Turning up the warm and fuzzies at PPI

To paraphrase a favorite little Passover song, Dayenu! (here is a fun video for those of you not familiar with the song), this past weekend overflowed with so many great things at PPI, that Bill has been humming that tune, which means That would have been enough!, these last couple of days in the office. Now that we’re all singing it, may we paraphrase a bit for you? –

·         If Eric Lu had come finally to PPI after having been unable to come for his originally schedule recital in May 2024, Dayenu!

·         If Eric had played Chopin exquisitely for us after just having played 25 (!) concerts all over the world just one month after winning the big Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Dayenu!

·         If his encore of the aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations as his encore, in profound contrast to all that thrilling Chopin, brought tears to pretty much everyone’s eyes, Dayenu!

·         If Lincoln Performance Hall was beyond sold-out and entirely full of the world’s best audience members (according to testimony from nearly all of our visiting artists), Dayenu!

·         If more than 200 patrons waited patiently in line to greet Eric after the recital, Dayenu!

·         If the PPI staff felt it was one of the best days of their lives, Dayenu!

·         And so many other great things . . . Dayenu!

In my own harried carrying-on in the week leading up to the recital, I had one of those crazy happenstances that remind one of how good the world is. At the post office on NE Sandy Boulevard, to get a bazillion stamps for PPI, I ran into an open-faced, middle-aged informal vendor and his young son, an array of bouquets in front of them, and a hand-written sign reading: PLEASE HELP. FAMILY TO FEED.  

Always enticed by splashes of color on an overcast Portland day, I picked out some mums and marigolds, only to discover that I was also completely out of cash. Sheepishly fumbling around my purse, I handed back the bouquet, mumbling that I’d return later, once I’ve had a chance to stop by the bank.

“No, no, you take the flowers, Ma’am!” the vendor laughed with a wave of the hand. “You just take the flowers! They’re too beautiful not to share!”

Now, call me naïve and idealistic, but honestly: This is the world I want to live in! Where those who already have little are willing to give it away, and where pretty flowers and beautiful music are there for everyone to share. A world in which we make our realities just a tiny bit more bearable by trusting one another and recognizing goodness when we see it.

This is what the splendid community of PPI, artists, board members, donors, audience members, vendors, etc., does all the time. With us at headquarters as your partners, together we keep this incomparable music blooming in our world.

When you check your mailbox in the coming week, be on the outlook for a fun envelope with a fun stamp on it, and a fun card inside from your friends at PPI. We got a little too excited crafting the card and hope you’ll do the same when you use this opportunity to show your financial support of PPI. Thank you!