Besides NDSU in Fargo and UND in Grand Forks, there are five other smaller, State-funded four year colleges in ND. That is in addition to the State-funded technical college in Wahpeton and two smaller State-funded two year colleges in Bottineau and Williston. That is a lot of State colleges for a place as sparsely populated as ND.
The five smaller four year colleges are enshrined in the ND State Constitution. That means they must continue to exist unless the Constitution is amended. The colleges are expected to be financially self supporting with tuition and not with tax dollars. What is a college to do, though, if, as national trends tell us, there will be fewer and fewer students attending college due to declining birth rates?
The college in our town is facing this very issue, and has made the very unpopular and draconian decision to eliminate the Music and Theatre Departments. They even are firing the guy who is the main tech person who is the only one who knows how the electronics in the auditorium work. It is traditionally a Teacher’s College and has strong Nursing, Agriculture, and Business Departments. I am sure they didn’t even consider eliminating the sports teams. They have told the Music and Theatre majors they need to find somewhere else to go next year.
What is a college without a band? It is hard enough to find elementary and secondary music teachers out here, and now it will be doubly difficult. State law requires that State property like the band instruments, band and choir music, and pianos, can’t be sold and must be given away. Our church is going to try to snag the timpani and big percussion instruments. I might try for a bass clarinet, as that is my instrument. It is all very sad.
If you went to college or technical school, what were your most memorable experiences? What makes a college a good place?
Can you imagine us years from today, Sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange to be 70….
– Paul Simon, Old Friends
The classic Simon & Garfunkel album Bookends was released in 1968. While working on the album, Paul Simon reportedly told a writer at High Fidelity, “I’m not interested in singles anymore”, but when the album emerged, it featured the hit single Mrs. Robinson, which was featured in the hit movie The Graduate.
The B-side of the single was the contemplative melody Old Friends, which segued into Bookends Theme (Reprise).
Paul Simon is 82 today. If weather permits, I hope he is sharing a park bench, quietly, with a friend.
How has the passage of time changed your views on aging?
The association that sponsored the conference I attended last week rented the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday night. We had dinner there and then had the place to ourselves. We spent most of our time in the ground floor exhibit rooms that featured the pioneers of Rock and Roll.
The gift shop was open, of course, and I got Grandson a children’s book about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, billed as “The Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll”. They had a lot of her memorabilia in the exhibits. The clothes on exhibit were fascinating. I never imagined Elvis and Keith Richards to be such small men. I also find it interesting that all these things were kept for posterity. Who would have thought to save all that clothes over the years?
What museums have you visited lately? Who are your favorite early Rock and Roll artists?
It was hot. How hot was it? It was so hot Wednesday, I stayed at the college until 8:30 PM. The air conditioning units for the Theatre were recently repaired, so except for the fact there is no thermostat, (it’s either on or off), at least there’s air conditioning here as opposed to home where there’s only fans. Well, there’s not AC in the shop at the college, but I open the doors to the stage and turn on some fans and it’s very comfortable.
The chickens hang out under some bushes or somewhere in the shade from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. You can tell they’re hot when they lift their wings a bit. I’ve had their fan running all summer and the back door open for more ventilation the past week.
The cattle hang out in the shade too. By evening, everyone is moving again and having a drink.
Humphrey is really in a conundrum; he wants to be with us, but it’s cooler outside than inside. Decisions, decisions.
Back this spring as I was getting machinery ready for planting, I used my favorite wrench in one of the tractors, and I kind of remember setting it above the steering wheel and telling myself, “Don’t put that there“ and then, of course I couldn’t find it again all summer. I was delighted to find it in the toolbox of that same tractor recently. Putting a wrench in the toolbox? That was pretty good thinking at some point.
Has anyone else noticed all the dragonflies around lately? They were swarming all around the yard earlier this week and out in the fields. And my brother commented on seeing them at his place. I did some reading and they peak in July and August, they sure are fun to watch. And all the barn swallows are sweeping around; there’s a couple nests here that are working on the third batch of babies. That’s really impressive and these poor kids are hardly gonna learn to fly before they head south.
Was up to John Deere last week getting some parts and there is a new parts lady behind the counter. It was interesting that while she was still learning the system, and she didn’t know some common parts like a cotter pin, she seemed to know a lot of the customers and they would call her by name, and someone made a comment about her staying in the industry. Later, as we were trying to find some of my parts, (they were right here, and then they were put somewhere by somebody who wasn’t there now, and nobody else knew where they were) she and I had some time to talk. She ran the auto parts store in Plainview with her dad for 20 years. So, she kind of knew the business, just not this particular system, and some of these parts. I don’t recall, in all the years I’ve farmed, I’ve ever seen a woman behind any of the parts counters that I frequent. There was a female in a welding place several years ago, and she knew what she was doing. And I know this lady will figure it out too. Even the guys, when they start, they don’t know much. It takes a long time to get into the swing of things.
