Why the Gnome

Growing up, I took bass lessons from Joe, the principle bassist and librarian for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Joe is like 6'7” and is old. His Scottish wife is very short, and her Dundee accent is so thick it took me a while to understand what she was saying. Joe and Moira lived and still live in downtown Colorado Springs with Cakes, the now-deceased cat with cataracts, and several garden gnomes named after Utah Jazz players.

I still swing by Joe and Moira's house every time I'm in Colorado, and I can tell they're still there even if no one's home because their gnome, my gnome's brother, is on the porch swing. Even when I don't visit any other friends from home, I like to go see Joe and Moira because they're different in the best way—they're very real, and humble, and even Misteereeous, and I feel so attracted to them as people.

Joe and I had some great experiences together and may have talked more during lessons than played music. Even into my junior or senior year, I told my teachers I wasn't interested in going to college, but Joe went to college and is a musician and is really cool, so . . . he helped me prepare for auditions. Although—he didn't exactly persuade me to go the starving-musician route. “Are you sure you want to do this,” he'd say. My senior year was the year the Colorado Springs Symphony went bankrupt and had an overhaul in administration. But I still decided to go to music school. It was something to do.

Not that I've been obsessed with music my whole life, but sometimes you end up just doing things you're relatively good at just because you have a knack for it, but not necessarily because you're especially crazy about it. That's how music is for me—just a natural part of my life, like the necessity to brush your teeth or sleep. I don't rave about brushing my teeth or sleeping (well, I do rave about sleeping sometimes), but they're things I like to do and that bring me comfort.

Anyway, when I graduated from high school, Moira, Joe's Scottish wife, gave me one of their garden gnomes. I've always cherished this gnome as one of the most wonderful gifts I've ever received because I love Joe and Moira so much. Moira just knew it was something I would really like, and I really did. I really do.

Not everyone can tell what you really like or what you are really like in that way. I like being friends with people who have an eye for that sort of thing, and I want to be that kind of person myself.

The ability to see people as they are.
Faults and all.
Beautiful packages of flesh and spirit.

So . . . I guess that's why I like gnomes. Little people who watch the garden and see.