Hoy es el cumpleaños de mi esposo, un pianista, cantante y director de musica. A el no le gustaba esta fecha, 11 septiembre desde la tragedia que occurió en 2001. El quería cambiar su cumpleaños y dijo: “Todo el mundo está cantando misas de réquiem por mi cumpleaños!”

[Today is the birthday of my husband, a pianist, singer and music director. He did not like this date, September 11th, since the tragedy which occurred in 2001. He wanted to change his birthday and said: “The whole world is singing requiem masses for my birthday!”]

Yes, it has been 19 years since hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, PA while the whole world was horrified at these acts of terrorism. A solemn day of remembrance, to be sure.

And today I signed up to do an oral presentation for my online Spanish class! I especially wanted to sign up on this most solemn of days, because it was the birthday of my late husband, Carl Crosier, who decided he wanted to change his birthday because everyone was singing requiems on this day!

What was crazy was that 2001 was the year Carl renewed his passport, and when it came back later in the month, it listed the wrong birthdate and had to be sent back!

These were the pictures that were displayed during my presentation:

One of the first questions the teachers asked me was what this instrument was and how long I had been playing. When I answered that I had played the organ for “más de 50 años,” (more than 50 years) the teachers were incredulous! And then when I said that I had played for “más de 6000 bodas” (more than 6000 weddings), they couldn’t believe it. But then I was asked whether this organ was in my home—I wish! I had to explain that this organ was in a church in Cleveland, Ohio. Of course, all this was said in Spanish, so I am definitely making some progress.

I have to credit my diligence in practicing Spanish every day via Duolingo, my online meetings and homework assignments (#CadaDiaSpanish), my daily tutoring sessions with chorister Vreni Griffith, and every night, watching two telenovelas, “Jane La Virgen” and “Destinos,” the latter of which is a program designed specifically to learn Spanish. There is even a worksheet containing 25-30 questions which I do daily like “homework.”

All this effort, of course, is in order to stave off any mental declines but most importantly, to be able to communicate with my three-year-old grandson who understands both Spanish and English equally, but only answers in Spanish when spoken to. My daughter-in-law is a Mexican national who amazingly is completely bilingual in spite of never having taken an English class. She solely learned how to speak English by watching American movies!

Meanwhile, in the State of Hawaii, I opened today’s newspaper to read that Governor David Ige has signed a bill specifically to protect musicians. Steven Mark writes: With live musical performances effectively silenced by the pandemic, the state of Hawaii gave a boost to local musicians Thursday with the signing of a bill designed to protect them from having someone else fraudulently use their identity to promote a performance.

“The bill prohibits a person from “advertising or conducting a live musical performance through the use of false, deceptive or misleading affiliation, connection or association with a performing group, and allows for restitution,” Ige said. “This Truth in Music Advertising Act will preserve the integrity of Hawaii’s arts not just for creators, but for consumers like myself who just as often feel cheated by someone who impersonates real live artists.”

Well … I have a feeling no one else will be impersonating my organ performances! Hahahaha!

(Or in Spanish, jajajajaja!)