A couple of posts ago, I alluded to a decision I made a long time ago that still affects me today.
That decision was in 1971. I had just gotten "put down" two chairs in band, and I wasn't a happy camper. I was already down pretty far in the clarinet pecking order. I had done everything possible to make my secondhand plastic clarinet sound better. I had bought better quality reeds, better ligatures (the thing that holds the reed to the mouthpiece) and a better mouthpiece. Alas, even after all those improvements, the clarinet still sounded plastic. Wooden clarinets have a rich, easy, clear tone quality to them that enriches your soul. I had never heard a wooden clarinet until I was in high school. I fell in love with the sound.
Earlier in the school year, our local music store had come to band and offered a deal - $100 trade-in on any old instrument. My dad was a travelling salesman for PPG. I knew he would be gone for three more days. Tuesday after school, I went down to the music store and "traded in" my old clarinet. They said we could "try out" a new instrument before we bought it. I knew I would at least get to play this beautiful-sounding new clarinet for at least three days before taking it back to the store on Saturday if Dad said no.
You had to know my dad. For some reason, he always said "No" to everything you asked for – at first. But if it was a reasonable request, or a very important one, and you responded well, he usually changed his mind. Knowing this, I expected a "No" on Friday evening.
For three glorious days, I got to play that new clarinet – in band, at home. I played it as much as I could. I played it until my lips started getting sore. My band director saw I had a new instrument. I told him I was hoping to keep it. My mother could tell the sound was different. She was sympathetic to my cause, but realistically thinking was impossible.
Of course, Dad said "No" Friday evening, but I handled it well, and didn't act too disappointed.
I was also a fairly new born-again Christian. I prayed a Gideon's Fleece type of prayer. I said, "Lord, if You want me to have this clarinet, have Dad ask me again how much it costs." Now – Dad knew how much it cost. We had gone over all the particulars.
I'm vacuuming the living floor. It was one of my Saturday chores. Five minutes go by. Dad comes into the living room.
"How much did you say that clarinet cost?"
I outwardly gulp, but inwardly I am SCREAMING!
"Well, they said…"
Within an hour, that clarinet was mine. As a result of that decision, in my senior year, I qualified for a scholarship that paid for private lessons.
As a result of the lessons, I entered a clarinet solo in the Kansas State High School Music Contest. I was also a part of two other small instrumental groups. They all qualified for medals if you got a 'one' rating.
They did. I still have those medals. I got them out about a month ago, when I was having a 'bad' day emotionally. And they showed me that decision on a Tuesday afternoon to go to the music store after school, was a decision that is still affecting me today.
Next time: How to overcome a bad decision that still haunts you.
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