Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy

One of the many iron-clad rules my father laid down in the Stromquist household was that my sister and I were to become cultured adults prior to adulthood, including the requirement we not only learn to play a musical instrument but master it. Conceptually, this was a fine idea, and one I’m sure came with the best intentions, but in practice it was a disaster. And the operative word there is practice.