I lost my Red Fox Flute when it was crushed in the car door on the way to playing songs in the park while the children played off in the distance. I have since dissected it and now use it to help me build other flutes and to tune them.
A good friend wrote a little epitaph to my flute and I quote:
“In Memory of the Red Fox”
“High up float the notes so free
But long ago, it was first a tree
Though all was hidden ‘neath the bark
A nimble hand would release a heart
Only the expert eye could conceive
The journey beyond branch and leaf
For it takes long hours and hands of skill
To find such treasure takes great will
He whittles both night and day
At his feet wood shavings lay
It becomes his focus and his goal
In this fine wood he’ll find a soul
From simple and rough is the birth
To final triumph of great worth
The carver toils long and lovingly
He fashions a work of love you see
A beauty to behold, words can’t convey
The joy it brings to one and all, in so many ways
He’s now content, finished piece in hand
An accomplishment few can understand
Together God and master carver
Take these elements so much farther
Wood, skill, labor and conception
A process deserving of our appreciation
An arduous voyage of discovery
He searched and found it carefully
Only a true artist with patient, careful knife
Can bestow this gift, can bring it to life
Crafted with such tender care
A pleasure to both eye and ear
The masterpiece has been achieved
Long will live the memories” jn
I miss the first flute I had ever made and yet it tutors me with each new flute I make.
West Point Woodcarvers 