The Views of a Health Economist . . . for real . . .

I listened to Talkback this week. Talkback is radio show on my local public radio station. The station managers come up with a topic, bring in local "experts", and allow people to call in with questions and comments. As you can imagine in the this day and age of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, these discussions can become rather heated.

The latest guest was a health economist from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The topic was the economic effects of smoking. My grandfather passed away from the effects of emphysema. Another dear relative was recently treated for throat cancer, something that was definitely caused by years of heavy smoking. After visiting him a few days before my grandfather's passing, I am well aware of the painful effects of this deadly disease. I don't smoke, my children are strongly warned against smoking, and I avoid walking near smokers at any cost.

When hearing the topic of this radio show, l (as well as you) would expect to hear statistics on the medical costs and loss of work days from the negative effects of smoking. You would probably expect a representative of a major medical center to rail against the bad effects of smoking tobacco products. You would expect this person to share information on successful smoking cessation programs.

This didn't happen. I was and am still shocked. Instead, this person spoke about the detrimental economic effects on the great state of PA that would happen if smoking were outlawed. The poor farmers (here I'm thinking of the corporate farms, not family farms) would suffer greatly if they didn't have tobacco as a major cash crop. Of course he ignored the call in question by a listener that suggested that farmers start growing corn for ethynol production. He also said that the state of PA couldn't afford to lose the tax dollars that were gained on each pack of cigarettes that was purchased in the state. He also spoke of the medical personnel who benefitted from treating people for smoking related illnesses. Finally, he touted the benefits of smoking cessation programs of programs that cost the most for taxpayers . . . not the more inexpensive programs.

This person, who works for a major medical center in central PA, truly believes that from an economical perspective, people needed to keep smoking. Really! I wonder if he has a favorite brand of cigarettes!

Glen Beck is clever . . . and dangerous.

He knew exactly what he was doing . . . by scheduling his so called "non political rally" for the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I've Got A Dream" speech, he invited extra publicity and comparisons to a great American. Glen Beck is not a great American. He's a populist for white lower income Americans who have been told that they haven't had a voice until his coming. He's also a blatant flip flopper. He's made racist comments and then pulls a stunt like today. Americans that view him in a positive light seem to be accepting of his contradictions. I find that puzzling . . . do Americans really feel so ignored by politicians that they are willing to accept one opinion on one day and a contradicting opinion on another day. Politicians have been undone by changing opinions in the past . . . why is Beck able to maintain his support?

Bill Clinton once said that "When Americans think, democrats win." Well . . . we're currently not thinking very well. I recently read an article that laid out the Obama presidency very clearly . . . he's actually doing rather well. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/29/andrew-rawnsley-obama-second-term

I like the perspective . . . and am perplexed as to why American followers of people like Glen Beck are working so hard to prevent this president from succeeding . . . it's not like they are going to hurt President Obama in the long run. He's going to finish his presidency in four or eight years, and will then go off to a lucrative life of speaking and being an elder statesman.

The fact is that Beck/Palin/Savage/Limbaugh followers are only going to hurt themselves in the long run . . . higher taxes, less government support for things like policemen, firemen, road maintenance, public facilities, national parks, safety in things like food and medicines, . . . I find it intriguing that Beck/Limbaugh/Palin followers want less government and yet they are the first to claim that the government has failed people if there is a natural disaster. Do you really think that these people would be popular if they were in office and eliminated all the public programs that they label as "taking money out of hardworking American's pockets"?

A current poll blames the Obama presidency for the purported unreadiness of another hurricane disaster like Katrina. I have heard public financial support as being a "handout" many times over the past months. There are very few people who can say that they won't ever need public financial support in their lifetime . . . don't you want that safety net? And then there are the people who say that social security is a handout and should be eliminated . . . do you really engage in responsible saving? Considering the statistics on the small number of people who are wealthy, I doubt it. Most of you would frivolously spend the money put into FICA rather than saving it. I just heard that GM is going well in China . . . how many birthers/Palinist/Beck followers give credit to the TARP bill for saving this company? Furthermore, have these followers spoken to any GM auto workers who still have jobs because of public support.

Come one people, you can't have your cake and eat it too . . . if we don't start developing respect for our public leaders, no intelligent people will go into public service. You don't have to agree on everything but you don't have to lie, take facts out of context, and accuse your president of being an extremist Muslim either. You can worship at the alter of Glen Beck and Sarah Palin, but the fact is, if you were penniless and begging on the street they'd walk on by . . . without sharing their wealth. And yes, they are part of the wealthy elite in this country. Do you really want Glen Beck's America? It's not like he's going to put his money where is mouth is and run for public office. He plays it safe and stays where he can talk but not be involved in the actual governing process.

Frankly, this American is proud of the principles that our country was founded upon but isn't particularly proud of Americans at this time in history.

