I was thinking of times the violin showed up in my life in some manner, and realized it was all connected, in the sense of one event leading to another. I turned away from the instrument as a child to pursue another interest which eventually lead me back to it....life is strange sometimes. So here's another submission:

Dad was a musician, which meant bum in my maternal grandmother's mind.  He played conga, the only white guy in a Latin band. He told of practicing until his hands bled, and of not needing drugs because the music was his high.

He was also a teller of tall tales, or liar, according to Mom, so I'll never know the true story. No recording remains, but he did have at least two congas.  A fancy one he kept at at work, his real job involving art installations at New York's Museum of Modern Art, and a beat up one he had at home.  

He wanted music to be a part of our lives, and to that end I took up violin. I was 10 when I started, in the early 1970s. I don't remember disliking it, but my heart just wasn't in it.  It was more my father's idea than mine. I would eventually play "Flight of the Bumble Bee" in his fertile imagination.   In reality I never made it past second violin in the school orchestra.  

The truth was, I had other interests. I was in the midst of my first celebrity crush, an obsession with actor Larry Hagman of "I Dream of Jeannie."  I spent my free time poring over each week's TV Guide and begging my parents to let me stay up late to watch Larry.  My hyper-fandom would go on until almost age 30. I quit violin at 12.

Decades later, a few years after my father died, I decided to volunteer at a wildlife refuge. There I met rehab manager Toni Moore.  Toni was a custom rug artist, pen-and-ink artist, photographer, singer and harpist.  She was a witch. Rehabbed bats. Had chickens as pets. And, of course, cats.  We explored art, digital photography and Photoshop.  It was a creative renaissance for me. I still draw from time to time, and photography is a continued interest.

Sadly, Toni passed away in 2007.  I temporarily stored some of her belongings, waiting for her daughters to pick them up.  Among her possessions was a violin.  I was drawn to it, remembering the instrument from long ago.  I tried to play it. SCREEEEEECH!!!  No, it wasn't time.

At this point, an incredible phase of my life had already begun.  Two years earlier I attended an convention/autograph show to meet Larry Hagman.  That was all it was, meet, sign, say a few words, leave. It turned out to be the beginning of an increasingly unlikely series of events that culminated in my becoming part of "Team Hagman" along with two friends. We worked for Larry at conventions, hung out with him, became close friends.  Larry was an amazing man, funny, kind, charming and a lot of fun!  

As much as Larry loved us, we weren't his favorites.  That honor belonged to "The Irish Girls," two classically trained violinist sisters with angelic voices, Joyce and Ruth O'Leary, otherwise known as Sephira.  Perhaps their music reminded Larry of his beloved grandmother, who taught violin.  Maybe he just liked being surrounded by attractive women and beautiful music.  In any case, he adored them, and played their music all the time.  

Sephira occasionally performed in an Irish bar in Manhattan. I went to see them with my sister-in-law and we spoke of our mutual friend.  They were wonderful, lovely music played with energy and feeling.  Inspired, I bought a viola and played it, put it away, played it.  Put it away. It was still not time.

Sephira played at Larry's 80th Birthday party.

They played at his memorial.

My interest in making music lay dormant for a while, but the seed had been planted. Several years later, my enthusiasm increasing, I stumbled upon fiddlerman.com and bought a violin.  

Now it feels right. It's finally time.  

For Larry, for Toni, for Dad.

Here's a few videos of Sephira:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?.....snJn8x-nHc

What is that bouncing bow technique in the second video called? I love it!