This will be a ramble in the life of - me

 Let's  start this out with a corny joke:

Knock Knock

Who's there?

ICE

Ice who?

Gesundheit

==================== Call me if you need to decipher

TODAY, THE 4TH OF FEBRUARY, 2026

Who'd a thought I'd last long?  My brother Marshall use to say to me, "It's a wonder nobody has killed you yet."   I try to be good and keep my mouth shut around strangers.  I try.

Moving on:  I went to my Dermatologist today.  Appointment was at 12 Noon.  A doctor with appts. at 12 noon.  My follow up appt in 6 months is at noon also.  That doesn't seem common.  Doc found spots on me.  Last time a lady doc cut out part of my upper lip.  My nose has had 2 chunks removed in the past. And, he brings out his gun that freezes parts of me.  I think he froze me 12 different times.  Truthfully, I lost count.    I pointed out a spot on the back of my skull under my soon to be bald spot.   I think that one equaled 7 squirts.  We joked about freezing my brain.  Some truth to it.  Doctor Ilse in Belton.  He is one of my favorites.   But, I have to come back in 6 months because of a couple of spots - normally, I get to last a year.

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this next entry may not make sense to a non-band director.  Skip it if you wish.  At night sometimes, my legs hurt - it's not really a pain - more like an ache.  I get up and walk around a bit.  I'll sit on the side of the bed for a while - sitting posture seems to help - And, I'll amuse myself with facebook.  I bore easily and give it up.  

Well, the other night I saw this post where this person had spent an entire day looking at the music listing on the uil required music list.  Maybe an explanation?  Public schools in Texas go to U.I.L. competitions.  It's a process.  Music groups - bands, choirs, orchestras, solos, ensembles of all sorts    -- have to play songs off this list.  It's a process.   There is a committee at the State level that reviews music and chooses what is on the list.  There are hundreds - no thousands of songs on the complete list.  You play based upon your school size - class - etc.  It's a process.

Well, this person had spent all day on a Saturday looking at the complete band list of songs.  SHE - I later learned it was a she - made a list of composers - based upon  skin color and sex.  Her list showed that most songs were written by white men.  She spent the entire day to figure that out.  Now there are some fine pieces of music written by females, blacks, browns, & Asians.  I wouldn't argue that point at all.  But she felt that not enough music is on the list.  

There is a process for getting your music on the list.  It is not easy.

So she posted her list.  People made comments.  A person from somewhere near the east coast posted that conductors come to that State to direct all-state groups and bring their "old white man prejudices" with them - I assumed that conductors don't play music by women.  That ticked me off.  It was 3 a.m.; my legs hurt; I was tired; and she said something that was stupid.  Let me explain:  a conductor picks music by what he likes - fits the group - and so forth.  NOBODY sits around and worries if it is written by a female.

I shouldn't have, but I did express my views on this nonsense.  I should have gone back to bed.  Later, I learned that the group was the Women Band Directors International.  Boy did I set them off.  I was burnt.  It went on for days.  I did go back on and apologize for entering their domain; however, I stood by my entree.   NObody cares if it is written by male or female.   I did have several people who jumped in on my side - mostly men.  

So I learned 2 things:  #1 look at the name of the group before leaping into a fire.

                                    #2  prepare to be burned alive.

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short subject:  we had ice like crazy last week.  It was 2 inches thick outside my garage door.  Terrible

Well that wore me out.  I'll come back later and add another post.  Politics of all kinds just gets me in trouble.  .  .  .  and, I might add, I'm never wrong!!