He Broke All the Rules
A little background to set the stage...
When Michele and I moved back from Vermont in 2002 the economy sucked. It was three months after 9/11 and there were no jobs. I looked and looked, and found nothing in the fields that appealed to me. On a whim I answered a notice from one of the local job sites - something about computers, children and West Point. Well, WP is only a mile from my house so I thought what the hell.
Well I got the job.
What it entailed basically, was I worked for the DoD on the installation of West Point in the Department of Community and Family Activities, within the confounds of building 500 under direction from the higher ups in building 681. The plain and simple of it - we were operating an after-school program for army brats - and I was the "tech guy." They all called me "Mr. Mike" and when another Mr. Mike started in the program next door I was "Mr. Mike 1.0" - they other dude was 2.0 cause frankly, I was smarter. I digress.
I was in this position for two years. We did Digital Photo Projects, made movies, played computer games, followed senseless calendars and played more computer games. I was a big kid myself so teaching things to kids who had just spent all day in school seemed pointless - they were kids, worse yet, they were Army kids - their life was confusing and stressful as it was - no need to make it worse. Well, this was a fact that my bosses refused to grasp. Well, they were too worried about themselves to care anyway.
So, in comes Ray. Ray was an outsider, trying like hell to be an insider. He and his sister were adopted by an Army family on post - his step-father played an instrument in the West Point band. It was a sweet gig and it enabled Ray to have a stable life on post - when a lot of other kids were being continually uprooted due to deployment and reassignments. Ray had been a local fixture for most of his life, and all of the adults on post knew him - for better or worse.
Ray's family lived just across the road from the Youth Center so he was always there until late in the evening - messing around with new programs, playing games, sitting on the other side of my desk asking "Mr. Mike - why won't they let us play America's Army?" "Cause it's violent Ray." "But Mr. Mike, it was made right down the road - and isn't the Army violent..." To which I would usually point towards the door and he would go grab a soda and come back in 5.
What Ray was most (in)famous for was his music ability. He would mix techno tracks on the computer that were really top-notch incredible. But the thing that made him really special was his guitar playing. For a time we had another guy working with us named Adam. He was a very good guitar player/vocalist and a veteran of Bosnia. Anyway, he encouraged Ray to bring his guitar in and play with him. Over the months Ray got better and better, and louder and louder. Eventually, Adam left for greener pastures but Ray kept on chugging along playing Stairway to Heaven 24/7 on his small amp.
Pretty soon everyone in the building began to take notice of Ray and his guitar. Sadly, a few of those that noticed were the Director and his Assistant who began to complain about the decibel level of his music and how it interfered with their internet surfing - I mean "work." Who knew watching your Yahoo Stock Portfolio could be a full time job and include the title Director. I digress.
And so one day Ray and I had it out.
"you have to turn it down Ray - it's too loud"
"your too old"
"wha what...screw that, turn it down."
"I thought this was a place for kids to have fun..."
*me dumbfounded*
"well learn some new songs...go down the hallway, learn some new ones and practice"
"I don't know any other songs?"
"There are like a million songs - you can't think of one you would like to play?"
"nope"
So this is when I made everyone's life in that building infinitely more irritating. As a joke I pulled up AC/DC on the computer. I played him "Hell's Bells" and instantly he stared playing along with the rhythm. Same with "Back and Black." This kid is amazing I thought. Then I brought up "Thunderstruck" and his eyes lit up - "omg that's not possible he said."
Well for the next weeks and months he must have went home and practiced that guitar intro over and over and over - because everyday he made it a little cleaner, a little farther - until he played it all the way through.
And, I can still remember the day that he did it, sitting in the study area behind my desk, focused on the stem of the guitar...later when everyone was hanging out in the public area he went down the hall to his practice space, plugged into his amp and rocked out - only to be kicked out for once again breaking the rules.
Some people just don't get it.
Flash ahead to Wednesday night, I am walking down an aisle of classic cars at the Bear Mountain Cruise Night and I see a big african-american kid in a Detroit Red Wings jersey coming towards me.
No way it can't be him.
It was. Big Ray. No longer a punk teenager anymore, but now a man. Staying out of trouble and trying to do the right thing - a lot more then some of the others can say.
It was good to see an old friend.
This one goes out to Big Ray, please play it LOUD.
