Write My Name Across the Sky

by Barbara O'Neal

music is meant to be shared. It’s communication. The music itself taking life through an instrument or a voice, then reaching into the hearts and bodies of other people, and coming back.

life is patterns, isn’t it? Patterns and routines create sanity where nothing else can.

Unlike the rest of them, I didn’t get any big gifts. I’m pretty good at a lot of things—the photos and my plants. I can sing passably well and dance well enough to get compliments, but mostly I am friendly. My gift has always been an ability to be happy. It sounds small until you live in the world for a while.

Why do people put up with so much, or rather, why do they settle for so little?