautiful evening, clear sky northeast wind twelve miles per hour, eighty degrees… thank you for choosing Southwest airlines, have a pleasant evening”… It all started with me putting myself out for sale on the Musical Bridges auction last spring… guess what? Drs. Michelle and Eric Miller bought me […]
“Anya, we are starting a REAL art lovers book club. We will go deep into the artist’s psyche and study it inside out…you’ve got to join….” Okay, said I without thinking twice. This was my old friend Susan Dunis who shared with me the first years of Musical Bridges, an artist and fun person to […]
When my son was getting ready to attend Law School, he needed to take the LSAT and he shared his exercise book on logic with me. It went something like this: “An advertising executive must schedule an advertisement during a particular TV show. Seven different consecutive time slots are available for advertisements during a commercial […]
This is my latest… I am sitting in a café with a group of actors and a play director and discussing the character of my heroine that I will play in a few hours in front of a large audience. I am asking the director, “What is your vision for this production? What is this […]