Gratitude Practice 2021 Nov 8: Beating To The Rhythm of Your Own Drum…Set..
Most of my mornings begin with a solo stroll around Liberty Park. I love this beloved tree lined rectangle and consider this space sacred and restorative and if all goes to plan I hope one day my bones are buried somewhere inside this beautiful city park...but that my friends is a story for another time.
Just about every morning, as I begin my walk, I am greeted by a gaggle of wild neighborhood ducks, a handful of fellow walkers and the most delightful display of adult fulfilment...embodied in an ever confident senior gentleman rocking out on a full size drum set. Lest you think you read that incorrectly you did not. This brave senior friend confidently sets up a full drum set just south of the duck pond every morning and creates his own personal rock concert for all to enjoy. It's loud. It's lovely. It's quite a spectacle. I am inspired by him every single day.
It's no simple task to set-up this grassy knoll gig space. This one man music machine begins with a large oriental rug at the base because he is nothing shy of classy and adds a bass drum, a few snare drums, a few cymbals, both a small and a medium tom, a few kick pedals and a sturdy camp chair as his throne. It's an impressive display that he magically collapses into a trusty red mini-van parked not too far away. Sitting near his feet is an old school boombox that blasts what I can only imagine is a series of well loved cassette tapes of only the best rock ballads of all time. And boy does he drum! This old duffer puts on quite a show with dramatic drumsticks flying up and down, his head of grey wispy hair bobbing in time and tempo and a life fulfilling grin stretches across his weathered face. It is equal parts absurd and awesome and I am convinced that THIS must be what life is all about.
Every morning he unloads without the help of a team of roadies, creates his personal pond front amphitheater and generates magic without a care in the world. At first he receives puzzled looks from park goers and random wildlife but then...once they hear his music and witness HIS joy ...you can't help but join him and rock out. One morning, a whole flock of yoga mom's ditched their matts and engaged in a full on Woodstock-esk dance party that I am sure helped align far more than a few mis-guided chakras. It was an absolutely brilliant moment of community connection and unplanned artistic collaboration and it happens all of the time as this endlessly cool rock God old man geezer dude has absolutely elevated life goals for many in our community.
I have come to love this aspect of my morning constitution almost as much as I love the historic trees and the power and peace that comes from moving my body in the early morning hours. I love his confidence in both his musicianship and his desire to share it freely with the world. I love his effort...it's not a small task to lug all of that gear to the muddy grass that hugs the pond. I love his excitement and gratitude for the spontaneous cheers and applause he receives every morning and his rock solid confidence when people give him weird looks. I love that drumming in a park is not only his thing... but his early morning drumming has become a part of the morning ritual for so many others. I love what he is teaching me about embracing your gifts and passions and just going for it. He does what he loves...because he loves it…and he does not care what or who approves or disapproves and that seems to make all of the differences. Where does this kind of thinking and living and doing come from? Is it earned with years of hard work? Years of careful rule keeping? Years of dedicated expectation minding? Is this "I don't give any "f's" confidence" a by-product of a 40 year career working for the man and the comfort and security of a fully vested pension? Is THIS what comes at the end of a life well lived? Drumming your heart out in a city park with exactly zero percent hesitation or reserve? Wow! I sure hope this is what it's all about.
I have come to think about this man and his faithful drum set throughout the day and lots of questions about who is he really bubble up to the surface. I wonder…..what is his story? what did he do for a living?...why does he drum? And why does he drum in a city park? These questions are frequent but the answers really don't matter and I kind of don't ever want to know. I'm just grateful to see him rocking out several mornings every week and have now established a few new personal life goals for how I hope to spend my senior years. And you better believe they will be spent similarly enjoying the spoils of a life hopefully well lived somewhere in my beloved Liberty Park.
