I've always believed in "what goes around comes around". Some say "karma" or "you reap what you sow". I remember around 1983-84, I was in the US Navy Ceremonial, in Washington, D.C. Our daily responsibilities were official funerals at Arlington National cemetery and Official White House/Presidential functions around Washington. Sometimes when the schedule was a little slow, they scheduled us to perform school concerts around D.C. We had this conductor/leader that was really into mixing the power/intimidation factor from his military rank and his position as conductor to "mess" with people. I watched him "mess" with a lot of people. I thought it was sad. Most of these people were scared of him because their career was the Navy Band. From day one, I never saw the Navy Band as a career choice for me...just a place to get started.

One day, we were rehearsing a jazz piece, for one of these school concerts that he had programmed. I had to stand in front of the band and do this trumpet solo. Well, there were some troubles with the "time" and we had to go over a difficult spot a couple of times. He became impatient with me at one point and stopped the band and started to give me a lecture that he used to play euphonium in a combo at a "Holiday Inn" and knew a lot about jazz. I just listened and made no comment.

A few weeks later, we were doing a concert on the steps of the "Lincoln Memorial". I was sitting directly in front of this conductor. At one point, he starts telling me how surprised he was that I ever got selected for this band ( I had to compete through auditions with trumpet players that came from all over the USA to Washington for the audition). He made some very "low class" remarks to me in the middle of the performance in front of the band. I just listened and made no comment. Some people in the band told me that it was driving him crazy that I wouldn't say anything when he tried to "take me down" in front of everyone.

A few months later, he got transferred to the Navy School of Music in Virginia Beach. At some later point, maybe a year or two later, I heard that he had been forced to retire because of a sexual harassment case that had been brought up on him. I can't say that I was happy or unhappy about his misfortune. I just thought that it was natural because he had been setting up the context for that final outcome for a long time.