Journal #43: Jazz

"Blue Train" by John Coltrane is a wonderful piece of music. It's long enough that you can build a very good story out of it. The main thing that I think of is a night out on the city. When I listen to this song I can almost see a guy, maybe with a friend, out on the town. When it first starts, and for the first three minutes or so, it's like a build up. They're planning what they're going to do. The walk out on the street at night, and the city is jumpin'. There are signs lighting up the dark night, and you can hear music in the traffic as it rushes by. The smell is not that of one food, but of many. You can almost taste the hotdog as the smell wafts by. You can hear as the street musicians play for your money, they are separate, but together they are a ragtag symphony, filling the streets with music. They continue to walk down the street, not knowing where they're going, but knowing that when they get there, they'll know. The skyscrapers light the night sky, blocking out the stars, but they are, in their own way, just as beautiful and wonderous as the distant points of light. They enter a subway, full of other people. Some wear suits, still not changed from the work day, and some are dressed in a way that makes it obvious that they are on the same mission as the group, to have a good time in the city. As they emerge from the subway exit, they see, hear rather, a place that looks like a good time. As they get closer, the music grows in a gradual manner. They come upon the line to get in, it's long, but they know that the wait is worth it. They choose to go into a night club, which is around five minutes in the song. The music starts to build, and so does the groups excitment. They start to dance, and the world dances with them. There is electric in the air as the music reaches its climax. The men leave the night club they were in, and head back home. The music ends like it starts, and the group arrives back at their appartment, tired after a night out in the city.

Job Shadowing

I had a great time job shadowing. I went to Landmark Aviation for the day (Landmark is at the airport in Springfield). It was a mechanic's job, which isn't really what I want to do, but I still really enjoyed being around the planes. The best part was getting to go to the air traffic control tower for a good part of the day. All of the people there were very nice, and made good suggestions on where I should go to college to get into aviation. Hearing how the people there talked about flying only made me want to be pilot even more, and it was helpful to be able to see how they took apart planes and put them back together. I was able to see how they fill their fuel trucks, and I was even able to see how they fill a commerical jet liner. I was already thinking seriously about going to college to get my ratings, but after this I'm almost 100 percent sure that's what I want to do. All in all, I had a really good time, even though it wasn't exactly what I would have picked if I was able to.