Dear Jon

When I was a kid, my dad spent a lot of time in our garden planting bulbs, weeding and picking berries. Sometimes he would carry a little transistor radio with him and listen to a baseball game. 

I had no idea what the announcers were talking about, but I loved how exciting it sounded – I loved hearing the crowd’s cheers bleed through the microphone. I think I must have first heard the voice of Jon Miller as I followed my dad around our garden. Years later, when I turned on KNBR to hear the San Francisco Giants wobble toward the World Series, my heart leapt in a way that I cannot explain. Jon’s voice to me sounds like home. 

If you’ll allow me a little love letter here... Jon, I love the way you pronounce everyone’s name as they would say it themselves. You honor their families, neighborhoods and countries, and you teach the rest of us to do that, too. I love hearing you describe the boats on the bay and whether the wind is whipping through the uniforms. You notice the moonrises. You find something happy to talk about when the Giants are losing. You have a lovely sense of humor and a love of history. I learn so much listening to you call a game that I’d rather be in my kitchen than at the ballpark. 

I say all of this in the context of singing/speaking/being because Jon Miller uses his voice as a singer does – it’s loose and free, ready to do whatever the game needs it to next. I’m sure it’s demanding work, and he makes it sound effortless and fun. It's music to my ears. I would love to talk with him about it sometime. 

Re: baseball and music, last year I got to hear Martin Ramey do their best with The Star-Spangled Banner. It was beautiful. I'm so glad someone put it on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jshu2-hnt0 

Can you tell I've been playing the violin more than writing the last few days?