A Legend, a legacy, and a story. Ya gotta be something...right?
Some people spend their entire lives attempting to be famous or become a legend.
Some people become a legend because they are the type of person that legends are made of.
Some people are simply legends in their minds.
Some people do legendary things.
Some people accomplish feats that are considered legendary, only to be forgotten when others assimilate the feats.
I will give you an example.
My son and I enjoy playing disc golf. We played in a disc golf league when we lived in Indiana and enjoyed visiting as many disc golf courses as possible. Many times, while playing a round on a new-to-us course, we would hear another disc golfer from across the park yell, “Hey, Corban!” We would look across a field dotted with disc golf baskets to see someone waving at Corban.
Both of my kids are amazing, incredible, and highly tolerant of my attempts at bad dad jokes; they are legendary in my opinion. I’m not going to make a list of accomplishments to prove that they are legends for the simple reason that they are legends because they are who they are. They don’t need to do, be, or say anything in particular to qualify as a legend. They are who they are, and that is enough.
Well, I guess I could mention a couple of legendary things they have done. I may have mentioned these acts in a previous writing, but rehashing stories of awesomeness is always fun.
My daughter, Haley, is an incredible artist. She is an expert at makeup and creating effects with makeup. Creating open wounds and bruising, with makeup, was something she excelled at when she was younger.
One day, while I was on shift at the fire department, I was messaging my wife, and she informed me that Haley was practicing her makeup skills by transforming my wife into a zombie. I was about to ask for a picture when our tones dropped, and I had to leave and assist with a medical call. The location for the 911 call was at a house located close to my own home.
After assisting the ambulance crew, I returned to my truck, got inside the cab, and noticed that my wife had messaged me again. “Be sure to drive by slowly when you guys go back to the firehouse, and I will show you what Haley did to my face.”
I got out of the cab, walked over to the police officers who had assisted us with the call, and told them, “Hey, when we leave, a lady will be coming out of a house with a torn-up face. Don’t worry about it. It’s my wife and my daughter is practicing some zombie makeup on her.”
When we drove by my house, my wife walked down the driveway, stumbling, zombie-like, towards the street. She looked amazing. This act solidified my daughter and wife as legends in my opinion. The police officers met us at the firehouse and said, “Dude! If you wouldn’t have warned us, we would have thought that something tore half of your wife’s face off!”
Legendary!
My son, Corban, didn’t trick people into thinking the side of his mom’s face was ripped off to enhance his legendary status. Corban created his own flight path on hole 4 located at the Mt. Gilead disc golf course.
Hole 4 at the Mt. Gilead disc golf course is a narrow, tree-lined hole of frustration.
Many of us try to shoot the gap and land as close to the basket a possible by getting the disc to slide across the ground.
Not Corban.
Corban created his own flight path by throwing to the right of the path, through a thick patch of trees, and landing his disc next to the hole. He wasn’t always successful at avoiding all of the trees, however, he was a lot more successful at landing near the basket than those of us who calculated our trajectory and other nonsensical things we do when we think we are better at the sport than we are.
One time, Corban and I were playing with a few guys that we had never played against, and when we got to hole 4, the first guy teed off and tried to go through the trees. His friend said, “Tried the local route, huh?”
“Yup, and failed.” His friend replied.
“The local route?” I asked.
“Yeah,” they replied, “Some of the local guys figured out a route through the trees and can park their discs next to the basket.”
“Cool,” I said, “We call it the Corban route.”
“Corban is the one who figured out the route.”
Corban teed off. We watched his disc sail through the trees and land next to the basket.
Legend.
I have been very blessed in my life.
I have been blessed through meeting so many people and in more ways than I can list.
Even though I cannot include a list of my blessings, I can describe a little of how some people have become legends, have left a legacy, and or created a lot of incredible stories that have been woven into my life.
