Inspiration

My parents have a friend who breezes into town every so often, keeps us all up late playing music and discussing the meaning of the universe, and leaves everyone feeling more alive. Sheldon has all of the genius and none of the insanity of a brilliant man. (Well, actually, I'll have to check with his wife on the insanity part. She might have something to add!) Shelly grew up on the fast track to becoming a professional musician like his older brother. Joseph Silverstein was his first teacher, back in Cleveland. While studying at Curtis, one of the most renowned music schools in the world, Shelly fell in love with medicine and became a brilliant doctor instead of a world-famous musician. He still has the music chops, though, and he brings his fiddle whenever he visits. This time, he was kind enough to give Golda and Ruby one of their first experiences with playing music for fun with friends. This is what I'm always trying to explain to the kids, that music is for bringing you to life and uniting you with friends who feel as passionate about it as you do. Shelly showed them all that by gently inviting them to play their songs while he joined in with harmonies he got off the top of his head. He and Golda played a duet that got the Afghan dogs howling along.

Beginners that Golda and Ruby are, Shelly treated them like fellow musicians, encouraging them and speaking to them as equals. He was always the same way when I was a kid, always acting like there was some spark of genius in me that I had yet to discover. I believed it, and his own kids did, too. Shelly's great gift as a parent, as I saw it, was to treat his kids and everybody else's as the interesting adults they would someday become. He didn't even wait until we were grown-ups to find us interesting, insightful or intelligent. We absolutely knew Shelly thought we were incredible, he knew we were incredible. His three kids grew up to be some of the most compassionate and vibrant people I know, full of life. I'm so glad my girls had a chance to experience Shelly's remarkable gift for inspiring young people. I hope they are waiting breathlessly next time Shelly comes to town for another chance to be inspired.