One of my all time favorites because it shows commitment and dedication. This girl is a cheerleader during the first half of the game, then, while the other cheerleaders have a break, she runs to the band, grabs her drum and marches halftime…..and then back to cheer for the rest of the game.
Commitment: Cheerleader to Percussion and back Read More »
In the high school where I taught, we were just beginning to work on Africa: Ceremony, Song and Ritual. It was an incredible piece of music written to display some of the beauty and complexity of African music and drumming.
I have two “racist”-related stories to go with our preparation of this piece. The first happened several years ago when I invited (and then had to un-invite) an area African drumming group to come to our school to lead a Master Class for our students and open our concert. That will be for another post.
More recently, as part of our discussion and preparation, I spoke with the class about how African drums are considered “sacred” and that we would treat this music and our performance of it with that type of respect.
As part of that discussion, I spoke a little of my son’s study abroad experience during his undergraduate work at Duke University, when he spent a summer in Ghana. He was one source of telling me how reverently the Gananians treated the drumming instruments. He also told me the exceptional level of respect they gave “white people”, especially men.
He stepped over some local cultural norms when he insisted on helping with the food preparation and in washing his own clothes. It should be noted that the home where he stayed was considered one of a “nobleman” from the area.
Not comfortable with the female servants doing his laudry, David tried to do his own. The best he could get was for them to let him help them.
“Everyone wanted their picture taken with the white guy, and they wanted hugs. When I went to church, they would always set me on the front row, if not on the platform itself.” -David Gardner
What really sparked the shocked response was when I told this class (mostly white with a small hispanic component) about my son’s experience in a Drumming Circle, where several of the students from his trip participated. The comment that the drumming leader made (multiple times) was that….
I got a noticeable gasp of disbelief and shock when I shared that quote. I explained that this was not something a white person said, but rather was a critical statement made by a Gananian African about how non-Africans were playing his instruments.
I was not trying to be or show any form of racial disrespect, but rather, to use a quote from someone who should know the instrument….. Incident averted.
Did I really say something ‘racist’? Read More »
Our fundraising convention was in Atlantic City — at the Trump Taj Mahal. I’d never seen anything like it. There were probably over a dozen check in agents. There were all sorts of people who wanted to open doors, carry luggage, etc — all for tips, of course. We experienced a major customer service upgrade.
When we got to our luxurious room, there was something wrong with one (yes, one) of our three phones. There was a phone next to the bed, one on the desk, and one in the bathroom.
When I called the front desk about the phone, I was invited to bring Joan and go to the manager’s desk in the lobby. Once there, we were informed we’d be changing rooms. I didn’t want to move our stuff.
“It has already been moved for you….and I think you’ll like your new room.”
We were escorted via a private elevator to our “suite”. There were two front doors, a living room, a dining area with a chandelier, and two bedrooms (one had a TV that came out of the furniture, a jacuzzi and a mirror on the ceiling over the bed). The guest room also had a bath. There was a fireplace and large screen TV in the living room. Windows faced two different directions.
This upgrade because of a broken phone. They could have just replaced the phone, but this is exceptional customer service.
UPDATE: 8/17/24: This Casino/Hotel closed in 2016 as the result of a labor dispute and strike.
Customer Service Upgrade at Trump Taj Mahal Read More »
In 7th grade, attending a band clinic at Morehead State University, I made the definite decision that I wanted to be a band director. No one on either side of my family had been to college, so I was clueless in many aspects of what it would take.
My band director, James Copenhaver, pulled me aside one day to explain:
You want to be a band director. That means you’re going to need to go to college, but your family can’t pay for you to go (My parents were divorced and my polio-surviving mother was raising five children.)
Your grades are okay, but not good enough for academic scholarships. You’re not athletic, so that is out.
The best chance for you to get to college is to become good enough on that clarinet that by the time you graduate, a college will pay for you to come. You’ve got four years.
It worked.
