When I started at a new school in the 6th grade, I was excited to learn they had a band class. I played the trumpet and had always thought band would be fun but my old school hadn’t offered that.

I met the band teacher who said he’d be happy to have me join the class but there was a catch. Band started in 5th grade and even though I was in 6th grade, I would have to be in the 5th grade band. Nevermind that I already knew how to play the trumpet—I played in church every week. But, I played by ear and they had some strange notion that I needed to learn to read music.

I didn’t like the idea of being a grade behind in anything, and said so. The teacher assured me I’d have the opportunity to move to the 6th grade band later in the year.

Everything was fine for a while, until the band teacher figured out that after several months, I still didn’t know much about reading music. I’d faked it up until that point. It wasn’t hard to do; anytime we were given a new piece of music, the teacher would play it to show us what the notes on the paper were telling us to do. That was enough for me, I played by ear so when it was my turn to play, I just replicated what he had done.

Then, one day, after distributing our latest sheet music, the teacher said, “And Bruce is going to demonstrate the trumpet part for us.”

“Oh, no he isn’t,” I said. I couldn’t. I hadn’t really paid attention to all that nonsense about reading music. And since I hadn’t heard it, I had no clue what it was supposed to sound like.

Apparently, he’d known this for quite awhile—when I played, he could see my eyes were not moving to follow the notes. What’s more, he’d been marking me down for it, he said. Of course, he used the occasion to stress the importance of reading music.

My opinion was, why would I want to be tied to what was printed on paper? What if I needed to improvise? What if I wanted to play my own style? The teacher, he didn’t like my arguments. But, I was stubborn and still didn’t bother to learn to read music. It sort of became an on-going dispute between us. I’m not sure either of us was convinced by the other’s opinion.

Then came the concert. Another student and I were chosen to play a duet. It would be just the two trumpets, no band to help us out. I was to play the lead and he would be the backup. We practiced at school and everything sounded great. But when the night arrived, the other guy didn’t show up.

I figured the teacher would cancel the piece—after all, I’d already played one solo. No one wanted to hear me play twice, I thought. But no, he told me to just play my part—by myself.

Well, I thought that would sound pretty lame, with lots of dead space where the other trumpet should come in. But, it was an easy fix. I just played both parts. Now, obviously, I couldn’t play the harmony—I only have one mouth. But I did most of my part and a lot of the other guy’s. I guess you could say, I improvised.

The audience had no clue; they just thought it was another trumpet solo. The kids in the band were impressed though. And the band teacher? Well, I guess he didn’t want to admit that playing by ear had its advantages, ‘cause he never said a word. But the next week, I was graduated to the 6th grade band!

You learn a lot of interesting things by reading through the law. The law in my state is known as the Oregon Revised Statutes. I like to peruse these occasionally, sometimes simply out of curiosity, other times because someone, or some event, has compelled me to see what the law actually says.

Recently, I had the occasion to check the exact wording of the law regulating parking in my state. Specifically, parking on the shoulder of a road. I thought I knew what it said, but it’s always best to be sure when you plan on standing up to an individual who believes they own and control the public streets. My town seems to have more than its fair share of these people.

After reading through the entire section, it was clear that the law was as I’d thought; just because someone may not like where a car is parked, if it’s not illegally parked they can’t have it towed. What constitutes being parked illegally is spelled out in the law and not a matter of opinion. This all should be a foregone conclusion, I know, but like I said, I needed to be sure.

I was also quite intrigued by what else I discovered. In Oregon, as in many states, no vehicle can be parked within 50 feet of a traffic light or stop sign. This was interesting to me because the police in my neighborhood like to pull alongside the curb, sometimes within ten feet of the stop sign, waiting on unsuspecting motorists.

There are exemptions to this statute and I figured the police would be included in them. I was wrong. Police cars are not exempt—unless they are responding to an accident or other emergency. Cool, I thought. I’m getting my camera ready. I have a feeling the city isn’t going to like me soon.

