I’ve been bingeing Swat TV show and reached season 5 and 6 where the show discusses how hard it is for female recruits to ascend to the elite ranks of Swat officers. While I cannot completely agree that I am comfortable with female Swat officer wrestling down ruthless drug dealers and foreign elite military assassins… just out of samples of men and women in my view, it doesn’t seem to work.

BUT, I do remember Jen from 7th grade band. Jen is a girl who played trumpet, much like my daughter does right now. I was nice to Jen, second to my first char of 2nd trumpet. Jen was nice to me, it looked like she’s comfortable with the seating. I remember most vividly one days when I suddenly saw her mess with the music stand we shared. After she finished fussing with it, I reached over and readjusted it. She looked at me, and said “fine!”

Later, 1st trumpet Jesse asked me why I did that to her. Apparently I was perceived as having annoyed her deliberately.

Sadly I don’t remember much after that. She left band, I played till Junior year and then left too…

The school was very eager to have female band members, I’m sure she would have advanced well if she kept at it. Our drum major was a girl and wow she does a lot for the marching band of hundred or kids in those cold winters of Pennsylvania…

Sorry Jen, I think I only ever did one annoying thing to you as band. But maybe that’s just the straw. I know the guys teases you about pubescent things these many years later, when I realize those times when I didn’t join their giggles due to naïveté of the matter, that must have been extra uncomfortable to be next to a bunch of jerk boys and a dumb one. Sigh…. An annoyed “what?” from you and then I follow with “what you guys laughing about?” DOH!!

Sorry. I hope things went well for you after that. To outsiders, maybe trumpet playing really isn’t for girls, but to me, I think it’s great for girls too.