In Memory of Mario DeCarolis

Last year, I published an article about playing in a swing band in high school. It was a light-hearted trip down memory lane, mostly a reminisecence about playing 1940s music in the middle of the 1970s. In it, I recalled how our director, Mario DeCarolis, would pick up his saxophone and show us all how it was done.

Today, I received word that, at age 81, Mario DeCarolis passed away on February 9. I spent a few minutes re-reading my article, and thinking back to those high school days, when my life was in chaos and playing music with the high school band was the one thing that kept me sane. How I lived for the marching band practices, the football games on Saturdays, and the Monday evening rehearsals for the dance band, The Indigos.

I was a passable musician, able to hold my own playing the deep throated bass clarinet and the baritone saxophone. I also did a stint as the dance band vocalist, trying my best to keep my teenage voice in tune with the band. Through it all, Mr. “D,” as we called him, would instruct, encourage and tolerate my squeaks, squawks and flubbed lyrics.

I look back at the photos, mostly shots of a drenched band in the football stands, it rained 7 out of 9 games my senior year. I also still have the photo of the entire band assembled in front of the falls in Niagara, from the time we went there to march in a parade. And somewhere, in a place where my kids can’t see it and laugh at it again, is my official band photo, better known as the “I Love My Clarinet” shot. In my closet still hangs my band jacket, a little musty, and way too small, and on the shelf overhead is the little black clarinet case that still has a EBHS Bears sticker on it. Souvenirs of my days in the band.

Tonight, I find myself looking over those old things, thinking about those old days, and remembering a teacher who left a lasting influence on my life. While giving me the gift of music, he also gave me the gift of self-confidence and helped me get through some very tough years.

His music has not been silenced, not as long as it still plays for those of us whose life he touched.

Business as Usual at Harvard

Even while touting the fact that two women are among the finalists for the presidency of the institution, it seems like it is business as usual in other areas of Harvard. Somehow, this recent revelation does not surprise me at all.
Harvard professor: Department is bastion of sexism - CNN.com

A Tale from the Bible Retold for Today's Teens

The Missing Commandment

When the number of US military casualties hit 2,000, I posted the number above my desk, somehow believing that by force of will, I could keep the number from growing, And this week, when the number hit 3,000, I felt even more grief-stricken. This entire situation our country has gotten into seems endless and hopeless. We interfered in a culture rife with hate and violence, bringing our 21st century weapons into a land of 14th century mentality. We had completely forgotten that JFK had said that we couldn’t possibly police the entire world.
Now I read and hear that the President is going to give us a speech about sacrifice. Sacrifice? Have we not sacrificed enough? How many more deaths of promising young Americans must it take? And what is especially offensive is the fact that sacrifice is a word full of religious connotations – the offering up of something precious to God. And yet, the term “human sacrifice” conjures up entirely different images.
But here we are, about to be told, in veiled language, that we should continue to make human sacrifices – how much different does that make us from those who preach the sanctity of “martyrdom?”
I do not believe in a Supreme Being that sanctifies any of this. I believe in a civilization that can follow the one commandment so logical, so understandable, that it was never written down. I am sure that God, or Allah, or Buddha expected us to hear this commandment in our hearts:
“Thou shalt not commit war in my name.”

Thoughts to Ponder on Christmas Eve

I have just finished reading a very thoughtful and honest assessment of the state of Christianity as it exists today. As many of us are contemplating, honoring or even doubting our beliefs on this Christmas Eve, I'd like to share this essay by a fellow blogger.

http://thesuburbsofhell.blogspot.com/

Retirement or Death, which will come first?

So, I've been hearing these dire warnings about the shrinking dollars in Social Security and the need to save money elsewhere for that golden time of life. I even got a notice from my 403B account holder telling me the good news, I could put away an additional $20,000 this year, tax free!

Wow! Of course, where that extra 20K is supposed to come from I haven't a clue. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be deducting that out of my paycheck! Then, I see in the online issue of Fortune Magazine, after an article about how a family is poverty-stricken on $150,000 a year, a retirement calculator. What fun, I thought. How much money will I actually have at that magic age of 65?

The calculator doesn't work quite that way, instead, it tries to determine how much money you have to put away in the remaining years until age 65. (For those of you keeping count, that's 14 years to me.) The calculator then goes about telling me that I have a 0% chance of having enough money to retire on, based on current contributions and my anticipated social security.

This was not very comforting, but the calculator had a solution for me, all I have to do is, every year for the next 14 years is to contribute an additional $20,000 yearly to my 403B. That's all!

What the calculator did not tell me, was that at the current contribution rate, at what age I could retire. I suspect this is because it will be long after my anticipated life expectancy. I'm sure the calculator doesn't want to give me depressing news like that.

The funny thing is, $20K is such a ridiculous figure that I am actually finding this amusing. If I was short something like $5 or $6 thousand, I might have actually tried to shave that much off my household budget (I think food would go first, followed by medications and (sorry Zelda) dog food).

I figure now that I have just as much of a chance of retiring as I do of winning the lottery. And I never buy lottery tickets.

A Little Holiday Greeting

Well, the taxes aren't paid, and there is still a tuition bill looming somewhere, and I'm still not ready for it to be December, but, in the spirit of the season, I can at least offer a simple greeting.

http://www.noreensdigitaldreams.com/Holidays.html

and by the way, to the Rutgers football team, fans, alumni and everyone who has been following this great season: Yes, it was a heartbreaking loss, but more proof that Rutgers football is now a force to be reckoned with. HOO-RAH!