THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE....1/6/23

Music has been around since the dawn of man. Sounds, melodies, and rhythms are a natural part of our DNA and there are very few children who have not yet been taught to dance who can't help but smile and sway with the music. It's just what people do.

I'm no exception. My first exposure to music was in the little church that I began attending soon after I was born, and to this day, the old hymns are some of my favorite songs even though I'm at odds with many of their messages. After we got television, we watched Lawrence Welk, American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan, Hee Haw, and later on, The Smother's Brothers Show among others. Once the Beatles arrived, there was no turning back and music has been an integral part of my life ever since.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to hear and watch a concert performed by musicians from Mexico and the United States on opposite sides of the border barrier in Southern CA. They couldn't touch each other, but they could hear and appreciate each other.

If more people picked up an instrument rather than a gun, we'd be a lot better off.