Reflections on The Eras Tour movie — Shortly after the movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour began, I had a realization. Seeing the girls at the sold-out SoFi Stadium concert screaming and jumping up and down with tears streaming down their faces was very much like watching footage of The Beatles’ 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan…

How to use improv when put on the spot — The guy at the baseball game got a big surprise. During a break in the game, he appeared on the giant scoreboard with a plate of cookies superimposed in front of him. Inspired by Cookie Monster from the children’s TV show Sesame Street, the “Cookie Cam” scanned the crowd, selecting…

His inspirational birthday performance showed the power of music — If I were to make a list of miracles I’ve witnessed, Tony Bennett’s final performance would rank in the top five. I’d always been aware of Tony Bennett, who died last week at the age of 96. …

A clueless teacher — It wasn’t our usual plump, middle-aged-woman music teacher sitting at the desk at the front of the classroom. It was a young-ish man. A sub. Cool. We were used to our bland fifth-grade music curriculum. No instruments to play. No dancing. …

What I learned from one of my most challenging moments in teaching — The atmosphere in my normally peaceful music room is crumbling. There are only five children, but three of them are inconsolable. One is just outside the open classroom door, sitting on the floor kicking his feet and screaming. Another is just inside the door, wailing and trying to escape. The…

The kids’ table counterculture — We were a ragtag group of class clowns, sitting at a card table on mismatched chairs in the living room, removed from the “main event” in the dining room. We were somewhat ill-mannered, with our own set of rules. …

November Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Happiness” —

This kid demonstrated the power of acceptance — I heard a potential argument beginning when I was walking by the playground on my way home from work. Two boys on scooters zipped along the concrete track that borders the ball field. One boy called to the other, “My scooter’s more grown-up than your scooter.” Ooo — them’s fightin’…

November Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Happiness” — Background noise? More like foreground joys. When I’m walking to work in the morning, I’ll often hear the elaborate trill of a Song Sparrow or the “birdie, birdie, birdie” call of a Northern Cardinal. On summer evenings, I’ll catch the “cheery-up” song of the American Robin. I’m keenly aware of birds singing. Their spirited tunes cut…