I taught middle school English for 33 yrs while also playing in a wedding band and being the organist/music director at church. Obviously, teaching was rewarding and put food on the table and sent 3 kids thru college. The wedding band paid for vacations, and the church job helped buy extras around the house. Together the three jobs contributed 80/10/10 to the family budget. Time consumption was probably more like 50/35/15 school/church/band.

The church position is gone and so is the money it generated. Teaching supplies me with a decent pension. My OMB gigs are relatively pocket change anymore. What remains is the music. It always was and continues to be the most important part of ME. As Carole King wrote, "Music is playing inside my head, over and over and over again."