Voices

Song can be incredibly beautiful. Everyone has probably heard a song that lifts the heart, or fuels fury, or just depresses the hell out of them. Those songs touch what it is to be human, invariably.

And all my life I've believed that my vocal talents, in a word, suck. Most everyone I know believes they suck. Especially those I grew up with.

Then I meet my wife, and she tells me that I don't suck. That I am, in fact, good. But she might be biased. So then her mom, who has performed in musicals and has a good grasp of music tells me. But she might (despite everything I know about her character) just be nice to her daughter's husband.

So, finally, I'm over at the house of a friend's. My wife has writer's group there, and the kids and I have been hanging out while things wrap up. The house empties of all except wife, kids, and friend. The subject of pirates comes up (Superson has been wearing a pirate hat since Christmas) and the infamous "Pirates of Penzance" comes up. The friend sings a little, and I pick it up and run with it.

I may suck, but I'm not above torturing people.

Friend: "You Sing?" And, yes, that capital is intended. I could hear it. It was like hearing, "you perform on stage professionally?"

Me: "No."

Friend: "You do! You Sing!"

A glance downward tells me that I should accept her word. There's a business card on the counter, which lists her musical credentials nicely. "Composer, Lyricist, Vocalist".

Damn.

I can sing.

Is there nothing I can't do?