I’ve been listening to a jazz station a lot lately. I have a membership to Jazz Radio and primarily I listen to modern big band, but lately I’ve done Latin jazz too. It’s a fun change. I’ve learned that I don’t like hearing the same music over and over. And while that rarely happens on Radio Heartland, it happens even less frequently on Latin jazz. I get some Maynard Ferguson on the modern big band station and I like that.
Last week at faculty duty day at the college, I saw this shirt and it made me laugh. I hope you get the joke.
That momma hen still has 13 chicks. She’s a good momma and she’s smart. There’s been a hawk trying to grab the chicks. Bailey actually chased it away a few times. We made a straw bale shelter for them to hide under, but she figured it out on her own and moved them down to the trees and taller grass during the day, and at night takes them back into the pen. I take corn down to them. Keep your fingers crossed.
One night Kelly and I burned up a bunch of brush we had accumulated. A bonfire on the second hottest day of the year? Why not.
Sad news about Harry Belafonte last week. Not quite so sad (to me anyway) about Jerry Springer’s passing. As I was looking up Harry Belafonte, I also saw the Wee Willie Harris also died last week. I had never actually heard of Wee Willie, but he caught my eye because on the list he came up as “Wee Willie Harris, 90, English rock and roll star”. It was quite dismaying to think that a rock and roll star could be 90. That makes me feel SO old.
Wee Willie was born Charles Williams Harris and he was popular on British tv during the 50s. He was known as “Britain’s wild man of rock and roll”.
I found some fun clips. Here is one song I like.
This one is a fun visual of the man himself.
I can see why he got the wild man moniker!
Any other artists/musicians who seem to have been around forever?
I was at home on sick leave yesterday and had ample time to lie on the sofa and listen to MPR. I was tickled to hear the Oscar Mayer Weiner song played on Performance Today. The announcer commented that the Oscar Mayer song catapulted the company into national prominence.
The link between advertising and classical music was fascinating. There were apparently two competing harp manufacturers in France in the early 1900’s. Debussy was commissioned by one, the Pleyel company, Ravel by the other, the Erard company, to compose pieces for harp that the companies could lay claim to and use to promote their harps. Both pieces are favorites of mine.
Neither company manufactures harps any longer, but the musical pieces remain. I wonder how long Oscar Mayer will make wieners?
What is your favorite brand of wiener? What are your favorite and least favorite advertising jingles? Know any harpists?
On Sunday, we played in the church bell choir accompanied by the High School band director on timpani and a very accomplished group of High School brass players.
Being musicians, the bell choir players had some rather acerbic comments about the brass players. One of the trumpet players was always late for our rehearsals, and a bell player who is also a music teacher commented that trumpet players were notoriously full of themselves and didn’t think they had to follow the rules everyone else had to follow. I commented that my father advised me in all seriousness when I was in High School to never marry an oboe player, since they had to blow so hard on their double reed that they eventually went mad.
As a psychologist, I always love discussing personality types. I have known humble trumpet players and perfectly sane oboe players, but I wonder where these stereotypes come from. I was a bass clarinet player, and I don’t know of any stereotypes of those who play that instrument. Perhaps an unusual affection for the Grand Canyon Suite?
What are some occupational stereotypes you feel are accurate? Inaccurate? Who are some people you know who defy stereotypes?
It has been a busy week. Monday, I hauled some equipment to Plainview for an online auction, made two trips, the first hauling our old rear blade, a fertilizer auger, and some smaller stuff. And a second with the forage chopper, and other stuff that I think, if they market it as ‘vintage,’ it could do well. The auctioneer wasn’t even sure they had ever sold any before, but he finally agreed to put it on a pallet and see what happens. (Details after the auction in April). Tuesday I had one more clinic appointment: I have now been dismissed by the shoulder doctor, the knee doctor, the toe doctor, and the foot doctor. It’s a pretty good feeling.
I also had a meeting in the Cities on Tuesday. Plus the week was busy at the college working on a set.
