An upscale retirement home for aging musicians.

A birthday party concert for Verdi.

A residence where every type of music and musical personality emanates from the walls of every room.

Another curtain call – one last hurrah in the final stages of life.

What could be more appropriate?

I took myself to a movie last night.  Yes, I skipped supper and ran out the door after my final piano student to make it to the historic, downtown Avalon before showtime. I sat in the lumpy and aged theater seats of what was known as the Cooper Theater in my childhood.  It was the place I first saw the original “Fantasia.”  Also where I gagged at the smell of a cigarette smoked surreptitiously nearby. But that was once upon a time, very long ago.

As the reel rolled, I was reminded over and over again of who I am and who I used to be.  More importantly, I was reinforced in my resolve of the past few years to live each year as though I have been given 365 days to live. Things that need to be said, relationships that need to be healed, dreams I want to come true; come under deadline when I have been given 365 days to live. As Robert D. Smith says in his book, 20,000 Days (2013), “…imminent death inspires clarity of purpose.”

Was it a feel-good movie?  Do tears make you feel good?  Does getting older comfort your soul?  In some ways, the plot was reminiscent of “August Rush” with the underlying theme of never giving up on your music. Over the past year, I have played numerous one hour piano gigs at retirement centers. The movie, “Quartet,” is a poignant and comedic reminder of the changes that happen as talented, intelligent people age.   Think of it as “Pitch Perfect,” for great- grandparents.

These were opera singers.  While I have never aspired to sing opera, the similarities to the music life in general brought back vivid memories – pictures from the scrapbook of time. Reggie’s magnificent presentation, to high school kids, of the similarities between rap and opera reminded me of numerous times I stood in front of a class, endeavoring to engage middle schoolers by following the common thread, however thin, between their favored genre and classical music – back through history to the roots of music.

Are you like me? Whatever my goals and dreams, I want to keep doing them, reaching that high-point again and again.  It is not enough to cross something off the bucket list – to redeem and reconcile the past.  Living each day in the present, saying what needs to be said and doing what needs to be done daily is also part of the deal.

I will make music. I will. I will. I will.  And, I will live to write about it.

What are you doing in the 365 days you have been given?  Are you keeping the music alive? Please leave me a comment, so we can encourage each other.

Not Pictured: A senior’s oldies band I played with briefly in Seattle in 2011 resulted in relationships with other aging musicians.