Watch Me

Time’s Person of the Year is You. You post on YouTube, MySpace, and Friendster (mere blogging is nearly passé) to add to the world’s pool of knowledge, to socialize, and yes, to get noticed.

But there are other, older, ways to satisfy one’s ego.

Few power trips can compare with standing at the conductor’s podium. All eyes wait for your signal. The gallery is silent, as if you were putting for the Masters. You raise your wand, and nearly a hundred musicians raise their instruments. A flourish, a downbeat, and the melody starts. A wave toward the oboes, and they join in. With a downward sweep of your left hand, you silence the trombones. You point to yourself---watch me! you mouth sotto voce—and everyone does. You turn, bow, and bask in the applause. © 2006 Stephen Yuen

A P Giannini Middle School Band at Embarcadero Center