My five year old daughter was invited to the home of one of her friends today which is close to the Vienna woods so I threw a couple of whistles in my backpack and set off for a walk and a bit of whistleing while the girls were busy playing.I soon found a perfect spot and took out my whistles and played them one by one before choosing my newly tuned Waltons mellow D to practice some tunes,and I think I must have played Kid on the mountain for more than half an hour…anyway,two very enjoyable hours and many tunes passed by all too quickly and it was time to return to my little girl.There is no real point to this story,nothing exciting occured, only the sweet sound of my whistle playing and a nice walk in the Vienna woods …thats all,it was a good day. 
Peace, Mike
Hi Mike
Where one finds peace, calmness and serenity in the world, even for a few hours; there is still hope for us all in the human race.
Thanks for sharing that very human moment.
Pax
Mark
Mike,
Now, that’s living. We do all the things we’re supposed to- go to work and do a good job, take care of our families, clean up- all good, necessary things. Then, occasionally, we get to ask ourselves, “what would I like to do just because I like it?” (The answer is obvious, the whistle in in your pocket.)
I can see it: you pick a comfortable looking spot out of the traffic, kick a pine cone or a pointy twig out of the way, sit down in the grass against a tree trunk or on the side of a rock, take a deep breath, look around at the trees and sky, brush out all the internal noise from your head, feel the whistle in your hands and ponder the tune that pops into your head, maybe a slow air that would be good to warm up on. Cover the windway and blow to warm the whistle up. Take a breath and play a low note. Marvel at the sound. Let the day suggest what to play. Right now in this spot, life is good. (I like to start with An Gheagus (The Goose) or Eanach Dhuin. Kid on the Mountain comes after considerable warmup.)
Tony
Thanks for the pastoral whistle musings,
which bring back my own memory of
whistles in Austria. I was playing on
the street in Innsbruck when the police
busted me. ‘Where is your licence?’
they demanded. I agreed to get one
and left.
In fact I was teaching in the Jesuit
Theology Faculty of the University
of Innsbruck, so I asked my colleagues
where to get a license to be a street
musician. They begged me not to apply.
I would be asked what I was doing in
Innsbruck, I would tell them that I
was teaching, etc. and this would bring
embarassment on the Jesuit Theology
Faculty. I offered to play whistle on
the street with a sign over my money
jar saying–‘Support the Jesuits!’
but they politely declined. The end
of my show biz career in Austria. I
should have gone to the Vienna woods!