New York 2002: The places that kids take you

I wrote this column when I was publisher of the Baltimore Business Journal. A collection of columns from 1981 to 1999 is available at this link. 
 

NEW YORK, Sep 9, 2002 -- Fat Cat Billiards and Jazz is one of those Greenwich Village clubs where the decor resembles the basement of a fraternity house. The furniture is beat up and the johns are grungy.

Which means that it's a great place to hear music. Admission is $25, the only alcohol is beer at $5 a pop and on any given night, you might hear something of surpassing beauty.

The newspaper listing said that Fat Cat's headliner was the Ali Jackson quartet, and posters touted someone named "E. Dankworth (a.k.a. Skain)."

My son the jazz fan had heard through the grapevine that E. Dankworth was really trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, so he persuaded me and his two sisters to go with him. We got there early for the 10 p.m. show.

Wynton Marsalis with Mr. Rogers, 1986 (wyntonmarsalis.org)

Great teachers' lessons last a lifetime

I originally wrote this while I was editor of Business First newspaper of Columbus. -- JB

     May, 1995
In the final moments of the Masters golf tournament a few weeks ago, Ben Crenshaw knocked in the winning putt and then broke down and wept.     
     That week Crenshaw had served as a pallbearer at the funeral of the man who had taught him the game, Harvey Penick.  Crenshaw knew that Penick, who coached him as a boy and in college, had brought him to that championship moment. Perhaps, Crenshaw imagined hearing Penick's voice congratulating him. 

A demanding dance teacher    
    
That scene came back last week as I talked on the telephone with our daughter Bridget, who lives in Germany.  A dear friend and teacher of hers had died of cancer at 68.  She talked of how much this dance teacher had inspired her to push herself constantly to do better and helped her believe in her talent.      
     It got me thinking about the importance of teachers, coaches and mentors in a person's life.  They have the power to transform their pupils, to uncover hidden talents, to give them the courage to go out on their own. The great teachers fill their students with passion for whatever it is that they are teaching, be it golf, dance or running a business.