“And Rishi is?”
“Our chauffeur.”
“Of course.”
“He brought a deck of cards. Last I knew, they were going to play some poker.”
I had all six smiling now, for better or worse.
“Have a seat, Redmond, and we’ll start with scales.”
Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti…
Help me, Mom, I thought.
Do!
Three octaves and no shattered glass.
“Nicely done!” One military member said it, but the words were written all over the silent ones’ faces.
Instead of “Rhapsody in Blue,” I played “Feels So Good,” made famous by Chuck Mangione. It was a song everyone knew, even if they didn’t know they knew it. Mr. Mangione and Herb Alpert, two trumpeters who brought trumpets into the mainstream for a time, they deserved props.
The committee had me play “Stars
