Get hooked on the MTNA Conference.(Music Teachers National Association)

"Have a great time!" my sister wished me before I left for Seattle. "Lydia, you haven't lived until you've experienced an MTNA National Conference. I hope next time you can come, too," I responded.

The first national convention I attended was in 1987, in New York. My mother, Irene Reed, a devoted piano teacher, asked me if I wanted to go. I was surprised. My mother never traveled anywhere without my father, and the thought that the upcoming convention inspired her to think of attending ignited my interest, too.

Off we went to New York by train. It was the first time my mother and I were "roommates." During the day, we labored up and down the flights of stairs from one ballroom to another, laughing at bad jokes, meeting people from all over the country, soaking up as many lectures as our minds and legs would allow. We marveled at the many white-haired teachers who sprang up the stairs and eagerly awaited the next presentation. In the evenings we were awed by the competition winners' concerts, and snuck over to Carnegie Hall to hear an unforgettable performance of Britten's War Requiem. At night, my mother and I collapsed in our beds, exhausted but exhilarated to meet the next day. The experience was grand; we were hooked convention attendees. We returned home invigorated with fresh ideas and suitcases bulging with new materials.

Since then, I have attended many MTNA conventions and conferences. Not only could I satisfy my desire to learn more, I could also feed my congenital travel appetite, l am cursed with having friends who move away, yet I am blessed with having dear friends in almost every city where I've attended conventions. The minute I get my hands on the conference program book each year I do two things: highlight the lectures I want to attend and then fit in as many time blocks possible for sightseeing and city snooping. My friends have teased me that if MTNA were to present an award for the teacher who took the most advantage of any travel opportunities, I would be the recipient. But we all agreed I probably would be too busy sightseeing to accept the award anyway.

I was always drawn to scenic and exciting locations: New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. As president-elect and then as president of Massachusetts MTA, I visited areas of the country I normally would not have traveled to. I am glad I did. It was interesting to see different parts of the United States and have a chance to meet local teachers, many of whom might never attend a national convention in a faraway location.

It was in Little Rock, Arkansas, that I discovered the existence of another Elizabeth Ann Reed, who also used "Betty" as a nickname. One evening, an unsuspecting man called my hotel and asked for Betty Reed. When the unfamiliar voice of my roommate answered the phone, he asked for Betty, and then to make sure he had the right room, asked for Elizabeth Reed. As my friend handed over the phone to me, a single woman at the time, I can still hear the raucous laughter of my hotel roommates as I responded, "Hello? Um, yes, this ...