from Paul Lord

At Fly Creek ‘Phil,’ Youth,

Beauty, Strength Evident

To the Editor:

As a deaf guy, I don’t attend many musical performances.  They are largely exercises in frustration for me.  Before my hearing loss, I appreciated music, and I still appreciate memories of music, but the reality is that the notes don’t resonate when you are missing enough frequencies.

I attended last night’s performance to acknowledge the support provided by the Fly Creek Philharmonic for the Otsego Lake Association.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  This was the second or third time I attended a Fly Creek Philharmonic performance.  Knowing the visuals would be important and hoping that my lip-reading skills would help to understand the lyrics, I stood in the rear last night.

Standing helped me to see both the performers and the audience.  Watching both groups left my face aching from the nearly two hours of grinning.  The thoughtfulness, imagination and inventiveness of the Fly Creek Philharmonic program and performance were incredible.  The involvement of young and old and all ages between was heartening.

All those good feelings were amplified by the knowledge that the performance required an amazing amount of preparation and was intended for two small audiences of community members attending in a single weekend.

As you know, I spent nine years in Japan.  Japanese culture has a focus on Sakura, the cherry blossoms.  The Japanese Sakura focus is on the ephemeral beauty of cherry blossoms, youth, beauty, strength and so much more.  The “Water, Water Everywhere” performance exemplified Sakura.  Please thank everyone involved.

PAUL LORD

Pierstown