Dear Readers,

Because my mother passed away a few weeks ago, I've spent a lot of
time reflecting on the past. Although I live thousands of miles away from my family, I was lucky enough to be able to travel to my home town and spend the last 3 1/2 weeks of her life with her. At the time of her funeral, tons of pictures and photo albums were brought out and displayed at the funeral home, memories of happier times were discussed, friends and relatives I haven't seen in years were around. And then there were the nights to get through. I never realized just how much I depend on listening to music - all kinds of music - to keep me going. Trough good times and bad, through stressful and relaxed moments, music has always been a part of my life. It also got me thinking about how we all mark important, and not so important, events in our lives by the music we listen(ed) to.

I was brought up in a family where there was always music. Broadway
Shows, the Classics when I was taking piano lessons, Top 40 when transistor radios were a novelty, a box of 45's now long gone, Readers Digest Music Collections, you name it. There was always music around me now that I think back. My mother taught me a love of Broadway from the time I was a baby. I had musical education at school and at home. I remember walking around with a cheap transistor radio when I was about 7 yrs. old. It never left my side.

I think I was about 9 when I got my first 45 - a birthday gift from my Mom. I even remember the record - the original release of "Sukiyaki" in Japanese.

All through grade school, hight school, a bad first marriage, a wonderful second marriage, music has always been there for me. My tastes have changed and grown over the years, but songs I listened to when I was a
youngster remain with me as much as the new album I just heard yesterday. My stereo is right next to my computer, and you'll never see me at the computer without headphones on and music playing.

The popular sayings "That's the song that was playing the first time I kissed a boy/girl," "I lost my virginity to that song," "They played 'Pomp and Circumstance' at my High School Graduation," "I walked down the aisle to that song," "I danced my first dance with my spouse to that music," "That song was popular when my first child was born - and my second, and so on." Get my drift? Every occasion in my life and yours is punctuated by music. I'm great at guessing the "What Was The Year?" question on NBC's "Dateline" - only because of whatever was at the top of the Charts in that particular week, no matter what year it was. I can't remember the movies or the TV shows or the politics, but I always remember the music.

No matter what kind of music we like, where would we be without it?
Between marking events, just plain listening enjoyment, or, in my case at
the moment, getting through a the worst thing that's ever happened in my
life, music is there for comfort, continuity, or just plain taking a break
from the world for a while. Music has gotten me through some of the roughest times in my life, and I expect it will continue to do so.

With your permission, I want to take this opportunity to thank my
Mom and Dad for instilling a love of music of all kinds in me at a very
young age. Although I have my own personal preferences, I respect all kinds of music for what it represents to everyone. I'm proud to say I've passed this love of music on to my children, and hope they will continue this family tradition.

I'd like to dedicte this Editorial, and this Issue of AMZ, to my mother, Dolores Horstman, who gave me the gift of music.

Please send your comments, questions, or anything else you can think of to ACCESS to the MUSIC ZONE at marellg@music-reviewer.com

See You In Cyber Space!
Mary Ellen Gustafson, Editor