Genius

 I'm sitting in the Sweet Spot listening to music. I first listened to a Beatles Compilation. It's pretty amazing and greatly satisfying to remember that these, mostly uneducated, untrained lads were such musical geniuses. Then I listened to Time Out by Dave Brubeck. Totally different but still genius. Then I thought about my background in music. I was, if you can be, a music major in high school. I played the trombone. I was pretty good. I'll tell you my favorite story about that time. I was taking private lessons from a guy named Woody Thompson. He was a trombone player and he was the musical director at Arcata High School, we both lived in Eureka, across the bay. Back then there were dinner clubs where you could have dinner while a dance band played for you. Woody had a dance band. There was actually a musicians union. The union had a band that played at local events for free. Woody was the director of the band. When I was a junior in high school Woody invited me to join the band. My mother drove me to the first practice and I wasn't late but everybody else was already there. I got out my horn and went to the trombone section. The other trombone players were already seated and the only empty spot was first chair so I sat there. One of the other players, a grown up who got paid to play trombone, said "Mr. Thompson will assign a place for you to play". I hollered "hey Woody, where do you want me to sit?". He replied "you're good right where you are". Take that asshole. I wasn't a genius though and I split my lip later playing a fourth of July parade with the Musicians Union Band and ended my musical career.