I typically have a flurry of inspiration and then long periods of staleness. I recently wrote 3 different songs all prompted by the recent death of my sister. A friend is putting together a concert and CD of original songs in memory of my sister to use as a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society which was her choice for memorial donations. He asked me to contribute so I was "assigned" to write something. One is a somewhat melancholy piece that uses some imagery from the Mississippi Gulf Coast where she lived. Another is almost a novelty song about an oft-repeated trick she used to tease me with when we were kids. The third is a bluesy piece about our favorite swimming hole near our home when we were kids. I've also done a rewrite on the reggae pop song "I Can See Clearly Now" to apply it to my sister now that she's passed on from her disease. I chose that one because the lyrics fit so well and such tropical-flavored music was her favorite genre.

SC