Tabor Pipe

At Craig Rehabilitation hospital in 1983 I was made aware that my right lung also was affected by the stroke; it was too weak to support much breathing. Years before I entered the University of Wyoming as a Tuba major, and I knew playing a wind instrument would have a positive effect on this situation. Craig had a mini-garden that was surrounded by buildings that created an acoustic environment. After the day in the gym on the therapy beds I’d go there. I taught myself to play the Tabor Pipe – similar to a penny whistle but played with one hand because it only has three holes. The other hand is used for drumming simultaneously, which I learned to do after joining the International Tabor Pipe organization. I knew about the Tabor Pipe because I played recorders, and because Shakespeare’s plays were supported by it (along with several other instruments played in the Musicians’ Gallery).  

I gained enough expertise that when I competed against penny whistle players at the Estes Park Scottish Games I took various prizes, including one first place, over several years. Pre-Covid I played the pipe at the Denver Botanic Gardens while waiting for the Shakespeare’s Plants tour group who would gather to meet Shakespeare at the end of the tour. Now I play each day at sunset until the moment the sun goes down.