End of Christmas Season Story (Jan. 6 Epiphany)
We were in for some music practice the day or two after Christmas in 1968. After the practice, the head of the Music Department tells me he just got a call from the manager at the Northeast Diner across the intersection and wanted someone to play a few Christmas tunes for the customers. Sounded strange as my instrument was a Sousaphone. A couple music fellows help me with a music stand for my music and we get to the middle door of the diner and struggle to get the tuba instrument into the doors. Somebody saw an opening at the back of the diner with a big couch like seat against the window that served several tables in line with it.
We pulled out a table. I sat on the couch seat and someone put up the music stand and music in front of me and the then I let out some notes. Rather loud from a large instrument in a small space. Then some guy comes over yelling and wants to know what we were doing. I explained that we were from North Catholic and playing Christmas Carols. And I don't know if I ever say anything about the telephone call from the diner's manager requesting the music. I believe the shouting guy got me to my feet by pulling on the ring of my Sousaphone and I was on my feet and soon a was being pushed out the side door, me and my instrument out the door and into the sidewalk and or street. Apparently the shouting guy was the manager and he knew nothing about the North Catholic's Music department's little joke on me.
Ha. Ha.
Apparently, the Music Director had a reputation for big practical jokes. He a mile a music academic degrees, awards and credits going back to his days at Mastbaum technical High School, where I understood later he had the Rep of having more keys to the rooms in that school and teachers coming to him than the Janitor to get into their rooms etc. Something of a Hogan's Heros music student inmate running the Mastbaum public high school behind the scenes so to speak. Whatever. (how do you spell young Philly thug?)
The long and short of this after I was embarrassed to death by being thrown out of the Northeast Diner for trying to play Christmas Carols.
The two guys with me in the prank, one also played the Sousaphone and had begged for himself and not me to play the carols in the Northeast Diner. No go. I guess the Music Directer had me lined up as the mark in that scenario.
Anyway we return to the music room and the director says he got a message and had not talked to the diner manager directly etc. Plausible deniability?
My colleague, the other Sousaphone player got permission to take a Sousaphone down the street and play Christmas tunes at the Elevated "El" station. This he did.
A week later, after Christmas vacation, Principal Corcoran came into the Music Room with a letter he had got from some concerned citizen about how my colleague with his Sousaphone and his playing carols at the train station was so in the spirit of North Catholic and the values that it taught to young men. Congratulations to your school etc.
Don't know about the politics of all this, but about a year later, my younger colleague got nominated and elected Class President for the next class after ours was about to graduate. A coincidence?
Rum a Pum Pum - Bum.
