6/22/18
#26: Band
Being 6’4, people almost always assume I played some kind of sport in high school. I didn’t. I couldn’t ever really get into sports. I’m more about having fun. Competition doesn’t do much for me. I did however play in band. I was the tuba dude. I loved band so much. it gave me a challenge I enjoyed working on. Music didn’t come easy for me. I had to try, and I just genuinely enjoyed playing. I had the best teacher in the world, Myron Mikita. He cared about everyone of us and not only wanted us to succeed in band, but in school and life. He was a really funny guy. Kids not in band often thought he was a weirdo, and the running joke was he lived in the school (he basically did). He would always buy us snacks, and after the football home games, he would grill out behind the band room. He paid for all of this out of his own money. He was a huge hockey and baseball fan. He loved the Black Hawks and White Sox’s. Every summer, we would take a trip to this kind of cabin lake house. We would spend the week swimming, fishing, playing basketball, dodge ball, cards, and having fires. I have some amazing memories about it. Going to a small school , we didn’t have enough people to fill an entire high school band, so we had the middle schoolers join us:.. 5th grade to senior in high school. I had a blast with those younger kids. They were so insanely talented, and most of them better players than myself. The best memories I have from high school was playing pep band for the basketball games, playing songs like: “Learn to Fly Now” (Rocky theme), “Hey Baby,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “The Hey Song,” and so many others. Myself and a few others used to jam out. We probably looked like idiots, but it didn’t matter. We were having fun. I still have music for the tuba in a binder. I hope someday I can afford to buy one and play again!
Everyday I will be posting an entry in my writing challenge 100 Days which has been collected into a print collection. If you are interested in purchasing a print collection: http://www.lulu.com/shop/austin-hamblin/100-days/paperback/product-23916414.html
Kayla and I have also started a weekly podcast. You can check it out here: https://anchor.fm/austin-allen-hamblin It's called In the Bed with Austin and Kayla because we literally record it as we lay in bed!