But then, I found something even better. One of the exemptions listed is “commercial vehicles engaged in any activity associated in the collection of solid waste.” Hey! That’s me! For those who may not know, “solid waste” is the sanitary term for garbage.

So, in effect, what I’ve learned is, once the cops stop their illegal parking activities, I’ll have a new place to park my semi if I need to stop at home for anything!

SPOTLIGHT Author

Ronesa Aveela
Mystical Emona: Soul’s Journey

How long does it take to build two bridges? Would you believe five and a half years and counting? Seriously! These are not huge expansive bridges either, just normal freeway bridges, one for each direction of travel. They are less than an eighth of a mile long and flat. And still, it’s been five and half years. That’s a long time. I had no grandchildren when they started and I now have five.

People tell me these things take time; a bridge can’t be built overnight. I agree, but I also remember that after the earthquake in San Francisco in 1989, they rebuilt multiple double deck freeway bridges, long ones, in just over a year. That project, I believe, was far more complex than two small bridges. So, while bridge building does take time, more than five years is way too much, in my never to be humble opinion.

It has meant five and a half years of slowing down to 50 mph. Five and a half years of waiting behind traffic that inevitably backs up, especially on weekends or holidays. And, five and a half years of playing “Guess which lane is open today.” This may not sound like much but, as a truck driver, I go through this construction site four times every day. So, for me, it gets a little annoying.

But, at last, the bridges are done! Actually, they have been open for a few months now, while all the “extras” are being completed. The finishing touches. So, we’re still enjoying that bane of every traveler—road construction. The good news is, as of last Friday, it appears everything is now complete. The traffic signs are up, lane striping is done, guardrails are installed, and the sides of the road have been landscaped. The only thing left is to take down the construction zone signs. I suppose they’ll get that taken care of eventually—just in time to put them up again. After five and a half years, it’s probably time for road repairs!

SPOTLIGHT Author

Michelle Abbott
Just Stay

I’m not a health nut. Definitely not. I like food; junk food, real food, pre-cooked, home cooked, doesn’t matter. I don’t base my eating habits on what other people think I should eat. I eat what tastes good to me. I’m of the opinion it’s unhealthy to eat only “health food.” Although, I do like some “health food.” But isn’t all food healthy? Sure, some might be more nutritious than others, but to me, food is food.

Recently, I saw an article that claimed, after reading this report; you’ll never eat anything unhealthy again. That did grab my attention but not the way they’d intended, I’m sure. What I was wondering is just who decides what is healthy? Over the years, there have been numerous conflicting studies and published reports—even the “experts” don’t seem to agree.

I did read the report just because I’m stubborn. I doubted they would change my mind about my eating habits, after all, I still eat margarine. In fact, I prefer margarine. And, I still drink pop, still enjoy fast food, and still eat what tastes good. But just for laughs, I wanted to see what the article had to say.

Among the ridiculous claims was that it would be better to eat nothing, rather than pre-packaged food from the supermarket. Really? I’m pretty sure I’d die a lot faster from starvation than whatever “bad” stuff is in the pre-packaged food. And of course, they didn’t think I should eat fast food either—or junk food. In addition, they listed steak, milk, lettuce, butter (good thing I like margarine), bacon, and cheese, among others, as foods to avoid. If these foods are really that bad then I guess we’re all doomed.

So, what did the “enlightened” authors say we should eat? Well, they didn’t. Apparently, they were more concerned with what not to eat. They conveniently stopped short of making any recommendations. Probably smart on their part. Their suggestions can’t later be discredited; when someone comes along with a new study claiming those foods are unhealthy.

As for the statement, after reading this report, you’ll never eat anything unhealthy again—uh, sure.

Okay, to be fair, the article did make a few good points. I’d like to list those but just don’t have the time because well, I’m hungry. And the pizza’s almost done.

SPOTLIGHT Author

Michelle Abbott
Just Stay