As we get closer to July 4, Independence Day, I start thinking about one of my favorite historical figures…George Washington. Love him! Apart from the fact that we have the same birth date, George was a visionary and a hero, not to mention a religious man.

I’ve read a number of books on George. The troops actually called him “Your Excellency” since he wasn’t a military man as such and wasn’t called a general right away. But he had his head on straight and wanted to see a new type of country. We won the Revolutionary War, many thanks to Lafayette and the French who were the best military strategists at the time. Then came the time to define who we were going to be as a country. The leaders at the time wanted Washington to be King. He refused. Isn’t that what we fought a war to get rid of? So instead, they elected him the first President. He had vision for this country. And so far, no other country can measure up to how we did it. America is unique.

Another one of my favorite people is the great composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. He is the first composer I remember hearing when I was probably 4. My Dad played clarinet and we listened to classical music since before I was born I’m sure. Ha!

Beethoven entered the music scene during the Classical period of music. At some point he started to pull away from the classical restraints and pour more emotion into his music. He ended up moving the entire music establishment into the Romantic period of music. No small feat! Pouring more emotion into the music was now a “thing.” Taking a bit more liberties with the music to allow for “emoting” became more commonplace. The music stirred your feelings more and more. Music was on the move…evolving.

Another favorite of mine, not historic, was my long time voice teacher of 20 years. He knew everything about voice. He had a working relationship with a local otolaryngologist at one of the top hospitals in the Chicago area. I went to graduate school where he was the Chair of the Voice Dept. He taught the Vocal Pedagogy class. I wouldn’t take that class with anyone else. He knew it all and could hear it all. I learned to teach working with him all those years besides taking the Pedagogy class. And…what a sense of humor. Ha!

And yet another favorite of mine is my own Dad. Not necessarily an historic person but he was a clarinetist and artist. He was so creative. Of course being a creative artist doesn’t pay bills and support a family so he drove for a private delivery service. But what a talented person he was!

Dad taught me to read music. He would come around with his music when we were playing in the back yard and ask if I wanted to learn that stuff. I said “u-huh!” I mean, it’s Dad…what else would you say at age 4? Ha! I don’t know how many times he did this but by the time we got our piano a few years later and I looked at more music, I knew how to read it. Kids brains are like sponges. Just sop things up!

Dad was also an artist. A REAL good artist. His drawings were absolutely spectacular. And…he built things. Some furniture, a Grandfather Clock for each of us 3 kids beside one for him and Mom. Good grief! What talent!

So when I wanted my bedroom furniture to match years ago and I didn’t have enough money to buy a set of bedroom furniture (poor musician here), I built it from very good furniture kits. I still have that furniture today. I also built my computer desk I am typing on right now. It’s my finest achievement. Then I built a couple of other things in my home. In short, half of my furniture was built by me and a couple by my Dad. The rest was bought.

Wow. Looking back in time really made me think about the historical wonderfully important people who changed the course of history and a couple from current times who helped to make me who I am. As I was writing this I kept thinking about who else I could add to this list. The article would probably go one for weeks so I’ll quit here.

Think about yourself and your life. Who do you admire historically? How about from your own life? Wallow in what it means to you and how it formed your path on this Earth. Leave a comment. It’s amazing to think about stuff like this and put things into perspective…isn’t it?

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