We remember the past and look forward to the future. Looking back through a mirror of our past, with objectivity, may help us prepare for our future.
Welcome to a new year.
This is my 41st blog entry on my website. I know that not all of the entries are present, but, believe me, this is the 41st.
My first blog entry was in September of 2022, and I have written and posted a blog every month since.
This past year has been a year full of changes. We moved from Southwest Florida to Central Florida, my wife and I have both started new jobs, and now we are about to move again. We will remain in Central Florida; however, the house we are renting has been put on the market to sell, and we will be packing up and relocating. So, lots of changes, but it keeps us on our toes.
I had decided to look back at some of my previous blogs and “Reflect” on previous rants, raves, and recollections. (You knew that I would include an alliteration at some point)
In January of 2023, the blog was primarily about my former band director, Ken Strieby. I also mentioned two other band directors who have made an impact in my life: my 7th-8th grade director, Cheryl Wilkerson, and my good friend and former teaching colleague, Fernando Frank.
My other band directors had made huge positive impacts on my life, but in January of 2023, it was the Ken, Cheryl, and Fernando show.
In that blog, I mentioned how I was introduced to the music of Maynard Ferguson and how I had the opportunity to hear him live for the first time. Many people throw hate Maynard’s way and say that all he could do was hit high notes. It saddens me that people are so quick to demean someone and not see them as a whole person or see the impact they make in the world. Maynard inspired and motivated many people. Some stayed in music, and others went on to work different careers, yet still acknowledge the impact Maynard made in their lives. For example, check out the amazing actor and musician, Mike Capozzi.
January of 2024 was interesting and rough, to say the least.
I had accepted the position of Middle School Band Director at DeSoto Middle School.
Middle school students have always been my favorite age range to teach.
As I have said many times, 6th-grade students are squirrely little turds because they still have a bit of grade school blood in their veins, have the desire to go out to recess, and wish they still had a single classroom to work in unless they are going to “specials” like music, art, or gym. Instead, they get thrown into a school where they are no longer the oldest, have to change from class to class, and can’t go out for recess. It is a quick and sudden change to their “norm,” and they are expected to react and accept the changes without question.
7th-grade students are the ones with whom I empathize the most. They are no longer little 6th graders trying to figure out the middle school's schedule. They have the schedule down pat, but their bodies are beginning to change. Puberty has hit them upside the head, and many of them have come to realize that they are no longer the babies in middle school. They also realize that they are not the apex predators that they see the 8th-grade students as being. They are the quintessential Jan Brady of middle schoolers.
8th-grade students will typically start the school year acting like the apex predators that the 7th-grade students imagine them as being. They walk into the school with a sway in their step and will tilt their heads in acknowledgment to their former teachers. However, by mid-year, the realization that in less than 6 months, they will be freshmen at a high school. In their eyes, and in the eyes of some of the other high school students, the lowest of the lows in schooldom. Their attitude changes from being superior to, “OH MY GOSH I DON’T WANT TO GO!”
I had always made sure my band students were well prepared for the transition from 8th grade to becoming Freshmen. That is one of the benefits of being in music. I will tell them, “You go into the new school having a core group of people that share common interests. Plus, they are just as weird as you are.”
The roughest part of the year of being a middle school band director was the loss of one of my students. He was an amazing young man, and when we returned to school and were notified that Abel and his mother were killed in a house fire that evening, it was heartbreaking. He was well-liked, and every student in band class knew about and was amazed at Abel and his musical ability.
The blog for January 2025 was going to be a bitter and almost angry writing. However, I took time away from what I had written and decided that I didn’t want to be, or appear to be, that type of person. We can get angry and upset, but we shouldn’t let it form us and make us into a person that we wish we were not. So, I re-wrote the blog and focused it on how I kept myself from becoming complacent while practicing. Taking the time to learn and understand music in the way that the composer intended. It was a rewarding and educational process for me.
Now we are beginning a new year. January 2026.
This year has been interesting. We were informed that when we tried to sell our home in Arcadia, we should never been allowed to buy the house because the condition of the roof rafters, as well as the roof, needed replacing. Silly us, we trusted the home inspection.
I began working at Universal Studios Florida as a team member in the Park Services department. My original intent was to audition for Disney and Universal and play my trumpet. However, no one knows me up here yet, and auditions are few and far between.
I am enjoying my position with Universal and will begin training for my new position as a team leader. I applied for the promotion and got the position along with a couple of my friends. So much work happens in the back of the house as well as in front of the house that guests never realize. That is what makes it fun for me. I take care of things so that the guests can come into a world-famous theme park and forget about the pressures of life for a while.
That is the same feeling I get while playing music. I help people forget about the pressures of life for a while when I carry them away on the notes that I am playing. Music impacts every aspect of our lives, and we may not realize it until the music is gone. As guests walk through the park, music is playing through hidden speakers and transitions to different music, creating a different atmosphere as they move to different areas. It helps create a feeling of comfort and sets the mood for enjoying the different experiences offered. However, once the park closes and all of the guests have left, the music stops. Walking through the park in silence is peaceful, yet it reminds me of the important role music plays in our lives.
Don’t let the music fade from inside of you. Even when the music is silenced everywhere else, keep the tunes alive.
Have a fantastic new year, and be sure to support your local live bands and artists!
Happy New Year!