Life and Passing

This past week has seen the loss of a couple musicians that touched my life. One was Ray Poterack, a very devoted member of the University City Symphony. For many years he was librarian and wrote the program notes. He was a true music lover. It was not his profession: he was an amateur in the traditional sense of the word and I admired how much he was committed to the orchestra. He was not a great cellist–his sound was faint and he had some issues controlling the bow. I’m not certain if these matters were age-related or whether it was simply the level of his playing. However, it didn’t matter because of his loyalty to the orchestra as well as his music making as part of the group. If only there were more men like Ray. He is missed by so many in the orchestra.

The other person who passed away was a church musician–Bill Littleton. He was a very godly man who directed music at First Baptist Church Ferguson. A few years ago he retired and moved away from the St. Louis area. It was sad for me to think he has left this earth, but I think of heaven and all the music making I like to think is going on up there.

On another note, I learned today that another of my cousins is fighting for his life due to cancer. It’s a rare, aggressive form. What a raw deal for a 39-year-old. My prayers go out for him, his wife and young son, all other family, and the doctors who will treat him. May those doctors be granted wisdom and compassion.

At this time all the siblings of my parents have children who are dealing with cancer. What is going on in this world? When my cello teacher was dying of cancer, his wife mentioned that our world is just too full of too many chemicals and we don’t know enough about what they are doing to us. What she said was true then and even more so now. We are managing to poison ourselves in ways we don’t even know because of all the products around us. How much can we take control to keep the dangerous substances away?

I wonder about the carrots I ate today. They were grown in our garden, pulled, and now stored in our refrigerator until eaten. Are there substances that have settled into the soil that have been absorbed by what we are eating? Are these safer because of being grown in my back yard? How about tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, corn, rhubarb, apples, blackberries, and everything else grown in the back yard?

While pondering all of the above, my mind goes back to my life of teaching cello lessons. There is the joy of guiding students to further expand their technique while growing in their love of music. It is the hope of the future of music. Perhaps in at least one of them will be someone who will grow up to be another Ray Poterack. God bless Ray.