The sweetest, life-affirming eruption of ebullience I’ve encountered today comes from Jon Stewart. The subject is his learning to play drums in middle age.

[Interviewer] Do you make sure to practice your rudiments and paradiddles?

I have a teacher, and I do my paradiddles and my rudiments, and then we throw a James Brown song on there. Suddenly I’m Stubblefield. [NYTimes note: The drum legend Clyde Stubblefield was a key — maybe the key — component of James Brown’s band from 1965 to 1970.] When I get my left foot to do a thing independent of my right hand — it’s the opposite of death [my bolding]. You don’t get that feeling as much when you’re older. I also get to be present in my life. When I became less myopically focused, things became more fulfilling.

(David Marchese, “Jon Stewart Is Back to Weigh In,” NYTimes, 6-15-20)

(c) 2020 JMN