From having driven 25,000 miles a year all over the Greater Seattle area during most of my 37-year real estate career, I know how long it normally takes me to drive to Mercer Island from my home—only 30 minutes in light traffic (no slowdowns). So, on Saturday, 30 May, I left 45 minutes early, planning to arrive one hour before starting time. I was zipping along on I-405 until I neared Kirkland. Ooops! the freeway was closed at 85th. There was a mandatory detour due to a major construction project. All that freeway traffic jammed bumper-to-bumper onto the surface streets with all their stop signs, one-way signs, and traffic lights.

Five minutes before the show was due to start, I called ahead to Island House, Mercer Island to let them know I’d be late, and would someone please announce that it was due to the incredible traffic hangup, and apologize to the audience, and tell them I will be there within10-15 minutes? I pulled into the parking garage one hour and 55 minutes after leaving home!

In eight and a half years of playing shows at 42 different retirement communities all over the Greater Seattle area, I had never been late. I had started every show on time. But here, by the time I set up my four horns, music stand, P.A. system, and displays, I got started about 20 minutes late, with no time to warm up. My fault. Should have known about the big construction project. I wonder how many other hundreds or thousands of drivers were offering their apologies, too, that day.

But the audience was forgiving, attentive, and polite, as I performed one of my seven one-hour trumpet shows called “In Retrospect.” Its 24 songs prompt the audience to reminisce about their lives and remember where they were and what was happening when those songs were popular. And more than that, each song tells a story or sends a message or both.

For example, the song “I’ve Got the World on a String” is about someone who’s in love and is ecstatic. We’ve all felt that. And “Stormy Weather” is about disappointment and rough times. We’ve all experienced that. And “What a Wonderful World” sums it all up: “I hear babies cry, I watch them grow; they’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know, and I think to myself, what a wonderful world. Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

It was my second appearance at Island House, M.I. I used my Getzen trumpet, Super Olds cornet, Jupiter pocket trumpet, and ACB (Austin Custom Brass) flugelhorn.

Island House, M.I. offers assisted senior living and short-term stays (please see Senior Living in Mercer Island, WA | Island House) in studio, one-, and two-bedroom units. It is part of the MBK family of retirement communities located in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado (www.mbkseniorliving.com).

Photos are courtesy of Island House, M.I. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.