I wanted to be a band director Read More »
Today we hear all about wokeism, diversity and equity hiring, and training, rainbows, gender-fluid, pronouns, and more. When I was in school in the late 60’s to mid 70’s (high school and college), the controversies were about “Affirmative Action” and “School Bussing”. This post focuses on my Fire Chief Dad’s first black and female hires and asks the question, was he racist and/or sexist?
My high school was the only larger public high school in the city and, so, was already completely integrated as it took in all from a community of just under 100,000. The elementary schools, on the other hand, experienced bussing first as those in the inner city schools and the outer city schools (we really didn’t have suburbia in Covington) were moved around.
I supported (and still do) the concept. Implementation, in some cases, was problematic, including my dad’s work situation. He was one of three “Chiefs” for a Fire Department that had about 10 ‘houses’ throughout the city. Keep in mind that this story was involving new concepts. The question…. was my dad racist or sexist? My answer…..ummmmm somewhat, but not blatantly. See how he dealt with an issue of each.
Phil Gardner, was a fireman for about 32 years and I grew up around the firehouse. My first memories were of an old firehouse built originally for horse-drawn equipment. The sleeping quarters were on the second floor. When an alarm sounded, the men would slide down the pole landing next to one of the trucks.
Since it was a job where he was on duty for 24hrs and then off for 48, we would sometimes visit him at work. I remember getting to sit in the driver’s seat and pull the cord that rang the bell as well as in the seat atop the rear ladders of the “hook and ladder” truck. Eventually, he was one of the three deputy “chiefs” (each had a ‘shift’) of a moderately large fire department in Covington, Kentucky.
He moved into the new station in 1975.
He claimed that he could have someone on the scene anywhere in the city 90 seconds after an alarm from one of the city’s 10 firehouses.
I saw that first hand once as my siblings and I were in the firehouse as an alarm sounded. His instruction was to “stand over there against the wall RIGHT NOW and I’ll have someone come and get you”. As the firehouse PA system was announcing the location and description, 8 firehouse doors were going up, firefighters were scrambling, engines were starting and in about 15-20 seconds, the chief car, ambulance, rescue truck, pumper, and ladder truck were GONE. One of the dispatchers had us come in and spend time with him until our mother could arrive to take us home.
He was not afraid of controversy. At different times in his job as one of the chiefs, Dad was accused of both racism and sexism.
During the time of “Affirmative Action” and “School Bussing”, when the city asked why dad didn’t have any blacks on the force, he replied that they hired from those who passed the fireman’s test. He was ordered to re-write the test. ….and then to re-write the test a second time, and a third time. He then refused to continue to modify the test, which he insisted was about finding out what someone knew about fire and he didn’t want to send people into burning buildings who didn’t understand what they were up against.
When he hired an African-American, he told me about his first conversation with a guy who eventually became a strong friend.
“I want you to know that you’re a rookie on this shift. You’re not a black rookie, you’re a rookie. You’re going to scrub the tires on the trucks, not because you’re black, but because you’re a rookie. You’re going to get to wash the trucks because you’re a rookie. There are a lot of grunt jobs around here that you are going to have to do because you are a rookie. They are the same jobs I had to do when I was a rookie and which every other man on this force had to do as a rookie. I will treat you the same way I treat everyone else on this force, and will expect respect in return. Oh, and another thing. You need to trim your hair, not because you’re black, but because if you go into a burning building with that Afro sticking out the bottom of a helmet, you’re gonna burn. So just to make sure that we understand each other, if you don’t show me your ‘black power’ (common phrase at that time), I won’t show you my white (i.e. I’m the fire chief) power.”
Their friendship lasted decades.
He was also in charge when they wanted to start hiring women. He fought it but eventually lost. His reasoning:
“Other than the fact that you’re requiring me to build another restroom, shower/locker area, and sleeping quarters in this building without giving me any additional space in which to do it, I have no problem with any female firefighter who can get all the hair under the helmet, can hold a hose with high-pressure water coming out and can climb out of an upper story window with a 250-pound person of dead weight on her shoulder as she climbs down the ladder.”
