I was going to write a
letter to Karin and Linford, but after reading Linford’s last two posts, I
decided to follow his wishes and post my thoughts in this forum.
Like all of you who
watched in horror the events of September 11, I was stunned and amazed that
there could be people of such evil intent in this world. I cried twice that day, once for a
better part of the morning as the events unfolded. The second time is the reason I wanted to write to Karin and
Linford.
After I had gathered
myself together enough to make the trip in to work, I got in my car and ‘Films
for Radio’ was in playing on the stereo.
It wasn’t until I was driving down I-75 that I realized that I was
crying for the second time.
Listening to ‘When I Go’, it was more tears of not quite joy, but a
relief that there were other forces in this world far greater than those who
committed the unspeakable acts of that day. I have never quite come to any personal decision about the
existence of God, a creator, or any kind of supreme being, but I did realize
that if there can be a voice of the sheer beauty of Karin’s, then the
possibility may exist. The closest
I have ever come to believing has been listening to Karin and OTR, or better
yet, watching them perform live.
Until yesterday, I have
only subscribed to the announcements list. Over the years I have read in many of Linford’s writings a
great deal of humility, and he has often alluded to the idea that the music of
Over the Rhine is somewhat less significant than what many of us hold it to
be. An example of this is in his
latest post.
“Our
hope is that we can somehow participate in tiny redemptive acts in the coming
months and years, that may (even if in ways embarrassingly small) help to heal
this broken world of ours. When any of us encounters beauty, we subconsciously
dream of a more perfect world, the door is flung wide on new possibilities that
we can't yet imagine, we breathe more deeply and wonder if we have more to
offer than we know. Although I couldn't imagine making my own music for quite
some time after September 11, the music of others held me at times and was a
comfort somehow.”
Linford, if you are
reading this, please rest assured that the comfort you feel from others music,
we fell from yours as well. Making
music in the wake of September 11 is the best thing for all of us.
…Now that I have gotten
that out, I’ll head into the shadows until I learn a little more about the form
and etiquette of the list. Thanks
for ‘listening’.