Don't Quit

Normally I start off my postings with some semi anecdotal standpoint, but this time I'm going to start where I normally end, by telling you to support live music today tomorrow and always.
I know that its been a few weeks since I posted last, but the truth is I have been just a little busy, on a couple of fronts, and I had to take some time off to get it done. Also, we haven't been doing too much band work, nor have I done much solo work, so as the saying goes...no news is good news.

Anyway, I've been thinking alot lately about what it would be like for me if I gave up playing music, or just retired from it (...this is not to say that it's going to happen). I wondered if I could be happy, and fulfilled, could I go and just be a casual listener.
I also wondered what that reality is like for people who retire after working hard for years and years, why so many of them seem to pass away after just finally getting to do what the want with the rest of their lives, and why so many folks simply work 'til they drop.
Where is the balance in all of this ? Are we afraid to prepare for the end ? Is the end of work, the end of life ?
When I was young(er), I used to look at the world with such fascination, and tried to see my place in it, as a working professional musician. I used ot watch my Godfather practice his saxophone for hours, but never saw him go to a gig. One day I simply asked him why does he do that, spend so much time practicing to go nowhere ? His response was "because I can't quit it." When pressed for the meaning of that statement, he said that the music was in him so deeply that he could not give it up, so even though he was not involved in the business of music any longer, he still felt compelled to make his horn sing, if for no one else but his own pleasure.
The fact that he stayed so diligent about it lead him to be my first formal teacher, and he instilled a love so deeply in me for music that I know that I won't quit it...and believe me I've tried.
There's a poem that I'm certain most of you have heard, but it truly fits here, and you can substitute whatever you're passionate about here...

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all up hill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile, but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns, as everyone of us sometimes learns, and many a failure turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out; don't give up, though the pace seems slow, you might succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man, often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup. And he learned too late, when the night slipped down, how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, it's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Indeed, these are words to live by...
I truly admire people who "keep on trying 'til they reach their higher ground (thanks to Stevie Wonder for that line...).
So why then did I begin this post with my tag line ? Because as much as we need air to breathe, we need music to be a source to soothe our savage souls...so, remember that life may throw you into fits, but music can move and shake you , so don't quit.

Support Live music today tomorrow and always.