Dec. 16, 2005
Nothing’s ever promised tomorrow, today…
The songs of the season. I love em. I sit here in a high school Christmas concert . Quite the production. I watch the kids of a preppy west side school playing and singing their hearts out. There is definite talent around the room. Some of them will aspire to do great things… some of them nothing. And through all this festivities in the auditorium, the parents and community look on in the darkness, in joy, and they are probably feeling the same thing I am… the future may be bright, and these are the one who will pave the way.
But looking around some more, I know that this is what divides worlds apart. I am fortunate to be with the fortunate. This is what the best can offer… and in this school with all its glamour and prestige, the children harvest their minds and spirits and are given that opportunity to do so because they can… because they live where they live… because they are part of families that can provide it… and the lines are set one side from the other.
I think of the absence of new computers. The absence of funding for sports. The lack of charity to community events. The missing support of parents. The low attendance for the academics. The extracurricular activities that are unfulfilled. The need for better books. This other world is but a 15 minute drive away.
How will these kids turn out in the sheltered atmosphere of perfection with money as their shelter? How will they fair compared to the kids who still have to come home to an empty house. How do afternoon jobs differ from afternoon tennis lessons? Both sides have their hardships laid out to them on different ends of the scale. But is one really any better that the rest?
I have to think that playing the saxophone in front of a 200 seat audience in no different than playing by yourself in your room. I have to believe that a person is who they are because they want to be, and not because of their environment. The truly great will achieve that greatness regardless. And the girl who sings her beautiful solo, will sound beautiful to all ears.
As these toughts float through my head, I shake it off and decide to just put on a smile. People are people and we will all eventually lead down the same path… a road that allows us to all enjoy “ a Charlie Brown’s Christmas” when play by the hearts of children who only see music…