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OPINION


Monday, September 16, 1996
IN MARI'S
CORNER
By Mari Maldonado

Band days strike up nostalgia

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I have to admit, I got a bit nostalgic during Thursday's school board
meeting when Junior Drum Major Kristen Carreon modeled a band uniform
for trustees.

It made me recall my junior high and high school band days. I was drum
major my eighth grade, junior and senior years.

Roseanne Jackson and I headed the Crockett Junior High Marching Band in
Fall of 1992 and paired up again our senior year, this time leading the
Pecos High School Marching Band the Fall of 1986.

Like Kristen, I too was junior drum major, the Fall of 1985. Kevin Banks
and I lead the band to the State Marching Finals. Unfortunately, because
of the no pass/no play rule we lost a good number of band students and
our entire flag line and twirlers had to march in those student's
marching spots, most carrying instruments they'd never played before.

Even Kevin had to fill in, as he was one of the band's strongest trumpet
players.

So that left me leading the band out all by myself onto Memorial Stadium
at the University of Texas at Austin after making the finals earlier
that day. The top five bands in each division, 1A through 5AAAAA were
chosen from earlier performances at various high school fields
throughout Austin.

I had to come up with a quick opening salute, which I'd never done,
before the finals show. Judges called out from the press box, "drum
major is your band ready?," in what sounded like a voice from heaven,
and I had to do my salutation exercise.

Anyhow, the experience was too awesome.

After the performance, I suppose Kevin was still feeling the surge of
adrenaline as we all filed out of Memorial Stadium after he and I were
presented our Fifth Place Plaque, when he decided to lift me off the
ground in a big bear hug.

He caught me by surprise and I kicked, causing both he and myself to
land in a mud puddle, as it had been drizzling all that day, puddles
were everywhere.

To this day I will swear that all four Greyhound buses shifted as band
students all flocked to the south end of each coach to catch the
hilarious sight of me and Kevin picking ourselves up from the puddle.

He and I were allowed to get off at the Burger King on Ben White
Boulevard to wash up and change. We had to ride in the band directors'
station wagons and sit on plastic bags prior to that. Diners chuckled at
the two unidentifiable figures that darted through the restaurant and
into the restrooms.

We made it to state again the following year, but didn't make the final
cut.

Both years we were under the direction of Terry Maxwell.

I played the clarinet in band and tried out for the Showband of the
Southwest, the UT Band, and surprisingly I made it, but after toiling
over my computer science classes for one week, I decided I was going to
have to give up music for awhile. I had to retire my worn clarinet and
dormmates didn't much appreciate my sonatas at 3 a.m.

To date, "awhile" has turned into to almost 10 years.

I hope to pick it up "someday." "Someday," being the operative word.

Mari Maldonado is a Pecos Enterprise reporter and whose column appears
each Monday.

OTHER VIEWS

Media feeding frenzy?

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When former Labor Secretary Ray Donovan was exonerated after a highly
publicized probe into allegations of criminal acts, he asked
rhetorically: "Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?"

Erstwhile security guard Richard Jewell could be asking the same
question if, as it's beginning to appear, he has been mistakenly
fingered by the news media as the prime suspect in the Atlanta Olympic
park bombing.

Those of us in the media should be questioning our penchant to run with
a story that has the potential to ruin a person's reputation. The
feeding frenzy surrounding Jewell is reason enough to reflect and
re-examine our priorities.

Three days after the pipe bomb blast, The Atlanta Journal put out a
special edition citing Jewell as the "focus" of a federal investigation.
That evening, the television networks led with the story, and the
following day, most newspaper front pages featured Jewell. Radio talk
shows then picked up the scent, and before long, the court of public
opinion had all but convicted him.

Problem is, the FBI, having thoroughly searched his apartment, has not
charged him with any crime. Earlier this week, Jewell's lawyers released
the results of a lie detector test suggesting their client is innocent.
In fact, Dick Rackleff, a former FBI polygraph expert who administered
the exam, concluded: "There's not any doubt in my mind. He had no
knowledge of the bomb."

If it turns out that Jewell is not the person who committed this crime,
the media ought to consider the dire consequences of recklessly rushing
to judgment in the next high profile case.

ZIG ZIGLAR

Go-Givers Really Get

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There's an unfortunate assumption in our society today that many people
believe that in order to "have" you've got to "go get." The evidence is
mounting, however, that "go-givers" of life really end up getting the
most out of life. For example, the 1949 Harvard School of Business class
was an enormously successful group. More than half became chairmen of
boards or presidents of large corporations, while another third became
presidents. However, in the latter stages of their lives, some - but not
all - of them were basically high on life. Those who were experiencing
the highs had fewer aches and pains. One reason given in that these
people concerned themselves with others. They took action to address the
country's major social or education problems. They were genuinely
interested in other people. They also reached out for new adventures and
new directions before any grass grew under their feet.

These findings were consistent with what the former chairman of the
board of General Electric, Philip Reed, observed in his comments about
life. He said that people who get the most out of life have two things
in common: They enjoy special satisfaction and experience joy from
simply being helpful to other people. In the course of their everyday
lives, they do something a little extra for a friend, customer, former
traveling companion or perhaps a complete stranger. These people also
have a tendency to go all out in whatever they do - whether it's work,
social, civic or recreational, they give it everything they've got. They
give the task at hand their undivided attention. They don't make a big
deal about it and are not satisfied until they've given their best
effort.

That's a good approach to life. Take it, and I will see you at the top!

Zig Ziglar is a motivational speaker whose column is copyrighted and
distributed by Creators Syndicate Inc.
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Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
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