Come Blow Your Horns

FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS, I kept a painful secret. I told no one—not even my wife, Ronda. The secret was my love of music. Not just listening. Playing. Making a living with my instrument. Closing my eyes and becoming one with a piece of music.

I’d done all of that once. After learning classical piano and trumpet as a child, I thought I’d found my calling, playing around the world in the U.S. Army Band.

It was a dream come true. Until I was abruptly discharged during the post–Cold War drawdown of forces. The loss of my job came right as my second marriage was falling apart.

I loved music and felt betrayed by all that happened. I’d grown up in a military family. What would I do now? Crushed, I vowed never to play again.

I returned my Army-issued trumpet and began a financial planning career.

I didn’t