The Magic of Four

It was 1994 when I first came to Taiwan to teach for the Taiwanese Orff Society. This was also the year when I first met Stephen Abernathy, music teacher extraordinaire at the TAS, the Taipei American School. 30 years later, here I am again, thanks to Stephen’s third such invite.

 

Stephen figured out that the first time I came to TAS was 2004 and the next was 2014. And the next is now, in 2024. 1994, 2004, 2014, 2024—there’s clearly a pattern here. I told Stephen we should book now for 2034. 

 

It was funny and sobering at the same time. At 82 years old, could I still do body percussion and teach the Lindy Hop? Could I sit on the floor with kids? Would I even be here on the planet? Who knows? It does give a different slant to planning for the future. While I’m far from the moment when I wonder if I should buy green bananas, that endless road of the future suddenly isn’t as endless as it used to be. I can almost see the sign up ahead— “No Through Traffic.”

 

So be it. I think of Carl Jung’s quote:

 

“The life that I could still live, I should live, and the thoughts that I could still think, I should think.”

 

Sage advice. I’d add, “The classes that I could still teach, the music that I could still make, the words that I could still write…” And so I’ll wake up tomorrow to kindergarten students, 5^th graders, cello and violin players and some 25 International School Teachers coming for a two-day workshop awaiting my arrival. I believe we'll have a marvelous time.