Jim lost his wife of thirty-plus years some time ago. She loved him dearly and together they raised five fine children. He has a ready smile and a kind, Irish heart, but he isn’t everybody’s baby, red faced and boastful as all men can be. He tells how this wonderful woman loved him and remembers when they met, how they danced, their many years of happiness. He’s alone in the world now with only his white Cadillac and memories. He joins us at the bar and carries on as if he could forget, as if his heart hasn’t emptied. Those of us who have strolled the park awhile know all to well how hard it is to meet a true love, one that believes you’re their heart’s desire. Yes, a lucky break that. All the dazzlements in the world can’t compare to a warm, true touch on any of the countless seasons of winter. We seek the stars, but it is the deep sea that most sustains us.
A stop sign does its best to control the impulses of the traveler, of anything free and feeling out here in this winter windswept landscape. Anyone coming this far would by now feel unhindered and renewed with courage, long tamped down by a world full of rules. The challenge becomes which way to go. There are limitless possibilities in every direction. The stop sign becomes a farce. A laughable encounter with a past you’ll never meet again. If any of these roads are as unencumbered as they seem, than life will certainly have been worth the wait.
“Bars and Barns” is a collection of 37 vignettes inspired by the Midwestern landscape. In 2015, 12 of the pieces were commissioned by the International Chamber Artists to accompany an original composition for soprano and chamber orchestra by Eric Malmquist, It premiered in February 2015 under the title “If You Travel Far Enough” and was performed live on WFMT Chicago in March 2015.