Flute Maker - Kay Harris
A few years after our initial meeting, John offered to play a flute concert at the trading post. The event was a great success, and many people later told me the evening was one of the most enjoyable concerts they had ever attended. During the early stages of our friendship, John determined to teach me the Native American flute. “It’s easy; anyone can do it,” he assured me. I figured if the whales can make music, I probably could too. After an hour of instruction, however, John and I both realized that I had no affinity for it, and that I was both tone deaf and musically dumb. Since that time, John has studiously avoided trying to expand my harmonic horizons.
During our telephone conversation, I mentioned that I had recently spoken with Kay Harris. Kay makes exceptionally well-crafted flutes in the Native American style, and it was John who brought us together. I had been wanting to carry flutes in the trading post for some time, but could not find the quality I desired. John used Kay’s flutes in many of his recordings, so he gave me Kay’s telephone number and I made the call.
Once we met, I quickly realized that Kay is the kind of individual you grow immediately fond of. Having spent the majority of his life outdoors in the great Southwest, the environment has worn away all of his rough edges. What remains in a gentle man who is as comfortable as an old saddle. Kay and I often talk about the troubled kids he takes on river expeditions, cattle drives, the simple and elegant pine caskets he builds and his flutes.
Kay's Trademark
Kay’s trademark, which is on all his instruments, is an offset circle within a circle. He says the wood of the instrument represents our world; the solid silver disk symbolizes the individual flute player and his journey from earth to sky. The metallic disk also represents Kay’s hope that before we reach the heavens we will find some harmony that moves us closer to the center.
John told me that he once asked Kay to make a flute with a perfectly centered circle. Kay declined the offer, however, stating that he could not, because he had personally known only two cases where that type of perfection had been attained. Each instance involved great and painful loss.
After Kay left the store, I thought about my own life and how Kay’s offset circle metaphor fit my circumstances. My journey toward the center has consistently and frustratingly followed an erratic, squiggly and generally unpredictable path. Quite often I feel I am not only uncentered, but mostly unhinged; that, rather than moving closer to the hub, I am actually gravitating farther away.
There are times, however, when Jana and the kids are in my heart; when I am running in the early morning with everything quiet, fresh and new; when the evening light streams through golden cottonwood trees; or when I am cycling on a lonely back road that I feel the center may be near.
Often I remember an interview I saw many years ago. During that segment, Rob Reiner said, “In my life I have had about 10 minutes of happiness; not all at once of course, but one minute here, 30 seconds there . . . .” At the time, I thought Reiner was merely being sarcastic; I later came to believe he was talking about the complete contentment Kay relates to his fully centered circles.
Although those moments of absolute centering may not last long, they are unforgettable. They are love in its most basic element; love of self, love of others and love of one’s environment. It is only love that truly centers us. Kay’s visit reminded me how far I must travel to locate the center, but also how far I have already journeyed. Kay might agree that the adventure is in the undertaking, that we must keep striving and keep loving; the center may be closer than we think.
With warm regards,
Steve, Barry and the Team.
Copyright 2006 Twin Rocks Trading Post
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