trumpet lessons

an older customer came through my line
probably mid 80's
so i asked if he had a husky card or alumni card
he said he was alumni but didn't have his card
i said maybe i can look it up by name
he gave his name as walter cole
i said that name sounds familiar
are you in music
yes
did you teach
yes, mostly brass
i think you were my trumpet teacher
do you know roy cummings
yes
he was also my trumpet teacher
what about...hmm...let me think...
walter welke
yes
he was my first trumpet teacher
do your remember music west
yes
i used to take trumpet lessons upstairs just above music west
that was on about 56th and university way
right next door to crucible books
where i used to look through the porn magazines before trumpet practice
long long gone
i told him about how i'd go to walter welke's place for trumpet lessons
i pulled open the curtain, there he was
asleep in his chair
he was always asleep in his chair
mother said go ahead and wake him up
but i was afraid
go on, go ahead
so i'd gently tap his shoulder and he'd startle awake
the lesson began...
walter cole smiled and said yes he could be intimidating and opinionated
he had bought a toucan pen and a binder
i made a copy of his receipt so i would know
because i had forgotten his name after the transaction
it eventually came back
memory is a funny thing
walter cole was not my trumpet teacher
he was my eckstein middle school orchestra teacher
i remember shooting spit wads at flute players i thought were cute
but couldn't admit it
mr cole caught me and called me into his office
i was so frightened
he must have noticed 'cause he only gave me a light talking to and let me go
walter cole taught at eckstein for 24 years
walter welke was my first trumpet teacher, but he was getting old
he referred me roy cummings
that was when i had lessons upstairs above music west next door to the crucible
then there was high school
i was also in the roosevelt marching band with waldo king
but i'm not listed in my senior annual
memories...they all come rushing back
in their joyful and discordant notes.

denis streeter     4/18/19