I was trying to explain to my wife why I was cracking up during the serious parts of the musical that we were watching last weekend. We sat in the audience with the other families, friends, co-workers, strangers, and community members enjoying an excellent performance of the musical “Big Fish.” The cast was populated by […]
Category Archives: High School
A Disposable Culture, or, They Took My High School Mascot Away
On Wednesday evening a vote took place at my old high school. The same vote had been held two years ago and the issue was soundly defeated. Not this time. My high school has voted to get rid of its team name of over 55 years. Students at my alma mater will no longer be […]
Goodbye Thursdays
I had plans to write something great today. I was going to tell you how Ruby and I both got glasses, and how cute we were, and how excited she was. I was going to tell you that Edward was jealous, but that he will also be getting glasses in a few weeks after further […]
Day One of Being a High School Voice Teacher
For those of you who care about what I am doing when I am not writing, last week I began a new job as a high school voice teacher. The set-up couldn’t be sweeter. The school finds all the students, schedules them, and gives me a room in which to teach. But I am not employed by […]
The Difference Between Your 10th and 20th High School Reunions
Okay, let’s get it out of the way. This past weekend I attended my 20th high school reunion. So some of you are thinking,”Wow, Tenor Dad is super old!” and some of you are thinking “What a baby, only 20 years?” And the rest of you are people I went to high school and college […]
Infamous Gigs: My First Time on Stage
You know, I wasn’t always going to be a musician and performer. It took a couple of excellent teachers who saw potential in me to give me the courage to discover one of my greatest passions, and even then it was almost a disaster. When I was in 8th grade, the high school was auditioning […]
Names You Call Your Mother-in-Law
I met my mother-in-law when I was in high school at best, though it may have been middle school. Like all adults those days, I called her Mrs. with her last name. My kids’ friends do not call me by my last name today; they use my first name just like everyone else. But back […]
The Legend of Beepela
Back when I was in high school, before cell phones and the internet, I spent my days as countless children have done throughout the ages; I went over to my friend’s house and played video games. One day I happened to be over at Sleeve McZed’s place, when the phone rang. Now, cell phones had […]
Maximum Freedom, Minimum Responsibility
Do you know what kids always want? To grow up. To be a little older. To be a little taller. To be a little bigger. This is because they are kids, and they have no idea of the crushing responsibility that awaits them as an adult. Although they may have some idea. Ruby told me […]
The Impact of a Good Teacher
Two years ago I wrote a post that explained why I did not become a mathematician. It was a negative story about a negative experience with a negative person. But it suddenly occurs to me that I ought to tell you the story of why I became a musician. This is a more positive story […]