Strings Without Boundaries

Yes. The title of this graduate course is the perfect description. I know . . . people who hear that I teach students to play string instruments immediately conjure up a vision of ugly out-of-tune Mozart. That's really not what I do . . . at least I try very hard and am successful . . . most of the time. I'm not a native violinist . . . my first choice of a musical instrument was the clarinet. I started playing the clarinet in second grade after a few points of direction from my mom. I am proud to be a third generation clarinetist as my mom and grandfather also played this instrument . . . and modestly know that I'm the most accomplished. I can play the Mozart concerto when someone holds a gun to my head (no this has never happened). I studied clarinet in college with two very talented performers . . . neither of whom ever convinced me that I would learn to like French conservatory clarinet solos. My youngest child also chose the clarinet, probably with the knowledge that he was going to make us pay for his choice of instrument by frequently sharing that he hates band, the clarinet, and most of all that dreaded PRACTICE.

Anyway, I digress . . . going on a tangent is something that I learned in my pre-highstakes-testing education days . . . I am thankful that I was never forced to memorize the tenants of the five paragraph essay! Back on topic . . . strings. Yes, I teach strings and because I'm not a native violinist, I frequently take graduate courses in the summers. Through this study, I've become pretty good on this instrument and my kids have no idea that it's not my main instrument. Also, I have made a wonderful discovery over the past few years . . . I am a fiddle player at heart. Fiddle music feeds my soul. I think it's a connection to all those campfire songs that I sang as a child . . . now we teach tunes from television cartoons like Sponge Bob, folk songs and campfire tunes are no longer the staple of public school music program. Oops . . . I digress again. Back to fiddle music. A few years ago I attended a graduate course called "The Pittsburgh Jazz and Fiddle Camp". This camp has been renamed "Strings Without Boundaries" and I chose to enroll in this camp for the second time this summer. It's a special secret of mine that one of the few perks of being a music teacher is that I get to study things like fiddle music. Other "real" teachers have to take things like "Classroom Management for Autistic Students" and "Interpretation and Use of Scoring Rubrics for Dreaded Standardized Tests". Me . . . I fly under the radar and take music courses that feed my soul and inspire me to once again walk into school on the first day of classes.

Fiddle music is amazing! It has melody that is frequently lyrical and playful . . . two of my requirements for music that I like. It's fun, it's worldly . . . and best of all MY STUDENTS LIKE TO PRACTICE IT!!! Quite simply, today's kids don't practice Mozart. They just don't. They are too busy running from school to girl scouts to soccer practice to Broadway dance classes to the mounds of homework that we give them in our attempts to say that we have good standardized test scores. Parents don't get involved with music lessons and put it on my shoulders to inspire their over-programmed kids to practice. So . . . I have to resort to tricking them into wanting to practice. Fiddle music is the best way to do this . . . give them Devil's Dream and I know that next week I'll hear those magical words--"Mrs. M., look what I can do!"

Now, I know that I am never going to be a world class fiddler but I can keep up with my fifth graders. This summer, something special happened. I got to study fiddle music with an American treasure of a fiddler . . . Richard Greene. Richard has invented techniques used in bluegrass music. As a teenager, he played with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. No, I had never heard of this group but apparently it was the granddaddy of bluegrass music. Now, Richard is a Grammy nominated/awarded bluegrass fiddler. I didn't know this until I checked out his website. When I worked with him, he was this nice gray haired gentleman who could play the snot out of his fiddle. I could tell that he was a well trained, i.e. classically trained, fiddler. He uses good hand position and knows how to shift. He can also play the most complicated doublestops that I have ever seen. He spent most of the week harping on our accents on beat three and complaining that we were using too much bow on beat four. This got old after a day or two but by the end of the week I could hear the effect of better control. On the last day, he got all misty-eyed and said that we were the best group of beginners that he had worked with in his time in Pittsburgh (yeah! I fooled him!). At the end of the last day, I attended a panel discussion and listened to him talk about the early influences on his musical development. I began to realize that this guy was part of American bluegrass history. He knew some serious people. When you play for the Academy Awards, you're someone. Seriously!

All week long, I had been chomping at the bit to play some Irish/Scottish/Cape Breton/New England style fiddle music. This isn't what Richard does. He does bluegrass music . . . basically fiddle music with a lot of really fast notes. When he played for us on the last day, some of his lessons sunk in. I could here the emphasis on the backbeats and could see why he kept saying "less bow, less bow". But mostly, I could see his love for this music and his wanting to share that love. Richard was not a trained teacher but he truly wanted to inspire young students to seek out his genre . . . it occurred to me that this is why I seek out these summer experiences. I often don't know how to regenerate my love for music after the grueling challenges of teaching music in public schools. This is why I enroll in courses like this. A little part of Richard Greene is going to be present in my classroom in August.

