Joplin’s aftermath…

This has been a spring of significant tornado activity. As it stands right now, this year has seen a rash of tornadoes hit small cities and large. Raleigh, NC. St. Louis, MO. Tuscaloosa, AL. Birmingham, AL. Minneapolis, MN. Dallas, TX. Oklahoma City, OK. We suffered a new Super Outbreak of Tornadoes that appears to surpass the 1974 Super Outbreak in terms of tornadoes and fatalities. The death toll for this year has surpassed any year since official death toll stats started being kept in 1950. And yet, as bad as Tuscaloosa got hammered last month, the tornado in Joplin may have been even more of a dagger to the heart.

The Weather Channel was following Tornadoes as part of their “Great Tornado Hunt” programs. Their goal was to study tornadoes in the hopes of unlocking new clues to predicting tornadoes and saving lives. To be fair, the newer HD Doppler radars have helped and new forecasting techniques have saved lives. Having looked at Tuscaloosa, although 1000 people were injured, it was a minor miracle only 42 died there.

As it turned out, when the tornado hit Joplin, Mike Bettes and his Weather Channel crew were in the vicinity. Initially, the tornado damage saw was bad. Then they began to realize that the further into the town they went, the damage was worse. By the time they reached the hospital, they realized how destructive the tornado was. It didn’t take much close-ups of the damage for a casual weather fan to realize Joplin was in deep trouble. One term instantly popped into my head: EF-5. Mike Bettes’ breakdown on TV confirmed this tornado had produced horrific damage. One of the worst parts was that the High School had just completed Graduation exercises. At least 3 or 4 students died just moments after celebrating their greatest accomplishment of their young lives.

You would think that a single tornado would not produce over a 100 fatalities anymore. Then again, I used to think we would never see another hurricane that would cause 1000+ US fatalities until Katrina hit. It’s hard to believe that after how far we have come to try and save lives and that we now live in an age where you can informed 15 different ways, that so many people could die in a weather event.

So, how do we prevent more people from dying in the future? We tell people all the right things of what to do, and yet, people still die. To be honest, it is eating away at weather people what has happened this spring in terms of fatalities, even with all of the advanced warning. Short of trying to make tornadoes not form in the first place (if people can), weather people have done all they can to prevent a significant loss of life. The solutions now aren’t easy or cheap. How much are you willing to pay to ensure you can survive nature’s wrath?

One thing I am glad I haven’t yet heard: the attempt by many “smart people” at attempting to connect the tornado damage and deaths to the cc words. I know it’s coming, though. But, to their credit, neither the weather channel or the New York Times or Washington Post or any other media outlet is doing it—yet. They aren’t willing to stick their neck out that far.

I hope the weather we have seen will provide clues to help prevent the next major disaster. Until then, when the weather turns bad, keep an eye and ear alert for warnings.

Band of Stars present vs. Band of Stars past…

OK, I thought I had addressed the South Gwinnett Band of Stars issue in the last blog, but two recent things have popped up to make me want to address the topic again.  First, a recent Facebook question from a former neighbor and fellow Band of Stars member, Melanie Brown, about the South Gwinnett Wikipedia page came to light.  Second, a recent video post by another former Band of Stars member, Kristi (Moon) Ash, showing the Band of Stars marching at the Snellville Days Parade.

First, addressing the Wikipedia page…  This is directly from South Gwinnett’s Wikipedia page concerning the Marching Band (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Gwinnett_High_School):  “The long-time marching band of over twenty years is known as the South Gwinnett ‘Band of Stars’. Band director Dr. Arvold handed the band down to Erik Mason who led it to win several competitions. Mason, after four years moved to Mill Creek High School and the head passed on to William Owens. Only a short time had passed when Owens was offered a position in the new opening school of Mountain View High. Currently, Jimmie McKinley now heads the band program with his new slogan ‘Sound. Style. Sophistication.’” 

Interesting that history of the Band of Stars began with David Arvold, don’t some of you think?  Here’s a little history lesson about Dr. Arvold’s BOS… In the first year he was Band Director (1993), the South Gwinnett Comets made the State Championship Football Game.  I was at that game and saw the Band of Stars perform at Halftime.  I remembered a couple of things about that performance:  First, there was no Drill Team separate from the Flag Corps at that performance.  What happened?  Second, the Band was more static than its predecessors.  In short, let’s just say the Band of Stars from 1988 would have wiped the floor (marching and playing wise) with their 1993 successors.  And yet, history ignores the directors who proceeded Dr. Arvold, most notably Lavender and Nettleton.