He Broke All the Rules
A little background to set the stage...
When Michele and I moved back from Vermont in 2002 the economy sucked. It was three months after 9/11 and there were no jobs. I looked and looked, and found nothing in the fields that appealed to me. On a whim I answered a notice from one of the local job sites - something about computers, children and West Point. Well, WP is only a mile from my house so I thought what the hell.
Well I got the job.
What it entailed basically, was I worked for the DoD on the installation of West Point in the Department of Community and Family Activities, within the confounds of building 500 under direction from the higher ups in building 681. The plain and simple of it - we were operating an after-school program for army brats - and I was the "tech guy." They all called me "Mr. Mike" and when another Mr. Mike started in the program next door I was "Mr. Mike 1.0" - they other dude was 2.0 cause frankly, I was smarter. I digress.
I was in this position for two years. We did Digital Photo Projects, made movies, played computer games, followed senseless calendars and played more computer games. I was a big kid myself so teaching things to kids who had just spent all day in school seemed pointless - they were kids, worse yet, they were Army kids - their life was confusing and stressful as it was - no need to make it worse. Well, this was a fact that my bosses refused to grasp. Well, they were too worried about themselves to care anyway.
So, in comes Ray. Ray was an outsider, trying like hell to be an insider. He and his sister were adopted by an Army family on post - his step-father played an instrument in the West Point band. It was a sweet gig and it enabled Ray to have a stable life on post - when a lot of other kids were being continually uprooted due to deployment and reassignments. Ray had been a local fixture for most of his life, and all of the adults on post knew him - for better or worse.
Ray's family lived just across the road from the Youth Center so he was always there until late in the evening - messing around with new programs, playing games, sitting on the other side of my desk asking "Mr. Mike - why won't they let us play America's Army?" "Cause it's violent Ray." "But Mr. Mike, it was made right down the road - and isn't the Army violent..." To which I would usually point towards the door and he would go grab a soda and come back in 5.
What Ray was most (in)famous for was his music ability. He would mix techno tracks on the computer that were really top-notch incredible. But the thing that made him really special was his guitar playing. For a time we had another guy working with us named Adam. He was a very good guitar player/vocalist and a veteran of Bosnia. Anyway, he encouraged Ray to bring his guitar in and play with him. Over the months Ray got better and better, and louder and louder. Eventually, Adam left for greener pastures but Ray kept on chugging along playing Stairway to Heaven 24/7 on his small amp.
Pretty soon everyone in the building began to take notice of Ray and his guitar. Sadly, a few of those that noticed were the Director and his Assistant who began to complain about the decibel level of his music and how it interfered with their internet surfing - I mean "work." Who knew watching your Yahoo Stock Portfolio could be a full time job and include the title Director. I digress.
And so one day Ray and I had it out.
"you have to turn it down Ray - it's too loud"
"your too old"
"wha what...screw that, turn it down."
"I thought this was a place for kids to have fun..."
*me dumbfounded*
"well learn some new songs...go down the hallway, learn some new ones and practice"
"I don't know any other songs?"
"There are like a million songs - you can't think of one you would like to play?"
"nope"
So this is when I made everyone's life in that building infinitely more irritating. As a joke I pulled up AC/DC on the computer. I played him "Hell's Bells" and instantly he stared playing along with the rhythm. Same with "Back and Black." This kid is amazing I thought. Then I brought up "Thunderstruck" and his eyes lit up - "omg that's not possible he said."
Well for the next weeks and months he must have went home and practiced that guitar intro over and over and over - because everyday he made it a little cleaner, a little farther - until he played it all the way through.
And, I can still remember the day that he did it, sitting in the study area behind my desk, focused on the stem of the guitar...later when everyone was hanging out in the public area he went down the hall to his practice space, plugged into his amp and rocked out - only to be kicked out for once again breaking the rules.
Some people just don't get it.
Flash ahead to Wednesday night, I am walking down an aisle of classic cars at the Bear Mountain Cruise Night and I see a big african-american kid in a Detroit Red Wings jersey coming towards me.
No way it can't be him.
It was. Big Ray. No longer a punk teenager anymore, but now a man. Staying out of trouble and trying to do the right thing - a lot more then some of the others can say.
It was good to see an old friend.
This one goes out to Big Ray, please play it LOUD.