2026: Sunday June 7: Allie

I was Allie's 12th grade social studies teacher and since I'm friends with her parents, yesterday I went to her college graduation party. Some people know what they want early, and they go at it, and they get it. Allie wanted to be a music teacher when I taught her, and here she is, about to start a new job as a middle school band teacher at a local school. We talked about the band room being a haven for some students, we talked about music building team work skills, we also talked about music being something we teach because hey, it's music and it is part of being human and doesn't need to be justified in non-musical terms.

Me and Allie. I made her take the selfie because I always assume younger people are better at that than me. I will resist making an old-person comment about fashion coming around again in regard to the hair style of the person behind me. I mean, it's not like I'm doing anything interesting with my own hair.

 

Ella's high school band teacher was there and I got to thank him for providing a creative space for her to grow and explore in. I also got to answer the "what is Ella up to now" question several times. Oh, no big deal, just Yale, you know, following her passions. Then, because Allie's family are all from Brooklyn, I threw in a casual comment about Ella subletting in Park Slope for the summer and one of Allie's uncles strolled over and asked how much a one-bedroom in Park Slope was going for these days and I pretended I understood the nuances of Brooklyn neighborhoods. (Ok, I know Park Slope is nice, but that's about as far as my awareness goes).