Patron saint of musicians, poets, and the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska (go figure!).
Looking at my calendar this morning and thinking about St. Cecilia made me long for musical talent. I think it must be the most glorious thing in the world to be able to make music of any kind.
I think if you asked a random 100 people on the street what talent that they don't have that they would wish for, I bet 95 of them would say "I wish I could sing." I know I would.
And the gift is so much rarer than we think. One of the shows that my mom and I have watched and kibitzed over in the past was Nashville Star. It's like American Idol, but with country music. When you are watching simply the hopefuls on the show, you tend to think that they are pretty good. After all, they are the result of a nation-wide talent hunt. You'd think they would be. But in one section of the show, a certified Nashville star comes out to sing, and often does duets with the contestants. And then you realize that most of the contestants have OK voices, but nothing spectacular. And your perspective changes.
I guess a real "voice" doesn't come around all that often. But I wish it had come around to ME. :0)
C'mon, we've got musicians here in Nebraska. And not just 311. Matthew Sweet is from here, and so is SideShow. Plus Magic Slim lives in Lincoln. One of the Newsboys is a former bandmate of my husband's -- and my husband's a pretty darn good musician, too. We know a guy who used to play for the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, and another who used to drum for Christopher Cross.
We even have a record label: www.tremulant.com.