Humiliation in 7th Grade

Great title for a blog entry, right?
When I was in 7th grade, the worst thing happened to me:  I made the "B" Band.  When you are starting your second year of Band, they put you in the "A" Band or the "B" Band.  Well, I made the "B" Band.  Not only that, I made last chair.  And there were three of us in the "B" Band.  There were 6 in the "A" Band.  So not only was I in the worst of two bands, but I was the worst of the worst.  Talk about a kick in the face.
Remember when I said that you should have fun your 1st year of Band?  Well, I must have had a little too much fun--not practicing was my biggest activity.  So I made the "B" Band.  I was last chair.  And I deserved it.
What happened next?  Well, at some point during the year, this really started to bother me.  But I didn't push myself much harder.  I have a memory of lying on the floor in the living room watching TV one afternoon.  My dad walks in and says, "Shouldn't you go play your horn or something?"  He then went on to be a good father and tell me how lazy I was.  He also assured me that I could stay in the "B" Band forever if I liked.  He inspired me to pick the thing up and actually practice.  At this point, I kind of started to like it a lot more.
I was in "B" Band all year, I did terrible at All-Region, and some really good things happened because of this experience:  I worked my way up--from 3rd (last) to 1st chair.  I got to really work with my Band Director, Mr. Dwight Logee.  He was such an inspiration.  I look back now and wonder how he did it.  See, there is a serious correlation when it comes to bad behavior and being in the "B" Band.  They go hand in hand.  Not only did he have the laziest students, but he had to put up with the worst behaving.  Now that wasn't completely the case:  there were very nice kids in this Band.  Some kids aren't as competitive on their instruments, or they just enjoy playing or being involved in some activity, no more what it is.  But there were quite a bit of jokers in there.
Mr. Logee had the patience of a Saint.  He was so calm and dealt with the bad behavior very well, day in and day out.  After school, he was a big help to all students wanting to work beyond the class and get their All-Region music going.  I was one of them--after all, I wanted to not be in "B" Band anymore.  I wanted to get out of there.  I needed help!