There are times we win and times we lose. But, winning doesn't make others losers.
VIOLET: I’m a gum chewer mostly, but when I heard about these ticket things, I laid off the gum, switched to candy bars.
MRS. BEAUREGARDE: She’s just a driven young woman. I don’t know where she gets it- smile for the camera, honey. You’re representing Mommy now.
VIOLET: I’m the junior world champion gum chewer. This piece of gum I’m working on right now, I’ve been chewing on for three months solid. That’s a record.
MRS. BEAUREGARDE: Of course, I did have my share of trophies. Mostly baton. My Violet doesn’t do baton. Not that I’d love her more if she did, but I’m just saying, if-
VIOLET: So this one kid’s gonna get a special prize? Better than all the rest? I don’t care who the other four are. That kid- it’s gonna be me.
MRS. BEAUREGARDE: Tell them why, Violet.
VIOLET: Because I’m a winner. ——————— (Charlie goes to pick a candy apple, but Veruca picks it before he can get it. She sticks her gum behind her ear.) CHARLIE: Why hold on to it? Why not start a new piece? VIOLET: Because then I wouldn’t be a champion. I’d be a loser. Like you. ———————
The proceeding dialogue was from the movie, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, directed by Tim Burton. The movie is an adaptation of the book written by Roald Dahl.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a good book and, in my opinion, both versions of the movie are equally good.
Too many times people think that in order to win, other people have to be losers.
Read that sentence again. Actually, let me spell it all out again. Too many times people think that in order to win, other people have to be losers.
I am not saying that everyone deserves a trophy. I am not saying that we need to make sure everyone needs to be a winner because no one loses. I am not saying that at all. I worded that sentence very carefully. Just because you win at something doesn’t mean that other people are losers. They may have lost and not received a trophy but, that doesn’t make them losers.
One of my favorite Spongebob Squarepants episodes is titled, “No Free Rides/ I’m Your Biggest Fanatic”. Season 2, Episode 10 to be exact. Spongebob and Patrick go to a jellyfishing convention and Spongebob gets to meet the President (Kevin) of an elite jellyfishing club. Spongebob’s creepy, “Hi Keeeevin,” was and always will be one of the most quoted Spongebob lines in my family. The other Spongebob quote that I enjoy reciting is, “Steppin’ on the Beach…doot doot doot doot.” Whenever I recite the beloved, “Steppin’ on the Beach”, chant it will almost always elicit an eye roll or groan from my wife. I may or may not have said that line way too many times, and I may or may not have sent her a clip of Spongebob singing it for 10 straight hours.
Back to Kevin and jellyfishing.
Kevin doesn’t think Spongebob is worthy of being a member of his elite jellyfishing club. Kevin enjoys being the president of the club, telling jellyfishing stories, and telling all of his underlings how he is a winner.
Spongebob expresses his desire to be in Kevin’s club, in a very Spongebobby way. Eventually, Kevin decides to give Spongebob tasks to complete in order to be considered for the club. The tasks are next to impossible and made to humiliate Spongebob. However, Spongebob completes them, once again, in a very Spongebobby way but decides it is much more fun to go jellyfishing rather than sit around and talk about it.
One of the tasks Kevin gave to Spongebob was to use a jellyfish caller. When Spongebob blew through the caller it emitted a grunting, “LOSER!” sound. Every bad thing Kevin wanted to happen to Spongebob backfired and happened to Kevin instead. Spongebob ended up winning because he realized that he didn’t need to be considered an elite in order to be a winner.
If your name is Kevin and you are offended by the name Kevin being used in this blog or in the Spongebob episode then you just need to get over it. Don’t be a Karen. (Unless you are Plankton’s computer wife)
Our winning or success is not determined by the failure of others. There are times, during competition, when others will lose to our winning. That is competition and should be used to encourage all participants to strive for their best. When a person, team, or band wins a competition and other people, teams, or bands lose, that is healthy for the development of life’s ups and downs in people.
