Daily Archives: September 27, 2021

I was first drummer in my junior high school band. Every year we participated in competitions with other schools in the area. Impartial judges graded each band with some variation of “1” for the highest grade and “5” for the lowest. They were supplemented by individual comments from the judges. Mr. Hollander Thinks He’s Being Nice On our bus ride home from one competition, our music teacher, Mr. Hollander, read aloud the judges’ comments. All were surprisingly positive. But he didn’t say anything about the drum section, which consisted that day of me. “What did they say about the drums?” I asked. Mr. Hollander didn’t respond. I asked again. He looked away as if he didn’t hear me and began talking to another student. I asked a third time. He […]