It Took a Village

Published in Mason Valley News in July 2018

My son Mylo turned 19 yesterday, and I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown. It seems like just last month I watched him take his first steps. Looking at photos of him growing up and becoming the young man he is today, I reflected on all of the people who contributed to his big smile.

Of course immediate family have been supportive of him, but what gave me pause is the long list of completely unrelated people who have made such a positive impact on his life.

When he was a baby, our neighbor Sheree Rose would come by, holding him and singing to him while I took a shower. This is probably why he’s a musician today – Sheree has a beautiful voice and sings professionally with her husband, songwriter/musician Will Rose. By the time Mylo was 3, they were inviting him on stage to shake maracas during their shows. At age 6 he was in one of their music videos, solemnly shaking the gourds.

Mylo lucked out in first grade and got Diane Kotik as a teacher. Diane is a Silver City resident, although we didn’t know her very well at the time. She would stand at the door to her classroom each morning, shaking hands with every student as they entered. She would look each child in the eye and say warmly, “Good morning. Welcome!” Mylo made enormous, measurable growth on standardized tests that year.

Then in 5th grade, he was lucky enough to have Michelle Paul as his teacher at Dayton Elementary School. She’s an extraordinarily dedicated, skilled and talented teacher who included art history in her curriculum, which Mylo loved. She recognized that Mylo was a creative person, and understood him and encouraged him through that lens. I count her as key to the confidence he has as a peformer today.

By age ten, musician Will Rose accepted Mylo as a guitar student, something that had an enormous impact on his life. Will had been a guitarist for the TV shows Taxi and Cheers and had also worked with the Four Tops, Lon Bronson's Big Band, The Platters, and many Broadway musicals and Vegas production shows in addition to his own bands such as Red Rose. He’s a dedicated singer/songwriter who expected similar hard work from Mylo.

Working with Will allowed Mylo to learn an eclectic mix of reggae, funk, rock, blues and zydeco tunes, and he began going on stage for local Comstock shows at age 13.

By 16, he was thinking of teaching himself to drum, and responded to a Craig’s List ad for used drums. He went to the nearby address and bought the drums, and on the way out asked the seller, Samantha Moore, if he could try her guitar. After listening to him play briefly she said, “I’m in the band Mo’z Motley Blues and we’re looking for a guitar player. Can you audition this week?”

Long story short, he’s been playing professionally with the band since then, and they’ve become his extended family. He spends many hours a week with them not only performing, but practicing, having meals with them, and going to concerts together to see other bands. Until he got his own car and additional equipment, Samantha Moore was incrediably generous in giving him rides and sharing her gear. The band leader, the multi-talented singer/songwriter Monique De Haviland, has taught him about stage presence and professionalism. She was a pop music star in Europe as a teen, and has been protective of him as a young performer, while at the same time steadily encouraging him to set his goals high.

I’m so grateful to each one of these role models who have impacted my son’s life. Today at 19 he has his Associate’s degree and is continuing his college courses with the goal of a Bachelors degree. He loves his work, performing several times a week at Tahoe, Reno, Virginia City, Carson City and beyond.

It really does take a village to raise a child...