This is Where I’ve Been

  Week Fifty: Frenchman for the Night  By the light of the moon He’s a Frenchman for the night By the light of the moon It’ll be all right --Jimmy Buffet, Frenchman for the Night, from Fruit Cakes When our son, Jesse was in the eighth grade at a school where I worked, a colleague of mine that I’ll call Ted arranged a visit by a group of French eighth graders. The French students stayed for a week, which was filled with cultural experiences and many opportunities to use the English they all had been learning. Each of them was housed by an American host. Our family hosted Nicolas, a high school chaperone who had accompanied the two French teachers who brought the group. To this very day we can safely say that we love Nicolas. We loved having him stay with us. We loved it when he returned a year later to spend an extended vacation with us (including a trip to Florida and the Bahamas). We especially loved seeing Nicolas (and his lady friend Valentine) when they joined us in Amste...

  Week Forty-nine: Piano Man There’s an old man sitting next to me Makin’ love to his tonic and gin He says, “Son, can you play me a memory? I’m not really sure how it goes But it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete When I wore a younger man’s clothes.” Sing us a song, you’re the piano man Sing us a song tonight Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody And you’ve got us feeling alright --Billy Joel , Piano Man , from the album of the same name Billy Joel’s Piano Man is a song that almost everyone recognizes.  Back in September of 1972, in the first five minutes of the first day of a music class that I would eventually take four years later, I met my worst fear. Part of my teacher preparation at Salisbury State College was a required music course. There was no part of me that had any level of confidence that I could pass such a class. I was nervous and my anxiety only grew worse as the professor began to address the class. He explained that we would learn to read music...

  Week Forty-eight: Someone You Loved I’m going under and I fear this time there’s no one to save me This is all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy I need someone to heal Someone to know Someone to have Someone to hold It’s easy to say, but it’s never the same I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain But now the day bleeds into nightfall And you’re not here to get me through it all I let my guard down, and then you pulled the rug I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved —Lewis Capaldi, Someone You Loved, from Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent I admit to several addictions, one of which is scrolling through short films known as “reels”. I particularly like clips from the television series Ted Lasso . One such reel shows Ted reminiscing about his childhood. He tells a story of getting bitten by the neighbor’s dog, which resulted in a true canine phobia. The story goes on to describe the aging owner of the same dog and his grief resulting fro...

  Week Forty-seven: Turning Japanese I’m turning Japanese I think I’m turning Japanese I really think so —The Vapors, Turning Japanese, from the album Turning Japanese Whenever I hear this song, which isn’t nearly often enough, I think of Victory Villa Elementary School because that was where I began and ended my dual career in education and rock & roll. Let me explain. As I would do many more times as a middle school instructor, at VVE I organized and directed a talent show. Showcasing the many young folks whose talents otherwise would go unrecognized, the show featured singers, dancers, and comedy acts (remember Carol Burnett as Tim Conway’s secretary? “Mrs. A-wiggins, please a-come in’year!”) One act featured the son of a high school chum of mine. Although I didn’t know Jimbo as well as I might have liked, we certainly remembered each other when The Jaime Miller Band came to audition. Unlike the rest of his band, first grader Jaime did not play for the band Unity . As you ...

  Week Forty-six: Tommy Can You Hear Me? Tommy can you hear me? Can you feel me near you? Tommy can you see me?  Can I help to cheer you? Ooooh Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy                —The Who, Tommy Can You Hear Me? from the rock opera Tommy For the first twelve years of my career in public education, I was an elementary school teacher. For various reasons I can remember very well some of the approximately 300 students I taught during those years. Some showed astounding potential. Some were funny. Some were athletic. Most were loving and receptive to my efforts on their behalf. One of them conspicuously stands out  in my memory for various reasons, but mostly because of me. Tommy was a kid who would not be ignored. He was “in your face” so to speak. If something was said, he had a response. Usually a negative one. He had an interminable habit of disagreeing…with everything. If I said I was going camping, he would say, “Nunt uh....