Reflections: A Time, A Band, and Me. “Leaving the Past Behind”.

THANK YOU ALL!

 

Today, while working through the Blogosphere, reading your offerings, pondering your premises, and reaching out to your feelings, thoughts were engulfed by experiences that changed my life.  There is nothing very interesting here, so, if you decide to leave, that is OK.

A TIME:

Early 1969 produced one of the many bricks, to building my Life.  When opportunity knocks, take a chance, continue, to collect experiences, to make the end product what it is meant to be.  Due to the Benevolence of many, Veterans were offered a College Education.  We had the good fortune of going to a private institution, The University of Tampa.  Music was a driving force all my life, and we seized the moment.  The Music Department was being revamped by a young talented educator, Dr. Richard Rodean.  Dick, was the most well-rounded individual I had ever known.  He had a great manner about him that could not be ignored.  He graduated from The Eastman School of Music where he developed friendships and colleagues of Fame that would make some jealous.  With all that he instilled and advised in his students, a sense of what he believed to be the right thing to do.  Some of us got it and some didn’t.  Dick was a friend to all he would interact and with me, a somewhat unique and dear relationship developed.  There is no possible manner in which one could begin to thank nor explain the uniqueness of such a friendship.  After many years and more than I wish to count, I had the pleasure of reuniting briefly with Dr. Rodean.  This brief encounter, an evening prior to his passing has been burned into my memory where I will hold it to my end.

A Band:

Living in Tampa, Florida earning a degree in Music and Education, allowed the opportunity for great experiences, and to meet some great people.  After graduation, there was the beginning of a short career, teaching Instrumental Music.  First at a Junior High school in the middle city, and at a High school in a small town.  These opportunities allow the extension for personal education and development.  As a Teacher, I feel, that there is much to learn and grow with, greater than that what you teach.  In the profession of teaching, you create a family an extension of what is your immediate family unit.  You could safely say that as a teacher you have more than one families in which you are related.  Although the Love is different, is at times the same love.  The only way to express this is by using the Greek words of distinction.  Reflections, the Band was a family that seemed to bring about the best in all, we the members.  Four guys, multi-talented, and very much dedicated to making the Music.  This group of cultural diversity would gather once a week to rehearse and sometimes as often as three times a week to entertain equally diverse audiences.  At times there were encounters with popular entertainment big names and Stars.  With each of those encounters was a chance to find yourself in the same boat with them.  We all shared the same fears and expectations.  With all the fears, we never quit trying to make each tune a little better the next gig.  Leaving Tampa, was not my happiest change, however, the move to Dallas opened another Chapter in the life of the same person.  Those memories are locked up to be revisited when they feel a need to appear.

Me:

This life began with little, progressed with many great opportunities that were perceived as blessings for understanding.  I can honestly say that I have been guided to where I am based on all that could be experienced resulted in the opportunity to go on to the next experience.  There are times that we feel there should be some regret.  I would look at regret as having the knowledge that a situation could have been handled differently.  There is not a way to undo what has been done, yet being able to view what happened and accept a change in action, may reveal varied results.

The unfortunate factor to my knowing Dr. Rodean. being a Reflection, and continuing as Me, can be summed up in the manner in which my dealing with “moving on” seemed to require a sense of leaving the past behind.

Where in your life have you had the experience forgotten, and yet, find out later that it did not happen, your life would be significantly different?

NEXT TIME

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