I had some time to kill the other morning in the band hall at Abernathy High School – I was waiting on my granddaughter Hannah to play with her fourth grade band. She plays the trombone*, and had a solo. Or, not really a solo so much as a few measures of just-trombone and she’s the only trombone player in the band.

At Christmas, she played a masterful version of “Jingle Bells” which she’d made sound like a funeral dirge. This time around, though, the tiny part of “Ode to Joy” was recognizable and her solo was…well, it was the best damn trombone solo I’ve ever heard from a fourth grader.

In between songs, I took a picture of the floor. As one does.

Abernathy, Texas
photographed 4.26.2017

*She chose trombone because she wanted an instrument that would go “wah-wah.” I once chose the violin for less sound reasons, so I cannot fault her logic.