23 October 2023

Plotting an oblique return to the clarinet

The latest claim staked by the food artisans: “Tortellini” Westerns
I don’t think my coworker is at all that way...but the row of three dispensers of hand sanitizer does give off something of an “As Good As It Gets” vibe.
Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)

Rarely does an actor have the chance where he makes a movie he doesn’t understand at all, and it makes him a star.

— Lewis Smith, Perfect Tommy in “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension”

I’ve mentioned heretofore that the impairment of my left hand as a result of my stroke almost five years ago has perforce separated me from my clarinet. The principal difficulty stemming from the limited sensation in my left fingers. I’m loth even to assemble the clarinet with my left hand in this condition, lest I unfeelingly damage the keys while twisting the joints together. My intent and hope is that the neural pathways between brain and fingers be reopened through my ongoing weekly physical therapy. I talked with an old friend on Saturday, and in discussing my involuntary divorce from the clarinet, and the difficulty in my sealing tone-holes with my left fingers, my friend asked if trying to play the saxophone might be easier, since one difference in the mechanism of the two instruments is that the saxophone has padded keys which cover the tone holes, and you know, this idea had never occurred to me on my own. I subsequently reached out to another friend, who plays saxophone, and he agreed that this is an exciting idea. Furthermore, he has an extra instrument which he will make available to me. Expect further updates.

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