The three Fernandos are people in my life who, in my opinion, are legends, are leaving a legacy, and are creating many memorable stories. By the way, they were mentioned in this blog. ( https://www.danhaugermusic.com/blog/2023-02-01-the-fernandos-and-a-dirr-deer/ )
Although it takes time to create and leave a legacy, the beginning of a legacy can be observed by those who pay attention.
Fernando Frank has begun a legacy of success.
Many times, band directors measure their success by the number of awards their bands earn. Obtaining superior ratings is one way to observe the success of a music program, however, a few judges can only give their opinions about what they have observed at a particular point in time. The comments made by the judges, many times, are useful and may help the band improve. Sometimes, the comments are useless, such as “You are a small band and would benefit from more members to fill out instrumentation.”
A comment like that and similar comments are completely useless and do not give the band a proper critique of their musicality. What a comment like that does is tell the band that the judge has a prejudice against small bands and feels that listening to them was a waste of time.
What the judges don’t realize is that many directors of small bands have created stronger musicians and people of character than they would be willing to admit. Schools with smaller bands do not have the luxury of having a Wind Ensemble, filled with students who take private lessons with multiple ensembles, for the students who could not play their instruments at the highest caliber and be in the Wind Ensemble.
The directors of smaller bands have to program music that will challenge the best players in the ensemble without exasperating the weakest musicians. They are only able to program music that will encourage their students to succeed by knowing their students' abilities, personalities, and aspirations.
The legacy of Fernando Frank has begun.
In the three years that I have known him, I have watched him transform the band he directs into a group of musicians. The student’s growth in music has become an expression of excellence.
A legacy of high expectations, excellence, and friendship began once he took the reins of the band. Rarely do we observe a legacy begin, and I have been lucky enough to watch his grow.
Fernando doesn’t aspire to be a legend, legendary, or the subject of created stories. However, through his diligence in giving the students various musical opportunities, he will end up being a legend to them and the school. In the building of his legacy, there will be stories told and shared that will be used to encourage others.
Fernando Frank, as you may remember, is known as F1. F2 is Fernando Vera. Fernando Vera is the choir director at the same school as Fernando Frank.
Just like Fernando Frank, Fernando Vera doesn’t aspire to be a legend, legendary, or be the subject of created stories. However, through his diligence in giving the students various musical opportunities, he will end up being a legend to them and to the school. In the building of his legacy, there will be stories told and shared that will be used to encourage others.
It has been a blessing and a blast to work with F1 and F2. I have watched them create music at a level that would make the jaws drop of the judges, who poo-poo the band of a small school. The judges aren’t around to hear them rehearse the groups and hear the students respond to their amazing teaching abilities.
Speaking of students.
Students are legendary, too. Each student leaves a legacy that teachers remember. Many teachers focus on the legacies of students who were always in trouble or created problems. Music students are different. They leave a legacy because they were a part of something bigger than they could ever imagine. They were part of a group, and without them, their part would have never been played.
During the 2023-2024 school year, I had the opportunity to be the DeSoto Middle School Band Director. It was an amazing adventure, and I am glad that I had the chance to teach again. Middle school is my preferred age to teach, and my students didn’t disappoint me with all of their antics and Middle School-li-ness.
The picture I chose to accompany this blog shows me standing with the students who comprised my 8th-grade trumpet section in the 2023-2024 school year. They had completed their freshman year of high school, and I had the chance to play in the trumpet section with them for the High School Graduation Ceremony. Each one of those students has begun their own legacy. They are legends to me and are the subjects of wonderful stories.
I mentioned before that I am blessed, and the picture is a small representation of some of my blessings. Each one of the students I taught at DeSoto Middle School is incredible and has unbelievable potential.
When I requested that we take a picture as a trumpet section, I knew that I would be standing next to legends. Maybe when they feel the weight of school or life pressing down on them, they may remember that the trumpet-playing band director they had for a short time believes in them and knows that they can and will succeed.
Maybe that is the reason some of us become teachers, not to be legends or create a legacy, but to teach those who will become legends and leave a legacy.