From the time our children were tiny, we did things together as a family. We camped; we fished; we traveled; we rode motorcycles; we played baseball, football, and other sports. Our kids took music lessons and gymnastic lessons. One of the highlights of our many trips was visiting various plants to see how things were made and produced. We saw how potato chips were made, how automobiles were put together, how movies were made, what went into chocolate chip cookies, etc. When we drove through a city or town, we’d look for plants that might give free tours. Very often there were free samples, too!

Well, our children are all grown now. One of our sons, Tim, lives here in the same community near us. They have three children. You’ve read about them in previous pieces here on “Insight Out”. They’re all involved in lots of activities, too. Maybe it’s genetic! (g) One of the neatest thing to me is that I get to go watch them play baseball, perform on the piano or clarinet, etc. I get to take them to our lovely parks to observe wildlife. The oldest, Steve, and I took a 17 day trip a year ago. His brother, Ben, and I are already planning a similar trip next June. Yes, family is extremely important to me.

Last Saturday, Pat and I went to watch the last baseball games of the season. Ben played on the All-Star team. Rachael played for the Ospreys, coached by their Daddy, Tim. I haven’t missed many games this season. It’s fun to watch the grandkids compete, to yell and holler just like I used to when their Daddy played.

At the beginning of the season, there were lots of amateurish mistakes. The kids didn’t know for sure where to throw the ball once they got it. Three fielders would bump into each other when the batter popped the ball high into the air because no one called out that they would catch it. Toward the end of the season, I actually witnessed a double play! When the catcher let the ball get by him, the pitcher would run home and cover the plate. The kids managed to implement some double steals. The more they learned about playing together, the better they played!

A rather interesting event took place during the final game. I heard music coming from the American Legion facility next door to our ball fields. It seems that families affiliated with the Legion were gathered for a picnic on their property. They had a country band playing live music. I went over very close to the fence to see what was happening. I believe they’d purchased a copy of one of Willie Nelson’s song books. Every song they played was one of Willie’s songs.

The four piece band was pretty good. They had a drummer, a bass guitarist, and a lead guitarist. The singer strummed along, playing rhythm licks. After listening for awhile, I went back over to watch the baseball game. A little later, I noticed that their sound had deteriorated. Someone’s guitar had gone out of tune. As a musician with a pretty good ear, it was very apparent to me. I went back over to see if I could figure out which guitar had gone flat. Before I could even get there, the man who was responsible figured it out and twisted the knobs. Boy, oh, boy! What an improvement when they were all back in tune.

This got me to thinking about tunefulness and good harmony. My main instrument was the cornet. Although I play several others, that’s my favorite. The first instrument I learned was the violin. I began playing around 5 years old. Never cared for it much. Played in the grade school orchestra. Always envied the cornet/trumpet players. They got to stand up and play loud, hot licks. I just got to saw back and forth, squeaking and screeching away, and spreading rosin dust all over my clothes!

We finally moved to the mid-West to a small farming community. They didn’t know anything at all about violins or orchestras. They did have a terrific band program. The day I bought my first cornet and joined the band was one of the happiest days of my life.

During my senior year in high school, I was selected to be a member of the 200 hundred member All-State Band. We went to Des Moines and put on a public concert. Our director was Raphael Mendez, one of the true and greatest trumpet virtuosos in the world at that time. I had the honor of playing third cornet in a trio with Mr. Mendez entitled, “Bugler’s Holiday”. He stopped us once, right in the middle of a complex piece of music. He said, “The third chair, third flute player is flat. Please tune up.” What an ear! Just one student musician had negatively affected the overall sound we were producing.

BTW, while staying in an old hotel during the All-State Band week-end, I came out of my room to get a drink at the water cooler. Coming out of the room next door, was a little ol’ man wearing an ankle length night shirt and a long, pointed night cap. He looked familiar. I finally asked him who he was. Turned out that it was the great Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, one of the finest jazz trumpet players in the world. What a heart stopping, exciting experience that was. He was so humble and quiet. I’ll never forget that night!

Bet you wonder where in the world I’m going with all this streaming consciousness! Well, hang on. Here we go. Whether we’re talking about grandkids playing baseball or the country band playing Willie Nelson, it’s important for harmony to prevail. The young ball players must each learn to play their position as skillfully as possible. They have to learn the rules. They have to learn about strategy. They have to learn to work together as a team. The musicians and singers in the country band had to learn similar skills in their musical pursuits. Even more importantly, each person had to play in tune in order for their harmony to have a pleasing sound.

Now, harmony simply means that each person is playing in tune and playing the proper notes for their part. It takes several different notes, for instance, to make up a musical chord that sounds good. However, even though each person is playing the proper note, if their instrument isn’t tuned correctly, the combined sound is going to be sour and sad. Even a soloist must play on pitch to please the ears of the listener.

WHAT ARE THE LIFE LESSONS I SEE
IN THIS RAMBLING PIECE OF PROSE?

• We can gain lots of skills and develop our native gifts and abilities, but if we don’t learn to live our lives in tune with His purpose for us, we can’t produce the best possible music.
• When we’re working with other people, we need His enabling in order to achieve harmony within the group.
• We must make sure that we not only play the right notes, but tune our instruments so we create pleasant harmony within the group.
• Even when we work in a solo capacity, it’s ever so important that we play sure and certain notes, well-tuned to His plan for our lives.

1 Cor. 14:8 states, “Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?”

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