Weather Report #1: How the Storm Generated the Swell

Conditions: 

Storms and heavy swell overnight giving way to light offshore breeze, clear horizon and glassy sets at sunrise.
 

Outlook:  

A challenge turned into a shift in perspective.
 

Advisory:  

Make your own weather.

Extended Forecast:

A couple of years ago I had a serious issue with the index finger of my left (fretting) hand which impacted my ability to play guitar in a major way -  just as Hippie from Mississippi was starting to make waves.

It was like getting clobbered by a rogue wave and pinned under.

Then something unexpected happened.

A client brought their dog to my veterinary hospital and noticed my finger. After hearing what had happened, he said, “You should call my hand doctor in New York,” and handed me a phone number.

That doctor was Dr. Alton Barron, a hand specialist based in New York City. I called his office and asked if they might consider a telemedicine consultation. Amazingly, they scheduled me for the very next day. I sent along my X-rays, MRI, and medical records, and we met over Zoom.

After reviewing everything carefully, he gave me a prognosis that was reassuring in one way and terrifying in another: my finger would heal enough for me to play guitar again, but maybe not at the same level as before.

Then he held up his business card to the screen and said, “Take my cell number in case you need it.” At the bottom of the card was a line that caught my attention: Keep the music playing.

When I asked about it, he explained that most of his patients are musicians dealing with hand injuries. Then he noticed my 504 area code.

“I’ll actually be in New Orleans in a couple of weeks for Jazz Fest,” he said. Some of his patients would be performing at the Fair Grounds that weekend, and he was coming down to hear them play.

A couple of weeks later he called and asked if I could meet him while he was in town. We spent more than an hour examining my finger—testing its movement, bending it, and comparing what he saw with my imaging studies. He even pulled out a guitar and asked me to try to play a C and then a Dm chord. I could not form either one; my index finger simply could not flex nearly enough.

Finally he gave me the forecast. 
“You’re going to be able to play all the chords again,” he said. “It may just take some time.”

But the most important part of the visit wasn’t the diagnosis or the prognosis. It was the perspective.

He warned that when musicians suddenly can’t play the way they’re used to—even temporarily—it can take a psychological toll and put them in a very dark place.

Then he said something I’ll never forget: “The music isn’t in your hands. It’s in your head.”

Since my hand needed time to heal, he suggested adapting instead of waiting for perfect conditions. Lighter gauge strings on my acoustic guitars. More electric guitar. Using a capo to work around difficult chord shapes. Experimenting with alternate tunings. Trying slide guitar. Spending time at the piano, where nine fingers could still do plenty of work.

Then he zoomed out even further.

He reminded me that changes in our bodies—hands, knees, hips—are something most of us eventually face. The real challenge isn’t avoiding those changes. It’s learning how to keep moving when the conditions change.

That idea stayed with me.
In many ways, it became the philosophy behind Make Your Own Weather.

Life isn’t always sunny blue skies. You can’t control the weather but you can adjust your heading and trim the sails.

But if the music lives in your head—and in your heart—you can always find another way to play it.

Sometimes adversity doesn’t stop the music. Sometimes it shows you how to keep it going.

Thank you Dr. Barron.