Those horrible, hot days of summer band. Rehearsing
drill until your legs burn. Doing the show until you
are positively sick of the band director saying "let's
do it just one more time." Loading and unloading
instruments, carrying flags and props on and off the
field with timing of a militay offensive, day after
day after day. Ice to relieve bruises on wrists,
foreheads, ankles and swollen lips. Doing pushups.
Standing at attention for five more minutes than you
can bare. Sunburn. Wanting to sell your soul for 5
more minutes of sleep. Flags in the face, rifles in
the ribs. Wanting to give it all up and join the
chess club. Hearing the show music in your sleep.
Sectionals. Hearburn. Hearbreak. Drumming on
everything in sight. Tossing anything you can pick up.
Thinking marching band was a stupid idea to get out
of P.E. Running laps because someone else was late
AGAIN. Realizing color guard looked a lot easier than
it is. Doing more pushups. Wondering what happened
to your life. Eating dinner in the car while changing
clothes and doing homework. Lost shoes and lost
mouthpieces. Blood blisters on your palms. Long
underwear under your uniform and icy wind in your
face. Learning the fine art of sleeping on a bus.
Tears and teasing. Learning you have 200 new brothers
and sisters who stick by you through thick and thin.
Knowing you have 300 new parents who will cheer for
you, no matter what. Laughing with others and learning
more about yourself than you knew. Doing more pushups.
Thinking the show will never work. And then, finally,
it comes all together and you have achieved perfection
, drumming your hands off and playing your brains out
and tossing higher than the sky. A slice of time in a
stadium when everyone cheers and your mom cries and
pictures get taken and once, just once, you have the
world in your hands. And the band marches out of the
stadium and down the street, always together whether
it's success or not, and you know by the feeling in
your hear it doesn't get any better than this. And
you know if your director asked you to turn around
and "do it just one more time a little better" you would
