DREAM VENTURES IN OLDER LIVES

When you were still in the working world, did you ever wonder what your life would be like when you were older or after you retired?

Did you ever think after you retired you might take up a long-desired interest you simply did not have time to thoroughly explore during your regular wage-earning professional career?  

Have you pursued such an interest, maybe engaged in something else, or might in the future?   

Perhaps there's an interest which you wish you could take up but seems unlikely you"ll ever be able to do so?

I don't know if the person described here thought about those questions, but when he retired, he was motivated to pursue further his deferred interest in playing the drums.

Harvey Leff,   aka "Styx", and others in the Physics Department at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona, near where I live, came together while still working and formed a musical group -- Out-Laws of Physics (audio recordings on the link).   They performed just for fun for their colleagues, then commemorated another with original Styx lyrics and raised scholarship funds.  Amazingly to this Physics professor and his department cohorts, their music was greeted with appreciative enthusiasm.  They were a resounding success asked to perform more on occasion.

Eventually, Harvey retired; was thoughtfully gifted by his wife,  Ellen, with a drum set.  He continued practicing and playing, taking some drumming lessons from a professional drummer jazz musician in the ZZAJ group I've enjoyed and written about.  Harvey's university musical group and he had evolved --  to paying jobs playing country, folk, pop, jazz and all sorts of music entertaining a growing number of fans.  

I met Harvey and his wife, Ellen, interesting and fun-loving people, at the free Sunday afternoon jazz concerts I started attending after my husband's death years ago.  Later, I enjoyed attending his group's appearance at a popular local restaurant that regularly features live music.

This delightful and personable couple eventually moved to a Portland, Oregon retirement community offering all levels of care to be closer to their twin sons and families.  They've become very active in their community.  Ellen chairs the movie scheduling group, also line and folk dances while Harvey and their sons have formed a musical group, the Leff Trio.  He also drums regularly with a local Portland jazz sextet.  He seems to have plenty of gigs, in that music world terminology, to keep him busy.

"Sing, Sing, Sing" -- Leff Trio.              

  (One of their numerous tunes listed on the right side bar of this You Tube link).

Here's another video of the Leff Trio performing "As Time Goes By":

Even if we are unable to fulfill long held dreams, much less don't achieve the recognition from enjoyment Harvey has given others, I think he would be the first to say the satisfaction, pleasure, fun he has been having is worth all his efforts.  He might also say that what has unexpectedly developed musically for him is simply the icing on life's cake!

Some of us may not explore our life's dream ventures in our older years for a variety of reasons, including due to complicating circumstances in our lives.  Still, anything can be possible for many!  We never know what may develop whatever our situation unless we investigate and experiment with what gives us joy.