And we shall teach rock and roll to the world

Last night was rather loud.

First there was the shouting Mr. Spy and AJ were doing at the TV. Then, after the game finally ended in overtime a little after ten, the fireworks and gunshots began. And somewhere in there, something that sounded like a cannon went off. I checked the barn for fortifications or large, gaping holes. Negative on both counts. Whatever it was, it was so loud, it made the windows rattle.

So in case you live under a rock or in a more sane part of the country, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Now can we get back to baseball season, please?

I don’t really care about baseball either, but at least it’s fairly quiet.

AJ does care about baseball, though. And this has been a good week for him in that regard. Yesterday his team won 17 to 0. The other team forfeited after they batted at the top of the fourth inning because it was such a blowout, although I’m guessing the fact that the Hawks’ game had just started was probably a contributing factor to the decision to stop so early. The game was so short, that I missed the entire thing. I missed their biggest win of the year and I missed AJ hitting a home run and also a double with the bases loaded. I got there just as everyone was returning to the parking lot.

The reason I was late is that I started teaching at Studio 2 today. My students are seventh grade girls, best friends. One has a hip, rock-and-roll haircut that I wish were mine. The other is has thin bird bones and long hair. They both make faces when they play sounds they don’t like. And they have a tendency to giggle and shoot meanngful glances at each other as if there is something going on that I don’t know about. They both did very well and have different strengths from one another. They should make a good team. At the end of our lesson, I asked them why the picked violin and if there was some particular music they’d like to play and they both said, talking at once like only 7th-grade girls can do, that they loved the violin in Tantric. I must have looked clueless because they explained, “It’s a rock band,” which made me feel about 170. I spent the eveninglistening to their songs on utoob and found I liked it, which was a nice surprise, as I tend not to like music recommended by this age group.

And really, if a rock musician is inspiring you to play violin, you could do a lot worse than this guy:

He’s a real violinist who has played with a number of professional orchestras and taught violin in Louisville. He continues to play orchestral music when he’s not touring with the band, although his brother took his place as assistant principal second violin of the Louisville Orchestra when he left to tour with Tantric.

But I digress. Back to AJ. The other good thing that happened in baseball yesterday is that AJ’s beloved White Sox, which have been having the losingest season, pounded the Tigers yesterday 15-3. And today, AJ is hoping they do it again, because he’s going to watch the game with his uncle and maybe his dad. Which means I have the house to myself. You see? Everybody’s a winner!