A Capitol Fourth

Because we supplied the 9' Steinway grand piano for the nation's 30th celebration of the 4th of July, our family was invited to view the party from 12th row seats. Wow, what a great time we had!

Jimmy Smits was the master of ceremonies, and he did a fine job. His comment that his family came here as immigrants--and that America had been very good indeed to the Smits family--touched the hearts of the audience members. It was a timely reminder that most of us came here from another country, and that we owe a lot to this great country.

David Archuleta did a beautiful job with The Star Spangled Banner.

Then Gladys Knight led a rousing "Heard It Through the Grapevine" and got everyone rocking.

Of course, our family was particularly thrilled by Lang Lang, the young Chinese genius. David and I had heard him play the "Stars and Stripes Forever" before, but this time with the Washington Monument in the background, it was a special treat. His hands move so fast as he does the counterpoint of the Sousa melody. Did you know that every instrument has a melody line in a Sousa march? I loved how Lang Lang's fingers were reflected in the fall board of the piano. They took off the lid, and the shots of the inside of the piano with those fabulous strings was totally cool.

Reba McEntire was the last big name performer of the evening. Her voice was as glorious and uniquely American as her looks. I particularly enjoyed her gorgeous blue sequined dress.

The 1812 Overture never sounded better than when fireworks were bursting over the stately white Washington Monument. The obelisk looked like a giant sparkler lighting up the sky!

All in all, it was A Capitol Fourth!

How was your Fourth? Did you catch "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS?

PS Being a mystery writer, I couldn't help but wonder when they used an ice pick to chisel the ice that went into the water coolers. After all the security precautions, an ice pick? Yeow! Oh, and the huge hanging Jumbotron got me thinking, "What if a cable breaks?" I mean, the mind of a mystery author never rests.

If I Died Tomorrow.

I spent two days in Los Angeles last week. Well, actually I was in Huntington Beach at the Balboa Bay Yacht Club.

My husband, David, and his partner, Gerry Malzone, and I were driving back to LAX when the topic turned to "what if I died right now"? (This was BEFORE we heard about the airplane crashing into the Hudson River!)

Maybe it's because we've all known each other for years. Maybe it's because we're all middle-aged. Or maybe it was because this year we lost Henry Steinway, a lovely man, the last of the Steinways involved in the business...and since it was the first Steinway dealer meeting without Henry, we were all feeling a bit thoughtful.

Then Gerry said something extra-ordinary. He said, "You know, I think I've only had maybe five really bad days in my life. And if I was in a plane and it went down, I wouldn't be screaming and crying. I'd be thinking what a good life I had."

Wow.

I got to thinking about it.

I could only think of two really, really horrible days in my life. One was when my nephew Joshua was killed in a freak accident. The other is too personal to share.

Honest. I mean, I had to work hard to think of anything more than those two days. I mean, yeah, there have been some rotten days, some days I'd rather didn't happen. But only two that really, really still make me sad to think about. Two days in 55 years.

Gerry was right. If I died tomorrow, I'd have to think, "Wow. It's been great. Thank you, God." And realizing that, I vowed to be a little happier every day, and grateful for the happy times I've had.

(But I still miss Henry. We all do.)