I have the song, ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in my iTunes, and in the opening, Cannonball says, “You know, sometimes we are not prepared for adversity. When it happens, sometimes, we’re caught short; We don’t know exactly how to handle it when it comes up. Sometimes we don’t know just what to do when adversity takes over. And I have advice for all of us. I got it from my pianist, Joe Zawinul, who wrote this tune, and it sounds like what you’re supposed to say when you have that kinda problem. It’s called, “Mercy Mercy Mercy”.
I think that’s true. We talk a lot about how we don’t know how to deal with conflict and how it is hard to learn that a little conflict can be OK — when you know how to handle it. I started to learn that 40 years ago at one of the theaters, and the founders would get into some pretty big arguments behind the closed- but not soundproof door- And then they would come back out, and we are all shuffling our feet and looking at the floor. ‘Conflict is OK’, they would say, ‘You gotta learn to work things out’. I also have the Buddy Rich Big Band doing a version of ‘Mercy Mercy Mercy’. They are both good.
I have three versions of the song ‘Jessica’; The original, plus two bluegrass versions. I have two versions of ‘Layla’ (the original and the unplugged), ‘As Time Goes’ by Maynard Ferguson and Tony Bennett, ‘El Paso’ by the Grateful Dead and Marty Robbins. Again, so different and both so good. ‘Eli’s Coming’ by Three Dog Night and Maynard Ferguson, ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ theme, the original and a version by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. ‘Limehouse Blues’ by Jerry Reed & Chet Atkins and also by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain; they are strikingly different versions. ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come’ by Three Dog Night and Randy Newman. Two versions of ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ by Benny Goodman, and James Horner & Orchestra. ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ by Joan Osborne and Bob Dylan (The Joan one is really good. Nothing against the Dylan version either!), a couple versions of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin and Rodrigo y Gabriela. A song called ‘There’ll Be Some Changes Made’ from the movie, ‘All That Jazz’, which I thought was original to the movie, until I heard Gene Krupa doing it on the 40’s station. And then, as I googled it for this blog, realized I have Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins doing a version that is SO different I didn’t even make the connection it was the same song. Prior to this revelation, I didn’t realize there were other versions of that song.
Chickens and ducks are still fine, but the coyotes are back. Kelly chased one away Wednesday morning. We’re keeping our eyes open. Bailey needs back up; she won’t engage when alone. She’s a lover, not a fighter.
I spread two bales of straw out for the chickens. They enjoy scratching in that, and it covers up some of the mud.
I played the bass clarinet in the concert band the four years I was in college at Concordia-Moorhead. One day during my sophomore year, visiting high schoolers considering attending Concordia observed a band rehearsal. I had an odd sensation of being observed, and noticed that one of the visitors was staring at me with what I could only interpret as intense loathing.
The following fall, the staring girl showed up at Concordia as a declared music major who played the bass clarinet. To her dismay, she was offered a spot in the band as a contrabass clarinet player. I was the better player, so I got the bass clarinet position. I spent the next year sitting next to her in band, and she continued to treat me with loathing, since I, a non-music major, had the chair in band she wanted. Nothing I did was was right, and she sure let me know that. She mercifully transferred to Arizona State University the next year.
I have been careful in the ensuing years to treat my fellow musicians well because there is nothing worse than sitting next to someone in a musical ensemble who is mad at you. There is often a lot of emotion in musical ensembles. I have been challenged lately, though, by the antics of a newer member of our church choir. She is a lovely person in her 50’s who is probably someone with ADHD who has never been treated for it. She was sitting next to me until recently. She sways when she sings, which absolutely drives me nuts. She doesn’t read music very well. She sways out of time. I was able to cheerfully tell her that I was going to tie her to her chair if she didn’t stop moving. She was gracious enough to accept this with some humor. She stopped swaying, but moved away to the end of the row. That makes me a little sad, but at least I am less annoyed, and she isn’t afraid I will assault her.
When have you had towork with someone who loathed you? What musical ensembles have you performed with? What do other people do that drive you crazy?
Husband drives to Bismarck for work every Tuesday night, and returns home Wednesday night. He is usually pretty tired on both drives, and cranks up music on the radio to keep himself awake.
The other night he listened to the Sinatra station, and heard what he thought was one of the oddest duets he ever heard. It featured Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin singing What Now, My Love.
I have to agree with husband that this is quite weird. I can’t imagine what possessed the Queen of Soul to sing that with Ol’ Blue Eyes. Their styles are so different and not really compatible. Sort of like Ozzy Osbourne singing gospel music with Amy Grant.
What music keeps you awake when you drive? What are your favorite duets? What are some duets you wouldn’t want to hear?
Trail Baboon 