Watching the Grammy Award Show on tonight brought back memories of Waterman Street School and our music lessons. Mrs. Ogdon traveled from school to school tying to teach us little ingrates about the music beat.
At Waterman Street Grammar School she combined several classes. The only room for all us in one room was down in the basement.
She handed out little round dowel looking sticks about a foot long and about an inch in diameter. She gave each person two sticks. If I remember correctly, one was red and one was green. She would get on the piano and teach us to hit the sticks against each other and sing. She taught us such songs as “Oh My Darling Clementine”, “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes”, and “Going To Alabama With a Banjo on My knee”.
Us boys would poke each other with our sticks, use the sticks for phallic symbols and things like that, all behind Mrs. Ogdon’s back.
I was thinking during the Grammy Awards what if I paid attention and because really got the hang of beating sticks together and became a famous stick soloist?
What if I got a contract with Columbia Records and came out on stage with a glittering sports jacket and everybody cheered and I would play my sticks and for kicks throw them up in the air and catch them between beats. Then after I finish bow and everybody would go wild applauding? I would leave. Then they would rise and stomp their feet until I return to the stage and give them one more stick beating tune?
And on Grammy Night I might raise my Grammy and say, “Thank you Mrs. Ogdon, wherever you are?”