Define: Family

Remember the real estate investor/retired lawyer? He's somehow involved in this Raz gig. That whole set-up is still rather nebulous.

He called me this morning to discuss the logistics and to help me understand the various personalities in this deal.

He said, "So you're really thinking of leaving Tucson." I said, firmly, "Yeah." He asked, "But why?" I said, "To be with my family." He said, "That's not your family. That's their family, but it's not your family."

I beg your pardon! TJ, Tyler, Jaci, Boston and Riah are my family. Maybe Kathryn will be added to that group in the near future. Then I have some extra family-of-choice: John's brother Don and his wife Lee; Lee's Charlottesville cousin Ellen; PianoLady and her family; lifelong friend Gail; and a few others. My mother and my brothers and sister-in-law? Not family. They don't treat me the way one treats a family member. Well, let me restate. They don't treat me the way one treats a loved one. In my dictionary, family member and loved one are synonymous.

I had a long conversation this afternoon with my old and dear friend Kathryn Tidyman in Virginia. She's chair of the board of trustees for the new Chorus Pro Musica of Washington. All my friends in CPMW want me to return to Washington to join them in this new venture. But when Kathryn and I discussed my various options and I said I wanted to be in Youngstown, she quickly responded, "Of course. They're your family. That's where you need to be."

Ahhh, she gets it.