THE DASH

I am participating in the #52Stories Project  this year!  This project will help me to "define the dash", you know, that little dash that will be between the year of my birth and whatever year I die.  It is on most headstones.  That dash holds my life experiences. I want to be sure to write and share the events of my life.  FamilySearch is helping me to do that with the #52Stories Project. Once a week, I will share a story from my past.  Each month there will be a theme and I have been given several choices of questions to answer.  This month the theme will be "Goals and Achievements".   I invite anyone who desires to leave a legacy to their family to join me.

My first question is: what is your earliest memory of feeling proud of yourself - at school, in sports, in art or music, in a club or scouting.

The very first musical instrument I learned to play was the french horn.  I started in elementary school and did not play that instrument for very long because for one thing the instrument was loaned from the school and my family moved!

When I was in 6th grade, attending Merced Elementary school, I started playing the flute!  Oh, how I love the sound of the flute!!  The music is just heavenly to me!

I played in the orchestra at Hollenbeck Junior High and in the band my freshman year at Nogales High School and then we moved again and I played for two years in the Bassett High School Olympian band.  Go Black and Gold!!   We were a tiny band but we had fun!  Our school had a piccolo and the band director let me play it!!  My favorite thing to play was The Star and Stripes Forever, by John Phillip Souza.  Oh, how I love the piccolo part in that piece with all the cool trills! So fun to play!!

I did not play in the band my senior year, but keep playing the flute on my own for many years after that.  But, as with many things life got busy with raising children and I had less time to play.  Rachel took up flute in middle school and when she left home for college I gave her my flute!  I am glad it was passed down.  But, if I had to do it again, I would have tried harder to keep playing.  Not sure how much I could remember anymore, it is kind of sad to me.

To learn more about the #52Stories Project click here.

To listen to the United States Marine Band play an awesome rendition of The Star and Stripes Forever, by John Phillip Souza, click the play button below.