2011 is truly becoming my year. Spent part of the summer between NYC and CT, studying Duke Ellington. I won the Elementary Art Teacher of the Year award back in October. And now, I received two FedEx packages today. Apparently I won a prize in an online contest that was posted on Facebook by Wynton Marsalis. You see, he is turning 50 this year, and there have been all sorts of things to celebrate this occasion. First there was a 10 cd set releasecommemorating this special birthday. Then he posted a contest on his page on Facebook. For the contest you were supposed to write, send a photo, or document, about Wynton (either something special about his music or meeting him, etc.). I wrote a story about meeting him at LCJO while I was in college. He was extremely gracious and down to earth. Upon writing him about the experience during my first couple years of teaching, he wrote back to me with an autographed picture. I took that picture to the BSO a year or so later, and was able to get the rest of the orchestra to sign it, and to meet Mr. Marsalis again. Now this story, albeit true, was not fancy or accompanied by pics, etc., and it hardly received any online votes. It was chosen by Mr. Marsalis as a finalist, and I'm assuming by the prize that I won 3rd place. The first two prizes received a combination of Movado watches, in addition to what I received. I ended up getting the bundle at the top of this page. Not too shabby if I say so myself. Very cool indeed!
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The fam in front of the Flatiron Bldg. I had a great day yesterday taking the family to New York City. Rather than do a birthday party for my daughter Jessica this year (her birthday is Christmas Eve), we surprised her with a day trip to the city. She's always wanted to see the city, and we told her she could choose two things to see (besides what we already had planned). She chose to see FAO Schwarz and the Flatiron Building. We left the bus station in downtown Baltimore at 6:30am and arrived in NYC around 10am. We walked down to the Flatiron Building, then on the Subway to SoHo. From there we jumped back on the Subway to Midtown to meet a teacher friend of mine at Uncle Mario's Pizza. Lunch was great and had a chance to catch up with my friend Josh. After lunch we headed further uptown to Central Park. We were able to show the kids we were married on Gapstow Bridge. It was nice to share that and get a pic of them on the bridge. After walking around the park for a while (and letting the kids enjoy running around the park), we headed to FAO Schwarz. That place was unbelievable packed, and there was an hour long line to get in. Luckily, families with strollers were allowed to get in without waiting in line. Of course, no trip is full to NYC during the holidays without stopping by Rockefeller Center. The kids were able to see the tree just prior to Jackson falling asleep. Lastly, we hit Times Square to show the kids all of the sights and sounds. It was an absolutely great trip. The kids behaved so wonderfully and it was nice to get to share the city with them, since it is so important to Melissa and me in so many ways. This may be something we have to do on a yearly basis... |
B.D.SchmittHusband, Father, Archives
November 2015
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