LIFE IS IMPROVISATION, by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

Last night, I saw Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl.

Wow. Still terrific at 82 years old. Warm. Inclusive. A terrific jazz pianist.

He started the evening by introducing his 2 year-old grandson, who toddled on stage wearing a huge pair of earphones, and holding his grandpa’s hand. Before any words were spoken, the little boy hit the keys on the piano. Herbie said that this was his grandson’s second appearance, so technically, at the age of two, he’d already performed twice at The Bowl.

We all laughed. The little boy walked off the stage, and Herbie and his group started playing. A few minutes later, Herbie chatted about his life and mentioned that we, everyone in the audience, were improvisers. That’s what life is all about, from minute to minute, and of course that’s what jazz is all about.

His words resonated.

We can’t predict what will happen next in our lives, but we should be ready to improvise, to have the courage to try new things, to do what’s necessary to solve whatever comes our way.

In THE REAL STORY, a mystery, Joe Belmont is stuck. His traumatic past is too painful and he deals with it by not dealing with it. Lara, his medical student girlfriend, suspects that the answer to his problems is locked up in his unconscious.

Joe thinks otherwise.

But how can a person improvise, make creative decisions, when the past rules him?

He can’t.

#THEREALSTORY #HerbieHancock #mystery #suspense #unconscious-events