Welcome to the X.

As you all well know, that is, if you read my stuff, music has become a big part of life again. Last month, I performed with the Jazz House Kids Adult Big Band at a club in New Jersey. Here’s a link if you're interested…

Last year, I connected with a neighbor who is on the approach to leaving his career as a top professional in his field of medicine. He told me that he'd put himself through medical school as a professional musician. I shared with him about the…

It never ceases to amaze, stun, and petrify me how quickly time is flying by. It was just Thanksgiving and now it’s March….WHOOOOOOSH! I remember, as a child how summer vacations seemed to go on forever. Days seemed to pass slowly, sometimes too slowly. But…

In 2019, Justin Roethlingshoefer looked like the picture of health from the outside. He was a world championship triathlete and CrossFitter with a successful career in the NHL. But then he started experiencing debilitating headaches combined with stomach issues and insomnia—health challenges he had never…

At our January Chapter X Zoom get-together, there was overwhelming support to have a discussion on forgiveness. Here are a few quotes to ponder:   “Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be…

As I age, I have a desire to become smaller. While you might be thinking about my waist size or the natural “shrinking” that comes with aging, I am thinking about my presence in the world. During my career, even while being a committed introvert,…

Back in my youth, I was a very serious trumpet player. It consumed my life. My only aim was perfection. Any flub, missed note, or mistake was grievous and cost me countless hours of self-recrimination. It was not a good scenario. Fast forward 50 years…