Marc Cohn at the Midland ...live!

The Midland crew...the people who unite for the Arts!
Autographs for the fans and generosity for their gifts.
Flowers in the middle of a very cold spell in Newark.
Marc Cohn...a minstrel for contemporary times.
A true survivor...art saves lives!
Today has been one surprise after another. Two dear friends came over to join us at the performance tonight and had dinner with Ken while I was receiving my assignments from the volunteer program at the Midland. I would have loved to have dinner with them but since I had missed a performance last week due to the two feet of snow we received in 24 hours I would not ask for a shift of my volunteer duties! Ayoung vocalist, Kristina Train opened tonight's show with her guitar accompanist with selections from her first album "Spilt Milk". She has incredible range in her vocals and is similar to the melodic voice of another favorite of mine...Nora Jones. Her vitality and youth radiated on stage onto the audience and will be found in larger music markets soon. Marc Cohn is a story teller with the voice of an angel...quietly but magnificently providing insights to his personal life of growing up in Cleveland,Ohio. His Grammy award winning song "Walking in Memphis" was inspired by his chance meeting of a retired school teacher who was playing "His eyes are on the Sparrow" and other well known Gospel songs...this Jewish boy was enveloped by the blues and Southern Gospel and for that night he became one with the music "I am a Christian tonight". I met some people who had driven through the snow from Cleveland...from Athens... young and old joined in a communion of admiration for this young man's powerful vocal repertoire. The minutes flew by too quickly but that is what happens when you become engaged is a live performance.

The sun was out and bright with the miraculous growth of huge icicles glistening from the edge of our roof and tree tops. The blueness of the clear sky and the bright radiation was a bit of a mixed message because it was still cold and in the teens in temperature. But for the moment, I allowed myself to lounge in my red chair as the radiant beams crept into my window and I was mesmerized by the gentle dripping sounds of the icicles dancing in the snow crystal puddles. Life was a gift to my spirit today as I count the "sunshines"in my life. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart