With a handful of you I go as far back as the Fall of 1960, first grade at Brookside, when the Steele family migrated from Gloucester, MA. My father made his career shift from marine engineer to prep school teacher at the invitation of our Summer neighbor, then-headmaster Harry Hoey. My mother also found the area conducive to her professional development as an MSW. I now appreciate how my parents modeled finding meaningful work that contributes to the community.
After attending Hampshire College, travels in Britain inspired me to migrate to Newburyport, MA—where some life-long friendships began. Seeking wider opportunities (musical/romantic) I moved to Cambridge. I sold shoes for the Sikhs while giving recitals, the latter generating offers to teach guitar at community music schools. My performing got some press during this period and I became active in the Central America solidarity movement. A highlight was Denise Levertov reading at one of my benefit concerts. Having been certified to teach K-12 music while an undergrad, I began classroom teaching when relocating required me to give up my guitar students. Though more stimulating than private lessons (particularly after Orff training), I couldn’t sustain any position beyond three years—my values eventually conflicting with the school’s culture (would be one way to put it). Back in Gloucester, I struck up a collaboration with a choreographer, resulting in a series of successful community dance dramas. I put out six CDs of originals and classics, most sales coming from gigs. With my wife’s and mother’s encouragement I overcame my aversion to graduate school and got a Masters in Composition at New England Conservatory. My main axe is now the 8-string. Though covid and other priorities have curtailed my performing for the time being, I have a lot of music waiting ready to be shared.
While these memories all relate to my vocation of music, in retrospect I would say my ultimate ambition was securing a meaningful marriage. My first wife and I must have realized we were in a “starter marriage” as we did not have children—though we offered an open door to the neighborhood children in Turners Falls, MA. She introduced me to a swimming routine and Re-evaluation Counseling, gifts lasting to this day. It was not till the start of the millennium that I met my present wife, Monica, and assisted in the parenting of her two sons. She introduced me to 12-step recovery, woke me up to the reality of brain and mood disorders, and engaged me in music ministry. We are ever weeding the co-dependence out of our blissful inter-dependence!
We were living in Tacoma when, in August 2012, my car window was shattered by a (presumably dope-sick) thief—perhaps God was trying to get my attention. Following a year of human services study at community college—a working class welcome-home—I worked as a Chemical Dependency Professional and was soon back in school for a second, more practical, masters—in Counseling Psychology. I set my sights on getting a community behavior-health position on beautiful Orcas Island in the Salish Sea. While not sure if I have assumed the mystique therapists long held for me, my insight and compassion have increased, and with them a trauma-informed perspective on our divided nation. When the age of many of my coworkers, I lacked the humility and the boundaries this work requires. I’ve come to accept that what is needed from me—even more than whatever music I may offer—is the harvest of personal growth my privilege has made possible.
