Sweeping, Astro Style

I've learned a lot about this world of Marching Band Competitions in the past 4 years, none of which I even knew existed before Colin started as a freshman. Who knew that bands competed against each other? Or that there were actual judges, points, scoring, and Grand Champions? Who knew that you aren't penalized if you drop your flag or if you run a judge over on the field? I never even knew what a Drum Major did, more or less that they have their own little "gig" before they begin their performance. Gees, where was I all these years?

We've learned that you need to dress warm, pack coats, mittens, hats, blankets, and anything else you have to keep the chill at bay. We look like Nanook of the North heading into the stands, even though the sun is shining warm and the thermometer reads 70 degrees. No sooner does the sun go down and the dew appears on the grassy field, and soon, we are freezing our hinies off while we watch 6 hours of marching band madness. There is nothing chillier on your butt than some metal bleachers, I can tell you from experience. Bleacher seats are another mandatory item--I'm not joking when I tell you we look like pack mules loaded with gear to survive the evening.

The Marching Astros swept their category Saturday night, earning Best Drum Major, Best Auxiliary, Best Percussion, Best Overall Effect, Best Music, and First Place overall. We were in a small category, but the win was nothing short of fabulous just the same. The sight of the kids screaming with excitement on the opposing bleachers was fantastic and the orange and brown-clad parents on our side were jumping out of their seats.

If you have never been, marching band competitions are full of rigid performance schedules, timed performances, and organized maneuvering of uniformed musicians, band parents loading and unloading equipment onto the field, and strict rules regarding movement of the audience members during a performance. There is a decorum to be followed and the silence of the crowd is something to behold. All is rewarded with the most incredible music and precision choreography that you can ever imagine. It is the highlight of my fall each year.

At the end of the evening, all of the Drum Majors come out and line up on the sidelines of the field to accept the awards. And as each of the awards were called, the stands erupted into screams and cheers as Ted, our Drum Major, proudly accepted award after award. It was incredible to hear our name after the dreaded silence following the announcement of each award.

At the end of all the awards, there is one award given for the highest score overall, combining all of the categories--Grand Champion. No, we didn't win that--but it wasn't like we weren't hoping. But this year, they had a special award for Best Overall Drum Major and our Ted won that, so he was the declared Grand Champion of Drum Majors. It was then that the crowd really exploded with cheers.

You remember Ted--Dream Kid. He's not only extremely talented in so many aspects of his life, but also the greatest kid too. I've adopted him as one of my own, although he doesn't know it yet--but I did tell his parents so. They didn't flinch when I told them I was adopting their son--I think they must get that a lot.

So, yes, Dream Kid wows the crowd and wins a scholarship for himself. And to see him win was like seeing my own kid win--I was hootin' and hollerin' like a nut. It's good to see a good kid get something he deserves and more.

We only have 3 competitions this year, down from our usual 4 or 5, so I'm a bit disappointed. It is really rewarding to see such talented young people do something so incredible. I wonder how I missed this all these years and didn't know this was going on in the world.

I also wonder at what age did sitting in bleachers for a few hours cause me to walk like an old woman the next day.