Somehow, I think that my grandfather would have liked this.

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is . . . simply lovely! From the breathtaking heights of Mounts Rainier/Hood/Saint Helens to the city offerings of Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma, our vacation was a much needed break from the demands of public school music teachers. Living on the East coast, my experience with cities tends to be dominated by theater performances and history. While that certainly exists in the afore mentioned cities . . . go see the Underground Tour in Seattle for some humorous history . . . it's really not the main focus of these cities. Seattle is jewelpiece of the Pacific Northwest. I'm not sure I've seen a healthier happier city. Even the rush hour traffic tends to be polite. Tacoma is, for lack of a better word, a nice place. And Portland . . . a relative commented that Portlanders like keeping their city a bit "weird". I agree with this. From the Naked Bike Race (bringing attention to a form of transportation that doesn't use fossil fuels) to a book store that wants you to have the choice of used or new books, Portland is pretty unique. What I'll remember in all three cities is the prevalence of unique expression in local businesses. None of these cities is overloaded with national chains. People enjoy their small businesses and each is an expression of the creative personalities of their owners. You can tell that people are happy . . . in their jobs, in their personal lives, and are proud of their communities. People simply like each other. Living in the rat race of public education, I crave this.

I viewed much of our destinations behind the lens of my camera. I'd like to share a few of my favorites . . . Pittman mansion in Portland, OR; flower vendor in Pike's Place Market, Seattle, WA; sandcastle event at Cannon Beach, Portland, OR; the largest bookstore (Powell's) in the USA, Portland, OR; Dale Chihuly glasswork, Tacoma, WA; Mount Hood as seen from apple orchards, OR; waterfall as seen through stone railing, Columbia Gorge, OR; our last mountain view of Mount Ranier, I5 outside Seattle, WA; and kiteboarder, Columbia River Gorge, OR.

Endings . . .

My school year is ending. I keep looking at my students' faces and wonder if I've made a difference. Will they remember me? Do I want them to remember me . . . ha ha, maybe not in a few cases. As a music teacher, I always wonder if they are going to support music performance ensembles for their children . . . at a much later date of course. Did I teach them a song that they will sing and play for the rest of their lives? I hope so but I don't know so. Our society has the "American Idol" philosophy that some people are singers and some can't . . . which is really wrong. We all have the capability of singing, unless there is a physical defect. However, in the United States today, there is a stigma against perceived inability to produce a singing tone . . . if we can't belt it out like Carrie Underwood, then we can't sing . . . crazy thought, but I do think it is true. Listen to a young child sing . . . most likely they will imitate their favorite Disney singer . . . how many Miley Cirus wanna-be's are out there . . . too many! I guess I should be grateful that they are imitating Miley and not Billy Ray (Achey Breaky Heart deserves a peaceful death . . . ).

We used to have a great tradition of singing. I had the great privilege of growing up in a family that sang holiday carols in the car, had campfires where a favorite aunt and a favorite uncle would play folk tunes on the guitar and we'd all sing along, where we participated in scouting which always involved singing around the campfire . . . I always sang in chorus. Always. Now I just sing in my daily job and of course have the occasional "belt it out" fest on my commute to and from my school. Thanks to my iPod for that last one! In addition, singing schools were held in prairie one room school houses. Shape singing, also known as solfa, was popular in New England. Revivals involved singing . . . African American Baptist/Gospel churches have maintained this tradition, probably better than we rather staid Caucasians.

Singing in America though is not an ingrained part of our daily culture today. It's seen as something that some can do and most cannot. Sadly shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent contribute to this when they dismiss people with perfectly acceptable ordinary singing voices. They should say "yes you can sing, but you're just not a pop star".

This idea of music in culture makes me ponder this . . . do we have a culture if we don't sing? All the interesting cultures around the world have singing traditions. From African village gatherings to work songs in farming communities in China to aboriginal songs in the Middle Eastern and Asian countries. We're losing Stephen Foster songs and slave spirituals and jazz favorites and holiday sing-a-longs (do we really need to sing "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" . . . over "White Christmas"). The oral tradition of passing down songs still exists around the world but it has faded in the US. Families either don't have the time nor the inclination to do that any more . . . how many kids in America know "Oh Susanna" or "Dixie" or my personal favorite "The Cat Came Back".

The closest place that I can find singing for children, outside school music programs of course, is in churches. The problem with church music is that it is limited to music that serves the purpose of that particular religion. There are, of course, wonderful church music teachers. Maybe churches could expand their repertoire and teach folk songs mixed in with those of religious themes. I'd also like to see churches go back and teach all the old religious songs . . . there's too much new poppy stuff on the market.

