Life in Shades of F-Major: October 2006

Having once been a minister's wife for eighteen years I learned a few things about gatherings which involve food. During our potluck lunch at work today I made a pronouncement from the voice of experience. I stated that in my years as a minister's wife I learned that the worst food is found at wedding receptions, and the best food is found at funerals. It's true. And the reason being is that for the most part, wedding reception food is catered, institutional, cookie-cutter, everyone-has-the-same-thing-on-their-plate food. On the other hand, food prepared for funerals is food you'd find at a church potluck. It's Mom's homemade coconut cream pie, special potato salad, that green bean casserole that everyone's Aunt Mabel used to make, and church-lady fried chicken. It's comfort food, food with soul, given and prepared from the heart with special attention, care, and love.

I found out today that this group of realtors can throw a potluck that can rival any Southern Baptist church, (Probably because most of the realtors in our office are women, AND Southern Baptists!). I think that it's time for me to get out some of my old church-lady cook books and dust them off.

In the last several years I have discovered that I have a gift. When I was in college I majored in vocal performance and church music, and purposely avoided getting my teaching certificate because I really had no interest in teaching. Now, I fear that I may have made a mistake, and that my first love really is teaching/mentoring.

I love to teach private voice students, but thus far have had little success in gaining students in this area, so I have sought out and found another place in which to exercise my teaching skills and do it in a way that is creative, interesting, entertaining, and interactive. I have discovered MySpace. Yeah, I know... MySpace is the Devil, but hear me out before you close your mind.

MySpace is a place dominated by young people who are out looking for entertainment, networking, and plain having a good time. So I figure that if I can't get them to come to me, I'll go to them.

Running a close second to music is my love for history. No, actually, it's probably a tie. I love history every bit as much as I love music, and when the two are combined, I am in my element. So here's where I've used MySpace to get my foot in the door and reach young people with my two loves--classical music and history. I portray, historical/musical characters on MySpace, using authentic voices and introducing them to music, history, and the real people behind the music/history. And the amazing thing about it is that it's extremely successful!

I portray three different characters, all having an association with Mozart, and with one another:

All three characters are extremely popular on MySpace and interact with Mozart as well as others in the MySpace "realm". The kids love it, and I have a great time doing it.

Who said that history can't be fun?