As I approach the finale of the old television series Frasier on Netflicks (which it seems I've been watching sporadically for at least two years and running), the actress Laura Linney is now a major character (Frasier's new love interest). Laura Linney has always reminded me of my tenth-grade biology teacher in high school. That, of course, got my mind pondering my youth (adolescence to be precise) and the whereabouts of some of the friends and acquaintances from those days which led to thinking about perception, life, philosophy and much more.
One of my more cogent observations from this, my mature vantage point, is that when I was in high school there was very little boredom during my daytime, committed, serious hours (those spent at school). Conversely, now that I am older and know very well the nature of my true passion(s), my daytime, committed, serious hours (those spent at my economic livelihood) can frequently become boring. The one constant however is, I do (and have for a long, long time) fully, constructively and joyfully occupy those hours that are my own. And the one pastime with which I fill this time is the truest and most wonderful passion one can imagine . . . making music!
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
. . . occurred during what would have been my senior year of high school if I hadn't waived my 12th year to begin college early. Further, if I hadn't waived my 12th year, my introduction to jazz would have occurred much differently and most certainly much later.
In addition to sheer boredom with the high-school routine, the impetus for my attending the (then named) Community College of Baltimore was the fact that they had a radio station; as a career in broadcasting was precisely what I had in mind for my future at the time.
The station, which began as a student education facility, was quickly becoming a public radio force of some potency. Soon to be capable of broadcasting a signal of 50,000 watts, the facility was manned by a combination of media professionals, technical experts and a host of students. The format at the time encompassed a variety of programming including talk, community service, ethnic, rock, classical, broadway and showtunes and . . . jazz. My first concentrated and serious exposure to jazz occurred working at WBJC-FM radio about forty years ago.
The jazz included Gato Barbieri, Chuck Mangione, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Lucky Thompson, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Lennie Tristano, Sun Ra, Duke Ellington, Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, Dizzy Gillespie and many, many more and (oh yes) . . . Charlie Parker.
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
I'm not one of those folks who lives in or harbors a burning desire to return to the past. As a matter of fact, my high school years (with several exceptions- having an awesome 10th grade biology teacher, my best friend Joe, a Public Speaking teacher that I think truly 'understood' me, a journalism teacher who appreciated my rebellious nature, and being 'assigned' to sit between two of the school's most popular girls in English class by Miss Simon [they were actually very nice, funny and genuine] my high school years were pretty much typical. And they were also abbreviated as I waived my senior year and entered college one year early (earning my HS Diploma after passing college-level English) leaving me with only two actual high-school years attended. In those days, 'junior' high encompassed grades 7, 8 and 9 while high school consisted of grades 10, 11 and 12. Very different now.
But my most memorable years were those immediately after high school, for it was at that time that I saw the 'real' world, actually pursued a future course of my choosing and met some of the greatest and most memorable personalities, several with whom I have recently been able to reunite. In fact, we have been meeting on a regular basis, much to my pleasure and (I hope) to theirs as well.
Who'd a thought it??? Forty years since I first met them and when we get together, it's like I haven't seen them since last week. It's magical and I am most fortunate not only to have had them as friends initially, but to have been able to rekindle that friendship at this older and wiser stage in our my life.
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
I have this ability, which in my view really isn't THAT special, to recognize people from my past. And since as I get older that period of time continues to grow larger, that number likewise continues to grow, quite possibly making it increasingly difficult to maintain this ability.
But anyway, I had an opportunity to practice this (mostly) wonderful talent recently when I encountered my tenth-grade biology teacher in the grocery store. And although we had a most pleasant conversation, there are some things, as happens in many conversations, that I did not say at the time but which occurred to me later making me wish that I had said them at the time. So I thought I would say them here.
This particular teacher was a breath of fresh air in some otherwise unspectacular high school years. She was young, not unattractive, energetic, enthusiastic, articulate, funny and unmistakably dedicated. I was an impressionable, un-academic, socially awkward, decidedly uncool, dweebie, acne-faced adolescent young male biding my time in a school that offered me very little in the way of intellectual stimulation or social opportunities. She taught biology, one of the few subjects that held some appeal for me, being a lover of reptiles and amphibians. But she taught biology, as I'm sure she could have any other course, with pizazz and finesse resulting in one early-morning class to which I actually looked forward favorably.
One component of this biology class, which now upon reflection I realize, was instrumental in shaping my academic future and later life. It was a project we undertook of a multi-media presentation within the topic which required team work, writing, selection of visual material and accompanying narration and audio. I, with the encouragement of this teacher, was selected to be the narrator, which in truth was mostly because I was one of a small few who could read more than one sentence without stumbling. But this distinction helped shape the direction I soon decided to take toward a career (or at least the pursuit of such a career) in media. This decision (which by the way I have never regretted due to the many pleasant years and good friends which resulted) at which I arrived was the result of the (rare for me, at the time) confidence I felt because of this science project and with the help of this wonderful teacher.
So not only is this petite, unassuming figure not difficult for me to discern in a crowd because of her smiling, wise and pleasant face, she is one of a select few persons from my past who helped instill something in me that I have never lost and which has become an integral part of my makeup as a happy, responsible, functioning adult. Thank you Miss Wells.
". . . BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Mitt
Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his
studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School.
Back on the handsome campus, studded with Tudor brick buildings and
manicured fields, he spotted something he thought did not belong at a
school where the boys wore ties and carried briefcases. John Lauber, a
soft-spoken new student one year behind Romney, was perpetually teased
for his nonconformity and presumed homosexuality. Now he was walking
around the all-boys school with bleached-blond hair that draped over one
eye, and Romney wasn’t having it. . . "
