Esprit de Corps

The self is a cloister of remembered sounds. - Wallace Stevens, poet

I’ve been looking in a rear view mirror at many of the friends and groups I’ve associated with in this life’s path (thanks in a huge way to that giant time suck called FaceBook). Most of those valued relationships have developed from the side effect of doing something slightly or hugely of common interest. We all have friends still in contact from that one summer working together at a gig we grunted out for pocket change. There is that huge network of college friends joined together during a few years of figuring out an overwhelming degree of independence. There are important colleagues who get the passion behind that one major project we worked around the clock to win for the firm. And ... (your circle/cause here).

Arguably, it is the people that are important. They hold more value than the pocket change handed over for the late summer, after work beers by the lake. The college survival network itself is more essential, in some ways, than the education received at the end of that era. And those colleagues that get the work bond are vital. It is the people that are the imperative part, right?

Most of the time, I don’t think we see the obvious while working in the moment. I remember thinking, sitting in an umpteenth Executive meeting at the college radio station, that the meeting itself was worthless. More was accomplished before and after when we chatted directly with the individuals or groups than listening to the soapbox diatribes (myself included) with a lengthy, personal agenda. I wasn’t there for the meeting. I was there to talk directly to people with a shared interest. Why not skip the meeting and just all have a beverage and talk about our mutual passion, the radio station ... The Community.

Quite honestly, more college radio station issues were developed/thought out/accomplished sitting with the group at Scott’s pad just off campus than with all 18 “Executives” in a big classroom. Though I’m sure the beer helped, no doubt. It was the esprit de corps that threw a bunch of us misfits into that big pool and created the lasting memories, no?

Work today is no different. The most important stuff happens in the hallways and at the copy machines over coffee than during a conference call. It is the one-on-one, the side-by-side, that works magic, not the project itself or the PowerPoint presentation.

I watched and listened to my daughter play cello with her school orchestra in a State-wide competition last weekend. They played beautifully and it was the best I’d heard them perform it. Their goal was reached and they got the high marks they hoped to receive. Yet, when talking with her about the whole experience, she talked more about her friends, the bus trip fun, and the butterflies they all shared while on the stage. They all talked about next year as if they were ready to practice again for it tomorrow. It was refreshing, effusive, and captivating. I get that.

I get the orchestra/theater group experience. I get the chess club, the GATE class, and the swim team. I understand the camaraderie associated with a group joined by a common cause.

So, no Mr. Hayes, it was never about broadcasting my voice on the radio or stroking my ego. It was always about sharing a passion and making a difference together, which thankfully included you. What I remember from those college days at KCPR has a hell of a lot more to do with the group than it ever did about musical tastes or talents. We all had our opinions, but I learned by listening to others and in turn trying some new things on my own, and sharing it together in return (‘cause in reality, I think we were the only ones truly listening).

It isn't very Ayn Randian of me to write, but, say what you want about the individual, I found a certain strength in our group.