Social Butterfly

I am not a social butterfly, but at this time of year, there seems to be a lot of activities occurring.  In addition to Lady Raider Basketball, I have been to two Christmas dinners for various groups, a photo show opening, a winter open house, and a Westwinds Brass Band Christmas concert in the past 6 days.  Actually, I think the spate of activity will quiet down now for a while.

Taking Advantage

Tonight I went to the Westwinds Brass Band http://westwindsbrassband.org/  Sunday concert, the last in this summer's series..  Unfortunately, I missed several, due to weather or conflicts of schedule, but I fully enjoyed those I attended.

Last night, I went to a night hike at the Lubbock Lake Landmark http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museum/lll/.  It was poorly organized, the leader walked too fast, did not speak so all could hear, did not talk about obvious features, and was not very knowledgeable about plants, animals, or birds.  And, at the end of the walk, when she asked me how it was, I told her... I hate to be critical, but it was not just an educational issue, it was a safety issue: there were young children on the trail, and she did not even look out for them.  The two other "leaders" did, at least.

I mentioned going on the hike to an acquaintance, tonight at the concert.  She commented about how good I was to take advantage of these activities, while people from Lubbock do not...(Which is not true, there were many born Lubbockites at the hike.)  Of course, that is typical: most people do not appreciate what they have in their own back yard, and have to go elsewhere to see/do things...

I think my childhood was an exception:  My father loved to take us to see things and do things. Our favorites were repeated, but we went to museums, geologic sites, historic sites, sports venues... We had fun, I had fun learning and seeing knew things. And I still do.

When I moved to Lubbock, I continued the same, and when I was married to Lisenby, he, too, enjoyed these activities. 

For a time, I fell out of the practice of such activity, and still have not been entirely through the American Wind Power Center and Museum http://www.windmill.com/ or the American Museum of Agriculture http://www.agriculturehistory.org. But they are on my list for this year...  I have made it to the Silent Wings Museum  www.silentwingsmuseum.com/ multiple times since my first visit.

Tonight, after the concert, my acquaintance and I were talking, and I mentioned the Carillion concerts at Texas Tech http://today.ttu.edu/2010/05/2010-judson-maynard-summer-carillon-series/, that are scheduled for the same time as the Westwinds Brass Band Concert, but continue further into the summer.  She commented that she had never heard of these concerts before, and I told her that the first summer I was in Lubbock (1977) I went to one.  Of course, I did not mention I was invited to the concert by Tom and Helen Musiak, who I knew as Tom is my second cousin, and his sisters told him I was going to be in Lubbock... It was a fun concert...And they are very nice people.

My acquaintance and I bemoaned the fact that the scheduling was uncoordinated, and did not allow folks to attend both.  But there will be a couple of carillon concerts left to hear....

I missed the Moonlight Musicals production of "Hello Dolly"  http://www.lubbockmoonlight.org/Lubbock_Moonlight_Musicals/Home.html mostly due to inertia on my part.  I am hoping to get to "The Buddy Holly Story" and "Willy Wonka" although I did not care for the Willy Wonka movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067992/

I had planned to see "The Buddy Holly Story" Saturday, July 17, 2010 specifically because the Westwinds Brass Band was playing before the play... But I wanted to do the night hike...

Brass Band Concerts: A Summer Tradition

As a child, my parents would take us, on a Saturday or Sunday night, to hear a brass band concert at a small concert shell in a community park some few miles from my home town.  And, as a child, I could have cared less.

As a young adult, I would ask my parents if they wanted to join me going to these concerts... What a difference a few years make.

When I moved to Lubbock, I discovered there was a brass band concert here, performed by the Westwinds Brass Band http://westwindsbrassband.org/.  I got away from attending those concerts.  In the mid 1990's, when the Caprock Neighborhood Association (my neighborhood) had concerts, I, of course attended (I helped start the neighborhood association and was involved with it for several years.)

Now, and for some several years, the Westwinds Brass Band has played in the Tech Terrace http://www.techterrace.org/ neighborhood, and the last couple of years, they do one concert at Vintage Township http://www.vintagetownship.com/events.asp .  They also perform at the 4th on Broadway Street Fair http://www.broadwayfestivals.com/bfi/index.php, and they do a patriotic concert in combination with the First Methodist Church Chorale  http://www.fumc.com/ .  I do not usually get to the First Methodist Church concert, because it starts at 6 PM, and the timing is bad.  But, I love brass bands and marches and anything by John Phillip Sousa, so I make it a point to attend as many of the Westwinds Band concerts as I can.

There is a 1996 movie, "Brassed Off" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115744/ that I have had on my Netflix http://www.netflix.com/WiHome list for a long time, which, apparently is quite unavailable.  

I also understand that there is biographical movie about John Phillip Sousa http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045187/  which was released in 1952 (the year of my birth.)  For the record, he was born on November 6, 1854, some 98 years before I was born. When I realized this as a child, I had a certain affinity for him... I loved his stirring, patriotic music.  And felt I shared what, as a child I would not think of as a karmic connection, but as an adult, I do...

There is something rousing and stirring about listening to a brass band.  It resonates with my heart beat, and stirs me emotionally...

I am thankful I can attend the brass band concerts