Well, the last time I was told that my vocal cords would never improve was in 2004 at a speech evaluation at the University of Michigan hospital. But the dismal diagnosis only convinced me to turn around and prove the speech pathologist wrong. The first task I was asked to do, and couldn’t, was to sing. But all that came out was a monotone: “Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer” just as one might utter the title of the song. Since singing stretches the vocal cords in a unique way, it was pretty much a determining ability, and after a few tests, I was told my vocal cords would never improve. But I’d heard that many times in my rehabilitation and usually ‘marched on’ and did whatever it was that I was told I couldn’t do. So I decided: singing would be my challenge. Within three months of that day, I taught myself to sing. And I am no Debby Boone, but I wanted to sing “You Light Up My Life” for my sister and brother-in-law for their first wedding anniversary. I did. I got good at “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and several Christmas carols too. OK., I’ll never match Judy Garland, but I have “Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer” down pat.