A mostly calm and quiet September followed my 79th birthday, but I experienced one moment that made my month.

Not wanting to make a big deal out of turning another year older, I decided to go to a ballgame that evening. Instead of getting the tickets online, I headed to the ballpark’s box office. When I arrived downtown, other than noticing that the once-teeming metropolis that is St. Louis felt more like a ghost town, I went directly to the ticket window.

Nothing quite compares to a Taiwanese massage, especially if you happen to be in Taiwan. More on that later.

After several weeks away from conducting, the podium beckoned for some rehearsals and performances at the end of July and the first half of August. It started in my birthplace, Los Angeles, where I used to have the somewhat ungainly title of Principal Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Holllywood Bowl. My return featured two of the most-often- performed works there, as well as a piece by Cindy.

Most of this summer consists of downtime. With so many ongoing and looming projects, I knew I would need to dedicate many of these weeks to my books, music compositions, and outdoor grilling pursuits.

Although I had one conducting date at the Hollywood Bowl, I will wait until next month to write about it, along with what I anticipate will be a most interesting couple weeks of conducting in Taiwan.

How life changes.

Normally, June is when orchestral seasons wind down, with subscription concerts ending sometime near the middle or end of the month. At least, that seems to be true when you are a music director. Now that I am a freelancer, the time for guest conducting has passed, and I get to focus on projects that do not require me to be on the podium.

There was a time when I would look at my calendar and say to myself, “Self, you are not too busy. Have a nice summer.” That was how it appeared it was going to be for a while this year. But priorities have a way of piling up, and now I find myself with just a little too much to do and not much time to accomplish it.

It all started out with a promise I made to my brother at his gravesite. He passed away on my birthday, September 1^st, and we gathered in New Jersey two days later to lay him to rest.