Once again, just because a person, team, or band loses, that doesn’t make them losers.
I am proud to say that I assist with The Desoto High School Band, The Blazing Blue Band to be exact and I love watching the musical growth of the members. Recently, they performed at a marching band competition. For all of my marching band friends that statement may sound like I am stating the obvious. It is marching season and that means bands compete. However, last year, an entire month of school was lost because Hurricane Ian decided to tear up part of the school and flood everything. The competitions were canceled and the students never got an opportunity to compete.
Desoto is in the smallest marching band division, 1A. With a little over 20 members on the field, the smallest amount of students in our competitive area, many people do not expect a big sound, let alone a big presence.
On Saturday, October 14th, the band took the field for competition.
After the band played their show, they doffed their uniforms and stowed their instruments. Many students decided to increase the sales of the food truck that offered crispy wings and smothered french fries as they made their way into the stands and watched the remaining bands perform. The students cheered and responded accordingly to their fellow competitor’s shows.
During the awards, the Drum Major and two of the band captains stood in retreat while the rest of the band stood at parade rest in the bleachers in uniform. Whenever class 1A awards were announced, another student leader would call the band to attention, then parade rest once the next division was called. Once again, the band responded appropriately to the announcements and awards to the other bands.
Their poise and professional demeanor were noted and appreciated by all of us instructors, especially when they were awarded, Best Music, Best General Effect, and First Place. Not only did they get first place in the 1A division, but their score was higher than all of the 2A schools and one 3A school.
A couple of comments we heard when we sat with the various judges for critique was, “We didn’t know what to expect with so few students on the field. You wowed us! Obviously, you played to your strengths and know what each student is capable of doing.”
There were other great comments as well as suggestions on what needed improvement. Fernando Frank (Fernando 1 if you have read my other blogs) listened and responded appropriately to the judges’ comments and suggestions. As I sat next to him, I was amazed at his poise and professionalism. I had a feeling he wanted to jump up on the table to dance, sing, and celebrate good times. But, being the professional that he is, he thanked them, smiled, and floated out of the room on cloud nine.
Although winning the competition wasn’t everything, it really did taste good.
The winning wasn’t beating out the other bands in our division or having a better score than bands in higher divisions, the winning happened when Fernando Frank knew what music to write that showcased the students. He knows the students, their capabilities, and what is needed to propel them further. You see, he arranged all of the music for the marching show. The music featured a saxophone quartet, saxophone soloist, bass soloist, drum set soloist, and flute soloist.
The name of the marching show is called, “Big Top Be-Bop”. He infused circus music with jazz. The mesh of the music was marvelous and mesmerizing. The ballad was, “Send in the Clowns" and in keeping with the clown theme, he included Pagliacci featuring the flute solo transcribed from the Maynard Ferguson recording. It really is an amazing show and the students perform it as it was intended.
This Saturday, November 4th, the band will be performing Big Top Be Bop for the final time at the Florida MPA (Music Performance Assessment). Personally, I will miss this show a lot. Their musicianship has grown exponentially and I have watched many of the students mature as leaders within each section.
You see, Fernando set the students up to win. It wouldn’t have mattered if they had gotten the lowest score at the first competition or had landed in the middle of the pack. What mattered was they were pushed to become better musicians, leaders, and people through the power of music. He wrote the music and drill so that the students would win internally if they worked hard. Since they worked hard and stayed steadfast in their efforts, they also won externally, while at competition.
Bravo to you Mr. Fernando Frank and every member of The Blazing Blue Band. I applaud you and thank you for working hard and being great musicians and wonderful human beings.
They have the taste of winning on their palate and they like it. Now, they have added another flavor to the buffet of life. In times of emotional famine, they will be able to go to the table and think back to the taste of winning. They will be able to sample the flavor of success they worked so hard to accomplish. They will be able to remember that they were a part of something bigger than themselves and they won.
Winning isn’t everything, but it sure does taste good.