From Reader's Digest February 2009, p.97-9, by David Hochman
What we lack in musicianship is offset by our willingness to humiliate ourselves. Failing publicly is the point at Dr Banjo's Bluegrass Jam Camp, where I have come to strum alongside kindred spirits - those whose families couldn't bear the twanging anymore.
My path to musical greatness was diverted roughly 30 years ago. At age 11, after three years of indentured servitude to my crabby piano teacher, I was at the Baldwin upright when my father and I (in matching three-piece corduroy suits, no less) sang "Heart and Soul" for the extended family. The cheek pinching afterwards was the final straw. I vowed never to play again.
