Four Kinds of People in the World & The Musicycle

The completion of Instrument #7 brings speed and a sci-fi aesthetic to the project - this one will go far! Also see below a great piece from Ron Rodrigues, reflecting on being a caregiver for his wife who has CMT. Wise words, but so much easier to read than implement... thanks Ron. (Tim)

INSTRUMENTS (#7)

The Thornton OG Musicycle
post by Will Longstreth


This creation was inspired by the music box I used to play with when I was a kid in combination with my lifelong passion, cycling. The box (as seen in the video in an earlier post) is a "Thorton" metal disc music box, and was passed down from my great-grandfather. Apparently these were quite fashionable around the turn of the century. They also have sharp saw-toothed edges for torturing younger siblings, but I digress.

So anyway, the theory was to mount a mechanism which is capable of producing different notes akin to the tabs on the records hitting the keys in the music box as the record spins. On the bike the best way to do this seemed to be mounting spring steel, cut to different lengths for different notes, on levers placed in the same spacing as the spokes so you can play chords (ideally).



With a little help from my more than capable machinist friend, voila! We're still working on tuning and how to mic the different tabs. Always an education.

Here is it in action...






CHARCOT MARIE TOOTH

Four Kinds of People in the World
post by Ron Rodrigues

"There are only four kinds of people in the world--those who have been caregivers, those who currently are caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers."

- Rosalynn Carter

In the beginning of my caregiving role with my wife, Donna, I wanted to somehow make her pain go away. Massaging her was with the expectation of making a difference. This expectation had a lot of side effects. For example I would deny the existence of her ailment. She'd ask me, 'do you see the atrophy in my legs'. I'd say no. It felt like if I gave it "power" CMT would overtake her. I felt I was unable to help. In some ways I felt like a failure.

Then one day I had a shift. Instead of trying to fix her I just loved her. Boundaries were set by me. In doing this I was able to say - wow sounds like you really need to see your Doctor. I'm here to love you. Technical questions and concerns need to be discussed with your doctors. I am a licensed massage therapist. However this is my wife so when Donna needed a full body massage I needed to gift it to her from a practicing massage therapist. This was probably the biggest lesson I had to learn.

I am to give love - only love and that's it. I must express compassion and forgive myself when I feel I have come up short. I am reminded that setting boundaries opens my heart.

Once I was willing to - not be enough - I was enough. This helped me care. I found relief. When I felt better everything flowed. The energy was positive and everything worked out. Then came the awareness that sometimes letting Donna figure it out for herself gave her strength and hope. It allowed me to come from love and compassion. This was rewarding.

I am now reminding myself to stay out of the outcome. Living in the moment makes it possible to see the little things that make big differences. Getting out of my ego self opens the door for true caregiving. When I am in MYSELF all is well and my inner strength connects with Donna's inner strength.

Now I give care and I receive so much. In order to be a good caregiver for Donna it is so important to respect myself. I am very hopeful we will find a way through & that's what caregiving is all about. Breathe and relax and share Love, Light & Laughter.