By RHETA MOAZZAMI
Los Alamos

I am privileged to coach one of my local heroes, Nancy Partridge, to recall some of her lost piano skills. As is often the case in such relationships, she is, in turn, acting as my teacher on some levels.

Nancy has logged hundreds of miles, in 60-mile walk increments, in multiple states, to raise money for metastatic breast cancer. She just returned from Washington, D.C., where she, with other participants, called on members of Congress to ask them to correct punitive regulations for sufferers of the disease. It seems those disabled by the fast-growing illness are often not able to receive benefits to meet living expenses, as the waiting period often exceeds their shortened lifespan.

Yesterday (Wednesday), I was explaining to Nancy that making mistakes on the piano are a part of the process of learning. They are only magnified by her little expressions of irritation—maybe as small as shaking her head, perhaps a little joke noise, a little grunt, or a quick outbreath. I was telling her that these little recognitions of the error only served to slow her down, and asked her not to give them that energy but rather, to just keep going. I said, “You probably have some good metaphors for that process from your running.”

“Yes,” she said. “Snake.” When you are out to raise money for your cause, you don’t take time to slow down and indulge your normal reactions when you encounter a snake on the trail, whether they be fear, fascination, or rescuing behaviors. You notice there’s a snake on the trail, and you simply go around it and keep moving.

The minute she told me this, she got it, as it pertains to music. The little frustration manifestations immediately dropped, and she was able to keep going, with little errors not slowing her down, instead causing her to correct the error and move on.

Not only did these little squiggly guys help her, but they helped the next student. Two people in one afternoon just dropped those little frustrations and went on around and ahead. I thought I’d better tell everyone.

And, by the way, if you’d like to donate to Nancy’s favorite cause, you can go to www.the3day.org/goto/Nancy The Susan G. Komen 3-Day.