I’d appreciate honest, respectful feedback…..
My Fire Chief dad’s first black and female hires Read More »
I was in 9th grade when my band director, who had heard I wanted to be a band director, pulled me aside to tell me that 1) being a band director would require going to college, 2) my family couldn’t afford it, and 3) he had a way, “make yourself valuable”.
My parents divorced my 7th grade year. Dad was a firefighter and Mom, a polio survivor, was left raising five kids….I was the oldest.
Mr. Copenhaver emphasized that my grades weren’t good enough for academic scholarships and pointed out that I wasn’t athletic, so he told me the only way I would get there was to be good enough at something that a school would pay for me to come. He said I was decent on clarinet and suggested I focus on that. I had 4yrs to prepare. He helped me get 1-1 instruction with the best teacher in the region, to attend summer camps at two universities, to partipcate in band clinics, solo/ensemble festivals and honor bands — for both the experience and the exposure. It worked. I made myself valuable.
I did have a loan (don’t remember the amt). Of course, the number was lower, but my first teaching job only paid about $10k, so all the numbers were lower. I had on and off-campus jobs, including (for a while) a 3rd shift cleaning job at a restaurant and a job I went to over breaks and around summer schedules. I rode my bike about 3-4 miles to an area high school 2-3 times a week to work with about 15 students until I got my first car in time for student teaching.
I do remember learning how to pay my bills, including deciding which ones I could pay after each teaching paycheck. I get that.
Are there problems with the system today? Absolutely. College prices are outrageous. When our younger son was in school, their prices increased $1000/yr — and are now double what they were when we were dealing with them. Schools can raise their fees because loan-makers make it easy to get higher loans to pay the higher fees. Many universities (including state schools) have billions (with a B) endowments. They could go tuitionless for at least several years. Meanwhile, the cycle keeps going.
The contractor we hope will soon get us on his schedule is driving a truck I could never afford. He told me he dropped out of college when he figured out that, instead of debt, he could quickly be making more than he would make with the degree he was working on. A military recruiter told our band class that going his route could enable someone to have 6-figures in the bank instead of 6-figures in debt.
I would hope we can find a way to help the needy without just transferring that obligation to those who couldn’t go to college or who went to trade school (and borrowed money for buildings, vehicles, tools, etc) or into the military instead.
Blanket cancellations (which I know this is not): the SCHOOL wins because they got their money and can now raise prices again, the LOAN-MAKERS win because they can make bigger loans.
Somebody a lot smarter than me is going to have to figure it out. I do not believe it is an easy solution.
If you want to respectfully respond, even to disagree, feel free. If you’re going to call me a non-Christian, selfish or some of the other names I’ve been called (like these twitter responses):
Selfish shell fish
Special snowflake
Ignorant to the rest of the world
Sweetie
Conversation of which I know nothing
You ASSume things
smarmy asshats
I looked at your profile pic (old, fat, bald)
…then please don’t bother.
Make yourself valuable Read More »
Almost every year that I taught, I had variations of the same conversation, usually during a spring semester, when a normal realization from some talented, top quality, mature bandsters are sadly realizing that some of their friends and the ensemble’s leaders are (or will be) gone…. During their band lives, they had tended to ‘hang out’ with those in upper grades.
This is a call for NEW leaders to step up.
If this note is speaking to you it is a compliment. As you think back during your earlier years, there were upper-level students who accepted you into their friend circles, right? Those became strong and meaningful relationships and you gained from their experience and insight – and from their friends.
Some of those friends have graduated or will before you do, and that saddens you. They are moving on and you’ll miss them. You look at those in younger classes who maybe don’t (yet) show the qualities you admired in your older friends.
Now it is YOUR TURN to be the mature mentor for those younger, including incoming newbies. You know what it takes, better than they. So my question for you is, what are you going to do about it?
