[Each year I ask the kids to write “a paragraph” about their year which I can include in our Christmas newsletter. This year Joseph turned in nearly 650 words. I couldn’t use anywhere near that much in print, so we’re running it here instead. Below is his lightly-edited, but unabridged, account.]
I turned 14 this year. Now I’m in high school. Great. This year I had to perform at the UMSL Des Lee concert with like 50 random people I’d never met. Fun. Now, whatever person decided to pick the clarinetist at the bottom of his class, well you should reconsider your life choices. It was kind of fun I guess.
Joseph and Josie were selected to play in the Des Lee Music and Arts Festivals at UMSL in February.
With Ludi, Josie, and Joseph all in high school together for this one year, the fall musical presented a unique opportunity for all of them to be in the same show.
Josie has been fencing epeé in group classes at The Fencers Academy for two years.
But the coaches all say that if you really want to improve, you have to compete. That idea — competing in a real tournament — was daunting for Josie, but she decided to sign up for a tournament in Wentzville in January.
Josie holds flowers after a performance of “Nevermore.”
In early November, Josie made her high school acting debut in the role of “Sissy Clemm,” the teenage bride of Edgar Allen Poe, in the musical “Nevermore.”
She, and all the STEAM High actors, gave a wonderful performance. Poe’s life is pretty depressing, but Josie did a great job of showing Sissy’s lightness and spark. She looked at home on the stage.
A few weeks later, Ludi performed for the final time with Miss Kathey’s Academy in the “Christmas Is…” shows held in Orlando and St. Louis. She’s been part of MKA for seven years, and has grown enormously in her confidence and stage presence each year. It was bittersweet to see her on this stage with these folks for last time, but we’re thankful for she’s been able to have this amazing experience.
Ludi holds flowers after a performance of “Christmas Is…” in St. Louis.
Joseph and Josh take a selfie on Market Street with the Arch in the background, just before the BWorks group began riding in the parade.
About a year and a half year ago, Joseph earned a new bike through the BWorks program in St. Louis. Since then, he and I have enjoyed a number of biking adventures through BWorks’ alumni rides, including riding the Riverfront Trail, and then canoeing back downtown.
But this November, BWorks sent us a very unexpected last-minute invitation: Did we want to ride our bikes in the Thanksgiving parade downtown?
Yoli poses with her guitar outside the High Low after her concert in May.
Yoli is part of the St. Louis Classical Guitar Orchestra. Earlier this year, the group performed a concert at the High Low venue. More recently, they played at the Kirkwood Public Library on Nov. 19.
Josh and Yoli stand with Jossie after the graduation ceremony.
Tonight was a bittersweet milestone for us: the STEAM Academy High School class of 2023’s graduation. We were excited to see Jadzia’s friends and classmates receive their diplomas, particularly her dear friend Jossie who was a valedictorian.
Joseph (who just turned 13 last month) marched with the STEAM Academy Middle School’s band in the Valley of Flowers parade! He began playing clarinet last fall, and we’ve been so impressed with his progress.
This was a new experience for everyone — Joseph, us, even the school.
STEAM was one of the last groups in the parade, and I was stationed near the end of the route, so it took a LOT of waiting to see him. Once he came past, I shot some video, then kept sprinting ahead to try to get photos. After doing that several times, I started getting the stinkeye from the kids.
Joseph plays his clarinet as he marches with the STEAM Academy middle school marching band
The temperatures reached 93°, which is pretty hot for early May. Joseph later said that the parade experience helped him learn “that cold water was 1,000,000× more valuable than gold.”
Joseph plays his clarinet on Thanksgiving for a school assignment.
Last fall, Joseph began playing clarinet with the STEAM Middle School band. This was a new instrument for Joseph, and for our family. We accepted an offer from Mary Ann, a friend at church, to use her daughter’s old clarinet, a beautiful old Buffet Crampon model made in France.
To our delight, Joseph has learned very quickly, making enormous progress since the fall. We enjoy hearing him practice, and it’s been fun to see him in the fall and spring concerts.
But disaster struck on a recent Thursday.
When Joseph and Josie came home on a recent Thursday, Joseph didn’t have his clarinet.
Yoli was certain she had seen him leave the house with it early that morning. Joseph, meanwhile, insisted he didn’t have the clarinet with him when he walked into STEAM Middle that morning.
A thorough search of our house didn’t turn up anything. When Yoli checked with the bus driver, she hadn’t found it. Nor was it in the school’s lost-and-found.
We began to feel desperate. Joseph needed to practice for his spring concert, which was just days away, and would count for a grade.
It was time to go full-on Inspector Morse … or Lynley … or Foyle … or Miss Scarlet. (We watch a lot of British inspectors)
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, Yoli and I attended a gala at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. where I was given the domestic John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award. It was my privilege to accept the award and speak briefly about my experience.
Since then, several people have asked for the text of my remarks, so I’m publishing a transcript here for posterity. Below I have also included a video excerpt of me at the event.
