Memorial Day 2007

Another year, another round of playing taps for the Memorial Day ceremony in Canton, Kan.

Every year I get asked to play the somber tune, and every year I wait until the day before to practice. I should learn my lesson, but I don’t.

As for this year, it went okay. I could have done better since I missed three notes, but in my defense I decided to switch to a higher octave. Therefore, I was playing it in a fashion I had never played it before.

Hopefully by next year, I will have it down pat and maybe I’ll have even practiced some.

Speaking of my own personal will power, I have had people question why I agree to play taps every year even though I barely practice and wholly stress over the entire ordeal.

Well, that is simple. It makes my family, specifically my father and grandmother, proud. I will do it until I no longer can simply because of that reason.

Besides, my deceased grandfather was in the service, and I enjoy playing because it honors him, a man I miss more than I realize.

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About toddvogts 833 Articles
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of media at Sterling College in Kansas. Previously, he taught yearbook, newspaper, newsmagazine, and online journalism in various Kansas high schools, and he ran a weekly newspaper in rural Kansas. He continues to freelance as a professional journalist from time to time. Also, Vogts is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Journalism Education Association (JEA), and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), among others. He earned his Master Journalism Educator (MJE) certification from JEA in 2022. When he’s not teaching or writing, he runs his mobile disk jockey service and takes part in other entrepreneurial ventures. He can be reached at twitter.com/toddvogts or via his website at www.toddvogts.com.