Which leads me to the video Kristi shot at the Snellville Days Parade.  It’s clear the fight song has changed (it’s no longer “Are you from Dixie”, which makes sense).  But also what is clear is that this group is smaller and has a lot more of the Florida A&M style to it.  First impression of marching and playing is not good of this group.  I hope Mr. McKinley is just having a down year and that the Band will be back next year.  In my day, the Snellville Middle School Band would have out-marched and out-played this group.  The Band needs to step their game up in the future.

Maybe it’s time to write the complete Band of Stars story.  I guarantee you, none of today’s members know just how many awards the Band has run over the years.  Many of us can help fill in the blanks…

Twenty years later, a revelation…

A few months ago, I described a chink in the armor.  Events have conspired (or put it another way, an opportunity has opened up) for me to reveal the chink...

What do you do when you run up against a road block?  Can you realize that the road closed is impossible to go through, go over, or around?  What if God is trying to tell you to move in another direction and is using that detour to tell you?  At some points in our life, God intervenes in a manner to tell us to either move in a new direction or not to worry about trying so hard in one area of life because he needs you in another area of life.  Sometimes we don't want to and we try to prove God's path is not the right one.  But like Jonah, God has a way of putting us on the path he wants us to go on.

I had one of those experiences growing up.  I realized years later that there was a plan in place, but at the time I was running up against a road block, I wondered why things weren't going right.  I haven't spoken much on parts of that past to Liz, because it mostly has no bearing on my current life.

That past concerns my 6 years of experience in Middle School and High School band.

Liz knows very little about it.  She sort of knows that I played clarinet, but that’s about it.  Up until now, she didn't know that in 3 of the 6 years I was in band, I was first chair (7th & 8th Grades in Middle School, and Junior year in the Overall High School Band).  She knows very little about the John Phillip Sousa Band Award that has sat on my desk.  There is very little of those days that she can look at. 

In elementary school, I had shown a great amount of musical capabilities.  I played piano and sang in choirs.  Of course, it wasn't easy (the "Camptown Races" moment in 5th Grade is a perfect example), but I did pretty well.  In middle school, I realized that I couldn't march with a piano, so I selected the clarinet as my instrument of choice for band over singing in Chorus.

Those band days were mixed.  I always worked hard to try and be the best clarinet player possible.  I always figured if I put in the effort, I would get a chance to perform some solos in concert band.  But unlike my predecessors or successors, I never had a chance to show my capabilities.  And in most of those six years, those efforts were largely under the radar as a musician.  The lone bright spot was as a freshman in High School Band and for that, I owe a great deal of thanks to the former long time SGHS director, Bill Nettleton, for believing in me.

During a rough Junior year, I began to see signs that staying in the band was proving to be a problem.  Little things here and there began to take a toll both in and out of the band, making the ability to perform at my best difficult.  Even being 1st chair wasn’t as worth it as I thought.  I realized that my Senior Year was going to be an even tougher year, and even though I still could have stuck around to defend the top clarinet spot, the cons of staying outweighed the pros.  So the decision was made during my Junior year to not return for my Senior year.  It was hard to not march or play in 12th Grade.  There was more than one time during that final High School Year that I wanted to play or march, but I kept my word to not march or play in concert band.  I felt all that musical effort I had put in for six years had been for naught. 

In reality (though it took years after the fact to understand), for six years I had ignored God's plan with regards to my musical talents and God had humbled me for it.  I had made a mistake of choosing band over choir.  In college, I had the chance to atone for that misjudgment by joining the Valparaiso University Choir Kantorei and the music fraternity, Phi Mu Sinfonia, as a Junior.  Both turned out to be great decisions.  The Kantorei Tour in Spring was a wonderful tour featuring Bach’s “Jesu, meine Freude” and “The Cry of the Whole Congregation”, a John Stevens Paul work based on Luke’s narrative of Holy Week.  As for the Brotherhood of Music, redemption came four years after leaving band at the Spring Weekend.  Some of you know the story:  The Sinfonians performing the Blues Brothers as an exhibition, Minnie the Moocher, and yours truly slowly descending from the top of the altar steps at the Chapel of the Resurrection doing a modified Cab Calloway.  It was perhaps my finest moment musically.

Since college, I have continued to sing in choirs.  I haven't touched the clarinet in nearly 15 years.  It's now clear that God wanted me to continue musically as a singer.  And I haven't looked back since.  I still have my friends from the band years.  Those friendships will never change.  But my instrumental days are long over.  My musical talents survive, in part because I made a hard decision to let go and embrace God's plan albeit like Jonah--a plan that needed a humbling detour to put me back on course.