Miracoli a Milano

  The Parable of the Pianist When I was a kid, I made the mistake of saying, “Mom, I think I want to try the piano…” and before I could change my mind, she had enrolled me in lessons. There was no going back from there. I took lessons for many years, stumbling along the way, but as each year passed I got a little better, until as a teenager I was playing a lot of the familiar classical pieces.  My favorite memory of those years of musicianship was that of going into the chapel at night when no one else was in our church building. I would leave the lights off, and sitting alone in the quiet stillness, I would play the first movement of “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven. It was my favorite piece. The acoustics of the chapel were perfect, and I could close my eyes and play, and it took me to another place.  As I would finish the final notes of the movement and the resonance of the keys faded, I would open my eyes, and there was nothing but...silence. It was a beautiful experie...

  LIFE IS PAIN I grew up in a family of movie watchers. We had conversations at the dinner table comprised entirely of famous movie lines. Our favorite movie to quote was The Princess Bride. One night, during one of our movie line marathons...our mother suddenly cracked. Exasperated from her day, and running on her last ounce of patience, she slammed her fist on the dinner table and declared, "NO MORE MOVIE LINES, I MEAN IT!" After a moment of silent shock and awe, all 7 of us kids looked at each other, smiled, and then in unison we responded, "Anybody want a peanut?!" We all had a good laugh...even our mother.  To illustrate my point of this entry, may I indulge myself with one additional movie line from this cinematic masterpiece? In the story, the Dread Pirate Roberts has kidnapped Princess Buttercup. He is ridiculing her for abandoning her "one true love" (Wesley), and for allowing herself to marry the evil Prince Humperdink. In a very dramatic moment,...