<p>Mini, I love your idea of the "graduation ceremony." Wish I'd thought of that for my son.</p>
<p>He's not a quitter, but a graduate. I published an article on that in my most recent book:</p>
<p>We are celebrating.</p>
<p>Meera (almost 13 my, how time flaps its wings!) is giving up the flute.</p>
<p>No, its not what you think, and, no, I am not being sarcastic. Meera doesnt sound at all bad. In fact, shes absolutely terrific, and that was part of what led her to her decision.</p>
<p>The piano has always been Meeras first love, and remains so. She took up the flute after watching her sister rake in nickels, dimes, quarters, dollars, (and occasional $20s!) at street fairs and farmers markets by playing her violin, enough to pay for a new instrument, a telescope-making workshop, a wolf-tracking expedition in Idaho, a folk harp and some lessons. The main attraction of the flute, initially, was that 1) it was portable; and 2) through my wife, we already had one. A better flute was eventually necessary, and materialized at just the proper moment on eBay.</p>
<p>It didnt take long for Meera to become quite adept at her instrument. A couple of listens to James Galways renditions of Oh Danny Boy, the Beatles In My Life, and Eric Claptons Tears in Heaven, the addition of several Broadway show tunes, the Shaker hymn Simple Gifts, and a sprinkling of Bach and Handel, and she was ready for prime time. For My New Puppy, the sign handsomely scrawled and attached to a shoebox, brought in the cash, sometimes at an alarming rate. To my way of thinking, we already had a perfectly acceptable canine, a large but docile half-Airedale/half-German Shepherd who thinks she is a miniature Cocker and wants to climb on our laps, but Meera desired a Westie a BIG dog in a little body -- more in keeping with her own personality.</p>
<p>In short order, the required $450 was amassed, and Duncan the Sugar Donut was now usurping my place on the couch. On occasion, Meera would still go down to the farmers market with the same sign, only now with puppy in tow. The rate of accumulation doubled. This was somewhat puzzling, given that the little white fur ball had already made his appearance, but I think folks believed they were now contributing to Duncans college education, and he seems, unlike our yellowish-brown carpetdweller, intelligent enough to likely benefit from it.</p>
<p>Meera soon enrolled in our local youth symphony, and learned all the little rituals and dress codes and conventions that come with playing formally with a group of people. She was pleased that the flutes didnt sit right out front, exposed to direct public scrutiny. She made friends quickly with her fellow flautists, commented once that the first trumpeter was cute, and seemed to be holding her own just fine, with very little practice to speak of.</p>
<p>Thats exactly what made the enterprise begin to unravel. Meera is good, so good in fact that, with a little effort, she might have competed successfully for a place in the senior orchestra, occupied mostly by high school juniors and seniors. But she would lose the social benefits of playing with her chronological peers in the junior symphony. The flipside, however, is that the current music staples offered her little in the way of challenge and, as her piano repertoire is expanding rapidly, conspicuously less so as time goes on. In short, she was somewhat trapped by her giftedness.</p>
<p>Quakers have an aphorism that when things do not seemingly present themselves with an easy or obvious direction, we say the way will open. And, sure enough, it did. Last summer, Meera went with a cousin of ours to an evening of modern jazz at a local cafe. (Olympia, as it turns out, has a relatively disproportionate share of fine musicians in all genres jazz, rock, classical, folk, even opera!) At the end of the evening, as the venue was emptying out, Meera stepped up to the piano, and played from memory the classical version of a piece of Spanish music that the combo had turned into one of its own numbers. Instant sparks! She immediately befriended the 55-year-old saxophonist, stricken with childhood polio, but who had earlier in his career played with the jazz legend John Coltrane (with whom Meera was already familiar.) (Theres more about Meeras meeting up with the adult world in Meeras New Friends; if you want to, skip ahead. Dont worry I wont mind, and no one else will know.)</p>
<p>Now they spend literally hours on the phone together talking about jazz and life (and all those things that are easier not to talk about with your parents when youre 12.). She occasionally goes over to his house to listen to rehearsals (ironically, his wife is a flautist), and is soaking it all in. The saxophonist is undertaking to teach her jazz theory.</p>
<p>And Meera knows what she wants to do. Without at all abandoning the two hours she spends each day at the piano with her classical repertoire, she wants jazz vocal lessons. It is as if things have come full circle, or at least a turn of the spiral is completed. Six years ago, Meera taught herself to read by following along in the words as she learned to play Gershwin standards. Michael Feinstein and Ella Fitzgerald (with a little Laura Nyro thrown into the mix) were constant companions. Now, Diana Krall CDs are coming home from the library, and Besame Mucho is number one on our households current hit parade. Who knows whats next?</p>
<p>In the meantime, weve invited Richard the flute teacher over for dinner and a celebration. We want to commemorate the event. We expect to do some picture-taking of him, Meera, and Duncan of course spend some time listening to their combined repertoire, and sharing some non-alcoholic toasts. Maybe well invite the jazz people over, too. There will be some presents for both teacher and graduate and perhaps Ill convince Aliyah to compose a flute duet for the occasion. (Bad idea, says my wife, who is always right about these things, should be for flute and piano.) Then the flute will be laid carefully and ceremonially in its case. Another learning adventure brought to successful fruition, and another one launched. Not a quitter, but a graduate. I can barely wait for the next episode!</p>
<p>P.S. Meeras flute will not be reappearing on eBay any time soon; I have my suspicions that we havent heard the last of it yet.</p>