Sunday, June 01, 2008

Happy Birthday, Heir!


Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored!" We will gladly fill your needs for spiritual guidance from proven ancient detities. Or, if you need it, we'll provide weird sound effects for your next science fiction film.


Yes, today is The Heir's birthday, and it could be avoided no longer. She came into possession of her musical saw. She's in the other room right now making her first set of noises with it. Banging it with a mallet, to be precise.

What does it sound like? Nothing I have ever heard before. No, wait. Maybe a wolf whistle that goes longer than anyone would have breath to blow. Otherwise it's pure Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Did you ever play an instrument? My mother started me with piano lessons before I went to school. Later I also took the violin. Both piano and violin were my mother's idea, and I feel like I spent half of my childhood practicing. The only good that came out of it is that I know how to read music. I never touch a piano now.

While I was a kid, chafing at the practice regimen, I swore I would never make my kids take up a musical instrument. I have let them find their own way, so to speak. And instead of doing finger drills on the piano, they spent their kid years outside playing stickball and stuff with their peers in the neighborhood.

The upshot of this parenting decision is that now The Heir has chosen her own instrument to master, and it sounds like the aliens have landed.
This is The Heir. Isn't she beautiful?


FROM ANNE
THE MERLIN OF BERKELEY SPRINGS

6 comments:

yellowdoggranny said...

if there is any consolation, i never have read about a person getting up from playing the musical saw and killing someone..or read 'she stayed home and played the musical saw before she joined the marines'....so .you got that going for you...
happy birthday sweetcakes..you have lovely ears..
ps...what was the favor you were going to ask of me and never did?....

Anne Johnson said...

... to mark something as offensive on someone's facebook. The issue was resolved when I told the young facebookian in question that I would talk to his mom.

Thalia said...

You seriously got her a musical saw? You are the awesomest mom ever!

Evn said...

You may or may not be pleased to know this, but a friend of mine gives musical saw lessons. I'd be happy to put you in touch.

sageweb said...

Great picture of the Heir. And happy birthday to her!.. I love that she chose the musical saw, so not the norm.

Raevyn said...

Happy Belated Birthday to the Heir! Hope you enjoy your musical saw.

As an aside, a musical saw isn't the strangest instrument I've ever played/heard of... my uncle's musical boot takes that cake!!