MUSINGS...by Beverly Rieger

This morning let's continue our musings on the power of music to move people. When I found out that Pete Seeger had died this week at the age of 94, I downloaded one of his albums from i-tunes. One of his songs....We Shall Overcome...is an excellent example of the power of music....and the power of the human voice to unite. As I listened I could feel the magic of his music, and the moment that he connected to the energy of the people who had come together for his concert and were joining him in song. His voice deepened and became more powerful. I have experienced the feeling of being "one" with a large crowd of people as I made music, and I could feel that same oneness in Pete Seeger as he led the enormous crowd in the "We Shall Overcome Song". The news blurbs also showed Pete and his voice and his banjo/guitar leading rallies for justice, and bringing people together in peace as they sang with him....bodies swaying to the music. May you always e...

It is really, really cold throughout a lot of the country, and of course in the Midwest. We were at 7 below zero last night,the wind is blowing around 30 mph, and we have more snow on the way tonight and again on Sunday. Last night is the time when my heating system quit working. We went to a new system this year because our in ground ductwork had dissolved and we were breathing mold and bits of dust along with the warm air generated by our furnace. However, this new system is struggling with Indiana winters! It is a heat pump type system and has quit several times in the last months since we had it installed. Luckily we have a fireplace, and also heaters.....truly a blessing when your house is 52 degrees at 4AM, and the bedroom is around 35. With patience for the journey, we (and our heating and air-conditioning person) will have this new system working well. This could be a good metaphor for many parts of my life. I hope that those around me have as much patience with my jou...

Here is the beauty of Indiana after a major winter storm from Sunday January 5 through Thursday January 9. By now we all know what a "polar vortex" is. Here in Indiana we are just now beginning to see a warming trend and some street pavement after 10-16 inches of blowing and drifting snow and minus 18 degree temps. This was after 8 inches of snow January 1 evening through January 2. So all together we had 18-24 inches of drifted snow on the ground. Of course, during the night when it was supposed to get down to minus 20, we lost our heat. I felt like an early settler snuggled up by the fireplace trying to keep warm with blankets and a dog for a foot warmer! We arrived home from visiting Philadelphia on January 1 at 6:30, having driven 11 hours straight through to beat the storm. We just made it! Then we were snowed in from Sunday evening through Friday morning when we finally were plowed out. Yeah!! All of this was a great incentive to get paperwork, end of yea...