Today we celebrated the life of my beloved Uncle Mike McCann (1933-2022). His maxim was “Follow your bliss,” and he lived by that in full color—he was a rebel, innovator, troublemaker, brilliant doctor, abortion rights activist, storyteller, Irish tenor, passionate gardener, and a boundlessly generous, uplifting presence in the lives of everyone who was close to him. One of his many gifts was the ability to light up the path, to make you see. He’s the reason I went to Oberlin, the reason I had the courage to start the International Contemporary Ensemble. He’s the reason I love trees and the reason I feel more at home in pond water than just about anywhere else on earth. I am indebted to him for lifetimes. Rest in power and resilience and song, dear Unc. “may you / open your eyes to water / water waving forever / and may you in your innocence / sail through this to that” — Lucille Clifton, Blessing the Boats 🙏🏼 (📸 me & Unc at Beaver Pond, 1981)