It all started when I was 13 and a friend of mine, a fellow junior high band member, gave me a pair of drumsticks as a birthday gift. I played cornet in band, but soon realized I would have had more FUN if I’d chosen percussion. On more than one occasion, our band director, Mr. Larry Colvin, caught me in a band hall practice room banging on a drum that I’d confiscated from the percussion closet—even though I received a scolding from Mr. Colvin, it was worth it to experience the joy of drumming.
While I’m no John Bonham, Keith Moon, or Neil Peart, whenever I’m listening to a favorite CD on my home stereo, I can’t resist the urge to pick up my drumsticks and play along on my practice pad. It’s so exhilarating to imagine that I’m playing to thousands in a packed concert hall.
One of our newest Employees, Dawson McPherson (aka Awesome Dawson), played on the drumline in high school, and I can tell you firsthand that he’s an accomplished drummer with great skills. We decided it would be FUN to bring our practice pads and drumsticks to work; take a small break from our daily duties; and conduct our own “drum clinic” in a breakroom during our lunch hours at Southwest Headquarters. Geez, I had no chance keeping up with him as he played circles around me. But you know what, I still had a fantastic time—so did Dawson. We took turns drumming away and had a blast comparing techniques. For me, this experience is another Freedom story made possible by working at the greatest airline on the planet—Southwest Airlines.
And for our blog readers who are wondering, the title of this blog post refers to various drumming terms.