Perhaps you feel a little inadequate like you’re not as ‘good’ as your mentors. You know what I think? I think you ARE. As you step into the leadership role, you know what I think? I think you CAN.
If this note seems like I’m writing it specifically to you, then you probably have already been a “step it up” kinda person. That’s one of the reasons you’ve been comfortable around those older. Now it is YOUR TURN to step into major leadership; to replace those who are leaving and to set the tone for those coming in and for those who are already looking up to you. NOW IT IS YOUR TURN! YOU’RE READY. BE A LEADER. BE A MENTOR. BE A FRIEND….and we’ll all be the better for it, including YOU!
Love, Admiration & Respect,
Now, it is YOUR turn Read More »
Years ago, my son gifted me a book, “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance. His was a more extensive experience of poverty than mine. I grew up in northern Kentucky while his Appalachian upbringing was a little over 100 miles away….from an area with a genuine Kentucky hillbilly life. I’m glad I didn’t have a foul-mouthed grandmother or drug-user family members in my family … but there were aspects of his young life that had recognizable similarities to mine.
Hillbilly Elegy and How We Did It Read More »
With all the attention on the Secret Service at the Trump rally in Butler, I thought I’d organize some recollections and experiences the few times I’ve been around the Secret Service, including when VP Bush came to announce his running mate, when VP Quayle came to our local parade….and more. I am writing this shortly after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
When Vice President George H.W. Bush chose Dan Quayle to be his running mate, they made the announcement in Huntington. The Secret Service started showing up several days in advance. They were noticed walking around the Courthouse and in/out of the businesses close by.
I was in the small Christian bookstore just across the street from the courthouse a day or so before the visit and commented to the shop owner that she would have a great view. No. The SS had told her to be closed and away from the window several hours prior.
Joan and I joined the huge crowd at the courthouse, including on the railroad tracks (trains all stopped, of course). We could see people on top of buildings with binoculars. Noticing a couple sitting in their apartment building window across the tracks from the courthouse, shortly after I commented about them – they were gone. There must have been SS agents on or in that building.
There were pairs of agents at every corner of the Courthouse roof with their extra large binoculars.
Before they came to the courthouse, the band students and their instruments were searched. A helicopter started flying and hovering as it was announced the VP was about 30 minutes out.
They won the election and Quayle announced he would participate in the local parade. Joan and I were on the curb, video camera in hand. About 2-3 times, a pair of Secret Service agents would walk down the edge of the street. A block ahead of the VP was a flatbed truck of photographers followed by the armored car with guys holding the doors open. In between was the VP and his wife.
In front of that, where there had been a single SS agent on each side of the street, there were about a half a dozen, walking in single file along the edge of the street. The SS agent was repeating, “Do NOT step into the street.” A local policeman behind him would then echo with,
“And he means it.”
These visits were not announced and were not public events. A friend of mine, who lives a moderately short distance from the Quayle home, was on his roof using a nail gun to affix shingles when a SS helicopter hovered over him while agents with binoculars checked out what he was doing.
Our son was receiving his PhD in a commencement ceremony that included over 5,000 undergrads. VP Biden was the keynote speaker. The instructions we received included that we should arrive about three hours early and be in our seats two hours prior. It was in a football stadium, with numerous entrances, all with electronic machines and several SS agents checking purses, bags, and bodies. Since we were in our hot, sunny seats two hours early, there was plenty of time to check out some of the SS preparations, such as:
When the procession entered the stadium (University officials, VP Biden, Professors, etc) the SS agents were but a few paces away…enough to escape the pictures, but close enough if needed.
I may add these to my “Stories Through My Ages” memoir…
Secret Service Encounters Read More »
Someone tweeted a prompt, “that one time at band camp”. This was my response. Did this several times. Official practice for the fire fighters. Great fun for hot teens during band camp.
You wanted a water break? Read More »