Maybe I should make this blog about songs . . . hmmm . . . I keep thinking that I lack personality. I might be on to something here . . . I could focus on a folk song and it's history each week. Maybe . . .

My Wedding Anniversary . . . Wow!

My decades-long wedding anniversary is coming up. I'm excited, kind of like I used to get excited when watching out my window for Santa Claus' arrival on Christmas Eve. For some reason, this one's kind of different. I'm proud of my successful marriage. More proud than I ever thought I'd be! I've been smiling about this for several weeks. I grew up in the 1980's and it seems like everyone got divorced, had messy lives, and messed up kids. I haven't done that and I'm proud of that. How . . . you might ask . . .

Well, I could give all the usual platitudes such as work together, don't go to bed angry, and be supportive. Sure . . . these are all true. I guess we do these things . . . some of them (not the "don't go to bed angry" . . . we certainly go to bed angry because we have exhausting jobs). But the real reason we've survived is twofold . . . one, we've never (or rarely) considered any other option and two, we just work together. My husband and I have the same interests, we absolutely love talking with one another, and we spend a lot of time together . . . probably too much, sometimes.

I love him. "Well . . . you're supposed to" you might comment. Sure . . . but I've seen many people who don't seem to have the same passion for each other after all these years. We do. Always. Even in the middle of the angriest tear-filled disagreements, I love him. In these moments, I want to protect him . . . from my anger. The simplest things make me feel loved. Emails in the middle of the day, even ones that simply say "hi, hope you're having a good day, love you" still make me smile as much as pretty cards did back when we first met. I passionately support my husband every chance I get . . . and I love doing so . . . even when it means that I'm seen more as my husband's wife instead of a good music teacher in my own right . . . yes, we both teach music and he's better at this than I although I'm probably the better relationship person. He's like any guy who sometimes forgets his wedding anniversary, never sends me flowers, and leaves the lid up in the middle of the night . . . but he also does little things for me that have big meanings. How many guys out there are comfortable washing their spouse's underwear, bras, and stockings . . . "too much information" you're screaming right now. Okay, I get that one. How many guys are willing to interrupt an afternoon nap to talk to their wife when she's getting drowsy during her long drive home? How many guys cook dinner for their wife EVERY night . . . Yes, he does this and is an amazing cook! I probably carry around 10-15 extra pounds that are dedicated to my husband's cooking.

Yes, we fight and argue and disagree and sometimes throw things or hit things. You have no idea . . . between our respective job stress (being a music teacher is one of the most stressful jobs in education today, I believe that) and my penchant for picking a PMS infused monthly fight, we get into it. Oh do we ever! We're both stubborn and we believe, at all costs, that we're right and the other is not. We've learned how to get under each other's skin . . . and unfortunately, we don't hesitate to do so. We could probably be actors in one of those classic spousal movie scenes . . . the ones where they throw things at each other . . . you know what I mean. Yes, we also get annoyed at each other by little things in life. His snoring keeps me up at night (he does nothing about it! grrr . . . ) and he surely goes nuts with my penchant for living off of piles of clothes on our bedroom floor. He refuses to send me roses on Valentines Day because of the excessive cost . . . I get annoyed when he wants to buy himself big priced toys (golf clubs, iPhone, touch iPod . . . other gadgets over the years). But, we work. We do. I'm not sure why. Make up you-know-what, maybe . . . or maybe our stubborn commitment to our own side of an argument fuels our passion for each other . . . who knows . . . it just works.

Let's face it, we didn't do anything right when we first met. We didn't become friends, and then date, and then spend an engagement working out the correct formula for our lives. We didn't go through counseling before our quick wedding . . . you know, those sessions that teach you how to deal with the trials of marriage. Instead, we were star-crossed the first time we met and became soul mates on the very next date. My poor husband ran up much credit debt trying to convince me that he loved me . . . he didn't have to, it was mutual. I won't bore you with some of these other details . . . especially with a certain Christmas party and my cute borrowed mini-skirt and tights . . . We did, however, get married shortly after we met. You would be shocked if you knew how short a time we dated. We stressed out over financial issues and didn't plan our children. And we've lasted many years . . . without question. Amazing! We didn't do ANYTHING the proverbial right and yet . . . Our "we" is so right.

There's another ingredient in this formula . . . our kids. We both grew up with divorced parents and neither of us wanted our kids to go through the same. It's why we just don't consider any other relationship option. But there's more to it than this . . . kids are like glue. They make us stick together. We are the proverbial proud parents when we attend our kids' concerts, conferences, and sporting events. We desperately miss our kids when we have to go places without them. We disagree about our kids and worry about our kids . . . together. They complete our relationship circle and I'm grateful for every fleeting minute I spend as a parent.

Amazing . . . I'm still smiling about this achievement and will be for some time . . . Happy anniversary to me! Happy anniversary to us!