A Highlight of My Life Just Took Place

Every now and then, something happens that sort of brings life in to a different perspective. I guess it's something like when retrospect collides with the here and now and stirs up emotions that were once thought dead. If that last sentence made sense, then I might be able to put into words the experience of seeing Maynard Ferguson, live in concert last night. I'm writing this barely 8 hours later just to make sure I don't forget what I just experienced.

I first heard about him and his band coming to town in the middle of this last week. Nonchalantly, my daughter showed me a flyer she was given at her intermediate school. It read something like "The legendary Maynard Ferguson will be performing live at the Conroe High School auditorium..." My daughter and I were definitely going to this show!

My oldest daughter began taking band this year and her band director told the class "this, kids, is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to see a living legend. She actually just made the switch to french horn over the last few weeks. But the fact that her grandpa and I were also trumpet players fueled her interest when the school year started. She used both of our trumpets so she wouldn't have to carry one to and from school. Seeing her play the same horn I once played and carry the same case that I once carried stirred up emotions that I thought were long since dead.

You see, years ago, I was once a promising trumpet player. I started playing in the elementary school band in Malakoff, Texas in the sixth grade. I excelled early on, performing with high school band in the jazz band ensemble and earning first chair in my section during in my seventh grade year. In the eighth grade, our school got a new band director, James Sprayberry, an old alcoholic cajun, who had been band director at other area schools. He and I bonded very quickly and that bond ruined my plans to quit the band after my eighth grade year to get in to Agriculture whenever I entered high school. Imagine that, me as a cowboy or the FFA type! Thank you, Mr. Sprayberry!!!

After football season, I started taking private lessons with Mr. Sprayberry. He told me to listen to Maynard because he thought I could relate to his style. If you've ever played the trumpet, or know someone who has, playing in the upper registers, a Ferguson trademark, has instant appeal. I spent weeks on end with "Spray," as he was affectionately called at our school, perfecting my technique. I bought an Arban's Technique for Trumpet book and Spray worked me over. It wasn't long before it was time "chair tryouts," or whatever they were called, and surpassed two seniors for first chair. I also made 2nd chair at a district band competition that year, as well. My sophomore year saw similar success, only it was not quite as dramatic as the year before. I was also involved in high school sports which divided my attentions. Still, Spray was very quick to offer encouragement, even though sports kept me away from the band hall after school. That year, at the spring concert, Spray organized a Jazz Ensemble that played that night. We played a piece called "Dixieland Jam," a medley of dixieland favorites. We practically brought down the small-town house.

Three days into my junior year of high school (September 1985), Mr. Sprayberry died suddenly, stricken with a heart attack. Our school was devastated. Moreover, my mentor was gone. In the course of the year, I had personality clashes with his successor and lost my love for the trumpet. I won't go into what happened here because I've already written more of the background for last night than I wanted to.

The opening act last night was a tight area jazz quartet that I thought would set the tone for the evening. I simply was not prepared for what happened next. Before a short intermission, another quartet, part of Ferguson's band, was non-chalantly introduced. They played a couple of songs and their style was a much more aggressive form of jazz. It merely left the audience thirsty for more. After the intermission, we all got what we payed to see. The trumbone player, Reggie, spoke into the microphone "please welcome to the stage, the legendary Maynard Ferguson." The old, white-headed, heavy-set bandleader sauntered out to the middle of the stage, as the band played a song that reminded me of what used to be played on the Johnny Carson Show. He smiled, pointed toward the audience and winked, and then lifted a worn-looking Bb trumpet to his mouth. For the next hour and fifteen minutes, I and my daughter were mesmerized. Flanked by a world-class pianist, bassist, drummer, trumbone, two saxaphones and three incredible trumpet players who obviously have benefitted from his tutelage, Mr. Ferguson was the master of ceremonies in his own traveling, musical carnival. Playing songs like Bird Land and a medley, including the hit from Rocky, Gonna Fly Now, I was taken back to that side-room in the high school band hall where I had spent so much time over 20 years ago. I experienced a highlight of my life.

Wanna Get Away? Try La Grange

Perhaps you're old enough that you remember when the story broke about the Chicken Ranch just outside the sleepy town of La Grange, Texas. If you're like me, the only thing you ever heard about the place was the song by ZZ Top.

Actually, my wife and I have often driven through La Grange on our way to other places. It's a beautiful little town with some of the most georgeous scenery in all of Texas. Still, we never actually thought of it as a destination, that is until this past weekend.

We went, on a whim, just to get away overnight. On Sunday, at day's end we could hardly bear the thought of leaving. While we were in town, we discovered a great little eatery called Bistro 108, which combined the elegance of big city dining with the down-home hospitality you would expect from a "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant. We visited Monument Hill and the Kreishe Brewery which is now a state park, which combines history of Texas with that of a local man and his dedication to a community. If antiques are your thing, there are plenty of antique malls in town and within driving distance. The historic towns of Fayetteville and Round Top are just minutes away, with plenty of unique suprises and delights in either location.

I hope in the coming weeks to add more reviews like this one. Hopefully they will provide ideas for getaways all your own.

Yates Headed For Rusk State Hospital

Andrea Yates has been released from prison and has been returned to the Rusk State Mental Hospital to await retrial for the drowning deaths of her 5 children. I'm sure everyone in our country has heard about this case and has an opinion about it - either way. However, I wonder if anyone has thought about what is going on in regard to how this case has affected the members of her family. Of course there was the immediate impact on her children. They can't be replaced and her conviction will never bring them back. But, before we begin a discussion about how deserving of punishment she might be or what should be done to her, think about this...

When a crime is committed, the impact goes much farther than just those who were victims of the crime. Families of the perpetrator also bear the load of guilt and often have to pay their bills. Yates was released from jail this week and her family had to pay $20,000 in order for her to be released. The Kennedy family, Yates' parents, is not a well-to-do family and likely can't afford the price for their daughter's bond. Once she's released and remanded to the state hospital, the treatment she will receive in Rusk will have to be paid by family members, as well. If she happens to be re-convicted for the crimes for which she was charged, her family will likely incur more legal fees. If she is acquitted, by reason of insanity, she will likely be committed to the same state hospital for the rest of her natural life with her family left footing the bill.

Crime hurts everybody, doesn't it?

Texas High School Sports News - UIL Realignment Announced

Every two years, the Texas University Interscholastic League announces a realignment of Texas schools and school districts all across the state of Texas. District alignments are arranged by school attendance and their proximity to other schools of similar size. In the past 20 years, the UIL has been able to track the trend of migration of families from rural and urban areas to the suburbs of Texas population centers: Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

The times and traditions - they are a changin'...