Yeah, I guess that peeling away of layers is what makes it all so special and remarkable for me. You get to know people when you make music with them so well, and sometimes it just takes some time for all the layers of armor to drop off. That's one thing I didn't understand when I started doing music years ago. I thought you just walk in, plop your music down and start singing, as in the rehearsals for chorus or other performances I'd been in.

Then I eventually recognized the distinction of getting in a groove and have come to recognize that as a blessed space. And I see it in other areas of my life now. Much of the work I do is collaborative in nature, very much based on a team effort, and some days in the newsroom I can feel us click into a groove and it's just heavenly. (The best stuff there often happens at night, too, but the vibe is definitely more intense...)

When I finally, really *jammed* one time years ago, it was me and eight men playing various instruments and I had that remarkable feeling of having been completely without protective layers and completely losing myself in the here and now. I wrote to my friend that it was like making love with eight great guys at once, and not being remotely embarrassed the next morning. Very special, very rare. WW