Play the Harmonica

09/27/21 • 33 min

1 Listener

My guest, Mark Radel, describes himself this way: I have always been around music. I sang in the church choir, school choirs, acted in musicals in high school, was into music but never took up an instrument. After my wife and I moved to Seattle my commute was 30 minutes and I was bored driving back and forth each day. I thought about what I could do and saw a book named "harmonica playing for dummies", with it came a cheap C major harp and a cassette. So each daly as I drove to and from work I practiced playing. When we moved back to Bellingham, WA, I got serious and started playing with others. Now I can sheepishly say I am a musician.

Artists Mark mentions that he listens to: Kevin Moore, Taj Mahal Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Jerry Portnoy, and Harry Manx.

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Opening Remarks

Today’s guest is a dear friend that I’ve known half my life. Before we moved away many years ago Mark was a fan of our music, my husband Michael’s and mine-- that’s that Cohen music I mention later on. Mark would often come see us perform, but he never played.

It is such a pleasure in this interview to hear about his transformation as a harp player and acceptance of himself as a musician. This is what is possible when we try something we’ve always wanted to do. The story of Mark’s journey is exactly what I was thinking about when I started this podcast.

One of the things that’s most interesting about Mark’s process is that he started with improvisation. He didn’t learn melodies or how to read music, but instead he plays by ear and instinctively. I think that’s unusual and kind of courageous. Plus he is fortunate to have good friends to play with and challenge him. And I miss them all very much.

I should mention that during our conversation I use some shorthand and don’t explain everything because we know each other so well. Also during the interview Mark is fiddling with his harmonicas and you can hear them rattling a bit.

It was a joy to reconnect with my friend and I look forward to joining in on one of the music nights he mentions in the near future.

Full transcript available at https://ialwayswantedto.net

Artists Mark mentions that he listens to: Kevin Moore, Taj Mahal Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Jerry Portnoy, and Harry Manx.

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Opening Remarks

It was a joy to reconnect with my friend and I look forward to joining in on one of the music nights he mentions in the near future.

Full transcript available at https://ialwayswantedto.net

Previous Episode

Be A Cave Diver

JILL HEINERTH is an underwater explorer, writer, photographer, speaker, and filmmaker. A pioneer of technical rebreather diving, she has led expeditions into icebergs in Antarctica, volcanic lava tubes, and submerged caves worldwide. Jill is the first Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Her memoir, INTO THE PLANET, has been lauded by the Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, and the New York Times. Her children’s book THE AQUANAUT is a Blue Ribbon Selection for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Jill is a Fellow of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences, Women Divers Hall of Fame and the Explorers Club, which awarded her with the William Beebe Award for ocean exploration. Contact: www.IntoThePlanet.com Into the Planet, My Life as a Cave Diver is available through booksellers and Amazon, worldwide.

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Opening Remarks

Hi everyone, and welcome. One of the things I find fascinating as I interview people is the variety of things that attract us, how different are the subjects we want to learn, and the environments we want to explore. And how what scares one person makes another one come alive.

Jill Heinerth and I both love the water. We’d both jump on a flight to outer space if the opportunity presented itself. But Jill has trained to be a world class underwater explorer and boldly goes where no human has ever ventured. She faces her fear regularly and has taken away a lesson that I wholeheartedly agree with-- that stepping into the darkness might feel scary but it’s also exciting. If you focus on that and take small manageable steps you can come up with some amazing results.

One of my favorite parts of my conversation with Jill is how she learned to say no. Once in awhile she finds herself in a situation where her professional judgment tells her this is unsafe. Even though she’s close to the prize or others want her to go on, she knows it’s too dangerous and draws the line.

For most of us our decisions aren’t quite as much a matter of life and death. But from time to time we all need to resist social pressure and respect our our personal boundaries. Sometimes saying no is as courageous as diving into the unknown

I encourage you to visit the links in the show notes and see some of Jill’s videos. Her descriptions are excellent but the images take you to a whole new world. Here’s the interview.

(Full transcript at https://ialwayswantedto.net)

Next Episode

Be A Competitive Athlete (Starting At Age 57)

Madonna Boclair Hanna had a successful career in the fashion industry at the corporate level. She retired as an award winning fashion marketing educator. Presently, is a motivational speaker, freelance writer, actress, amateur competitive athlete and she presently writes a monthly article for the Senior Scene publication chronicling her journey to the 2022 National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Madonna was selected as the January 2020 National Senior Games Association Athlete of the Month.

Follow Madonna’s progress on Facebook @madonnabhanna or Instagram@madonnafitfastandfabulous.

Website: Dropkickthedrama.com.

You may contact Madonna for speaking engagements at [email protected]

Article about Madonna and her coach

Video of Madonna's recent wins at the Washington State Senior Games is available at ialwayswantedto.net

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Opening Remarks

My guest, Madonna Hanna, is a perfect example of why I created this podcast. She felt a desire to do something at a very young age and even though many years passed she never let go of the dream.

Now some of us who have put things off until later in life off have to make some adjustments. I’m not going to be a ballerina at this point but I could take a dance class. We can get a version of what we always wanted but maybe not the exact thing we imagined when we were small. That’s not the case with Madonna, and she has the medals to prove it.

She didn’t let injury stop her, or the death of her beloved coach. She is serious about sprinting but you can tell from our laughter that she is enjoying her life.

There are some problems early on with her microphone. I apologize, and hope you agree that her spirit and her stories make it not that noticeable.

For all of us who watch the Olympics and imagine being a champion athlete, I hope you enjoy this interview.

Full transcript available at https://ialwayswantedto.net

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