After the concert Mom and Dad came backstage. The way they walked － heads high, faces flushed － I knew they were pleased. My mother gave me a big hug. Dad slipped an arm around me and held me close. You were just great, he said. Then he...

I was speechless. I had rarely heard Dad speak with such feeling about anything, much less the accordion. From then on, I practiced without my parents making me. 我不吱声了。我很少听到爸爸如此语重心长地跟我谈事情，更...

Such humiliation paled, though, beside the impending fall recital. I would have to play a solo on a local movie theaters stage. I wanted to skip the whole thing. Emotions boiled over in the car one Sunday afternoon. I dont want to play a so...

One July evening I was giving an almost flawless rendition of Come Back to Sorrento, and my parents called me to an open window. An elderly neighbor, rarely seen outside her house, was leaning against our car humming dreamily to the tune. W...

Gradually, to my surprise, I was able to string notes together and coordinate my hands to play simple songs. Often, after supper, my father would request a tune or two. As he sat in his easy chair, I would fumble through Lady of Spain and B...

Shortly after, my lessons began with Mr. Zelli. On my first day, with straps straining my shoulders, I felt clumsy in every way. How did he do? my father asked when it was over. Fine for the first lesson, said Mr. Zelli. Dad glowed with hop...

Only music carried Dad away from his world of tools and projects. On a Sunday drive, he turned the radio on immediately. At red lights, Id notice his foot tapping in time. He seemed to hang on every note. 只有音乐会让爸爸远离他的工...

Spending $300 for an accordion and $5 per lesson was out of character for my father. He was practical always － something he learned growing up on a Pennsylvania farm. Clothes, heat and sometimes even food were scarce. 花300元买一架手风...

I remember the day Dad first lugged the heavy accordion up our front stoop, taxing his small frame. He gathered my mother and me in the living room and opened the case as if it were a treasure chest. Here it is, he said. Once you learn to p...

生活总是充满希望的，成功总是属于积极进取、不懈追求的人们。我们在前进的道路上，还会遇到各种风险和挑战。让老百姓过上更加幸福的生活，还有大量工作要做。我们要谦虚谨慎...