Malcolm has spent the past several days in Colorado, visiting with friends from our cohort at Prescott College. From Denver to Boulder to Durango, he tasted espresso and sat in a beautiful cathedral and beyond. Update on animals: back in Rockport, on a morning before I departed, across the street perched the largest bird I…
Carte Postale no. 5: A church and a missile in the middle
This evening, I type Malcolm’s travel missives with one hand while I ice my swollen pinky. Malcolm: Morning in Iowa. Tranquil church and a museum for the Strategic Air Command. Not sure what this says about the world or my interests. The 90 year old in me loves the stained glass and the 11 year…
Carte Postale nos. 3 & 4: The Limbo Zone
Driving through the middle of these United States, Malcolm sent me a text with a photo that has become my favorite thus far. Malcolm: This is the canal lock in La Salle, Illinois. Had to drive down and inspect the past? Love the engineering of raising and lowering water level by locking it in for…
Carte Postale no. 2: Silos at dawn
My update was cut short yesterday by a run-in with a kamikaze plate that sent me to the ER for five stitches in my left pinky finger. Will I still be able to play ukulele? I asked the doctor in woozy voice. Can you feel this? he asked me as he pinched the tip of…
Carte Postale no. 1: The West Awaits
I know that Malcolm was a member of a band for a period of his life because he told me once not to worry about people not liking me as a performer. Did anyone throw rocks at you? he asked me. No, I responded. Then you’re fine, he said. Rocks? Seriously? I asked. And there…
Will you join us?
Malcolm and I have spent a lot of time trying to clearly communicate what makes the Story-to-Song method different than other songwriting out there. Having been trained as scholars in the Prescott College Sustainability Education program, we have learned firsthand how important it is to be able to offer a clear and concise response to…
It’s getting serious!
For the past couple of years, Malcolm and I have been meeting once or twice a week via Google Hangout or Skype to talk about getting our songwriting business going or to work on compositions. In the past month, we started meeting every day. We would check in and discuss business strategies, potential products, who…
A song for Kino Bay
I have been learning how to write songs from stories for the past several years. Sometimes, I share my own stories, but most often I work with another person as a kind of musical guide. They share a story, and I ask them questions to try to learn more about where the emotion is coming…
(Don’t just) Wade in the Water
I vividly remember my AP Psychology class in high school. The main reason I remember is because my teacher was so very inspired and impassioned with the subject. I loved going to his class, where I felt that my presence was valued and I was almost always pleasantly surprised by the information I gleaned from…
It takes two, and often many more
After our mentor meeting the other night, I felt blue and more than a bit discouraged. I sent a quick message to Malcolm, suggesting a brief debriefing. Not thirty minutes later, we were communicating across space and time, and what an incredible comfort. Since meeting Malcolm and beginning to work together, I have experienced a…
Guiding Song 