Browner Pastures

So on my way home from work I get a call on my cel phone from a guy who used to work for me as a coach, and is now a full time band teacher. I had called him a few weeks ago just to say hi. Left a message on his voice mail. He was just now getting back to me.

He got his first job working for a school in a not so-affluent area of Orange County. After about a year, he went looking for another gig. It turns out he took an assistant band director job at a much bigger school. He has to take orders from another guy, but apparently he's much happier. I hadn't really talked with him in a while, so I wasn't sure what the full story was.

"Was *YOU FORMER SCHOOL* that bad?" I asked him.

"Dude, it was a bloody mess by the time I left," He said. "I decided to do things a little differently from the last band director, and I had students and parents in my office screaming sat me. I decided to drop some of the pep songs that were favorites of the football coach, and he sent the varsity team to come harass me. They actually started telling me what the band would play at the next game."

I was speechless. "Good thing you got out of there," I said.

"I almost didn't," he responded. "When I resigned in May, they tried to strong-arm me into staying, saying that when I was hired, it was for an implied two year term. Lawyers got involved... it was messy. Then the HR people tried to tell me that it was my responsibility to find my own replacement."

You know, I just came back from a holiday party at a home with a multi-million dollar view of the Pacific, hosted by a very generous PTA... and the place was filled with people who tell me how wonderful I am on a regular basis.

Hmmm... maybe I'll put off updating my resume a little.