My sister Randi and her family are about to embark on an amazing adventure . . . to New Zealand of all places! In a nutshell, my sister had decided that the time had come for her to leave the Mayo organization (she had been a family doctor in their Decorah clinic) but her contract included a very strict no-compete clause which would prevent her from practicing medicine anywhere close to Decorah for (I believe) half a year. So Randi decided that rather than be a doctor in Minot, North Dakota or Bangor, Maine for half a year, why not be a doctor in New Zealand? It might seem like a rather nutty course of action, but the more you think about it, the more sense it makes. And what a splendid adventure she is giving to herself, Matt, Aidan, Anna, and Kaj- an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.
Kathy and I of course were anxious to get to Decorah to wish them bon voyage and also to try and help out with the last minute preparations in any way we could. Being in Decorah today and tomorrow worked beautifully in our schedules (right before I needed to be in Dubuque for another Grace Institute) – except that we ended up missing out on a couple of very special nights in the Spencer-Berg home. One was a House Blessing which they did last week- a blessing of their splendid if still unfinished country home. (The service also included a blessing for the family who will live in the house while Randi & Co. are gone.) The other special night was billed as a Last Concert- not the last as in “the last one ever” but rather the last concert before the big departure. You have to understand that music is about as fundamental as air and food and water for that family, and there is nothing that seems to bring them as much joy as making music with their many friends.
As it turns out, Kathy and I may have missed out on those two nights and special occasions, but we were present for something which was just as sweet and special. Randi and Matt’s dear friends Liz and Dan and daughter Ida brought over supper- and it was delicious- but even more nourishing and delicious was the music which followed. If there is one thing Matt and Randi love about their new home, it is their new living room, which was specifically designed with a small stage at one end. . .perfect for small performances as so often happen in their home. For now, the only furniture is pretty much the piano and some simple folding chairs- but for a night like this that’s really all you need. This was a smaller, more intimate evening than the aforementioned Last Concert. It was just Kathy and me, the Spencer-Bergs, and these dear friends of theirs who are also their neighbors- an amazing family who, by the way, live completely “off the grid,” grow all their own food, and have a simple lifestyle which radically rewrites our notion of what it means to be Rich.
I don’t remember everything that happened in the concert, but I was called on to sing something and decided on “Younger than Springtime,” from “South Pacific,” complete with an exciting transposition that I heard Harry Connick Jr. do in the Glenn Close TV-movie of the show. Kathy and I did “I Remember it Well” from “Gigi,” which is a good choice for something like this because it’s funny yet with heart. And we finished out with “Til there was You” from “The Music Man.” But we were happy to quickly step aside and make room for the Decorah folk, who provided one delightful song after another. A special joy was when Kaj took out his little violin and proceeded to play a spirted rendition of “Old Joe Clark” – and before you knew what hit you, Liz had everybody square dancing to it! Kaj’s other “performance” of the evening was when he offered to do his imitations of various guns and weapons. Kaj is the gentlest little boy I have ever known, so it’s hard to make sense of this fascination he has with weaponry. “Only in self defense!” he likes to remind us. But everyone sat there respectfully as Kaj proceeded through nearly a dozen different weaponry sounds which he is somehow able to imitate with uncanny accuracy – and we all applauded and smiled when he was done. There was also a neat moment song about water sung by Randi, Aidan, Anna and Ida complete with hand gestures that I could note have begun to master— but which they do with effortless ease. But what was best about it was hearing those four sweet voices blending so easily and perfectly.
The evening really reached its emotional apex as Liz and Dan and Ida took the stage to sing several different songs of farewell and blessing for Randi and Matt and their children – singing with such clear and sincere fervor that you knew they meant every single word. That’s sort of how the evening began, as well. When you dine with Liz and Dan and Ida, you can expect not only delicious food but also three sung table prayers AT LEAST. They seem to think- and I would be crazy to argue with them – that life is way too short to be singing a single table blessing for a meal! (As someone whose wedding was almost two hours long and featured two choirs and four soloists, I am obviously of the “More is More” school when it comes to music, so I know where Liz and Dan are coming from.)
Anyway, the evening was breathtakingly beautiful, and not in a Beethoven Symphony sort of way . . . but beautiful in the tender-heartedness and simple, unbridled love with which every single word and note was shared. And it was an incredibly powerful demonstration that nothing binds friends together as tightly and warmly as Music, even across hemispheres!
pictured above: Kaj is playing “Old Joe Clark” as everyone else dances – everyone else except yours truly, who was busy with the camera.