Another year and parades...

[senoritafish]

Where has another year gone? My father tells me they only start going faster and faster.

Gareth came in and told me earlier, "I'm going to miss 2005. It was the best year." I'm glad he liked it. Not every has wonderful memories of first grade, although kindergarten is usually ok. :)

We went out on the front porch and banged pots and pans with wooden spoons and listened to tons of firecrackers and bottle rockets going off, until John got nervous about possible bullets being fired into the air and made us come inside. And it's probably a post for badparents that my kids have absolutely no problem staying up until midnight.

If you happen to catch the Rose Parade this morning, you know what the weather is like here. Off and on for the last week or two we've been having warnings for high surf and possible coastal flooding. The last Thursday I was at work I was listening to All Things Considered on NPR, and they had an "audio postcard" from the Seal Beach Pier, talking about the guys who had come to surf and how they'd had to close the pier to the public. It was kind of weird hearing on a national show about a location acouple of miles from my office - I drive through Seal Beach on my way home and I lived there a dozen or so years ago.

As far as the Rose Parade goes, watching it reminds me of the time I was in it. My high school marching band was invited to it in 1980. The city allowed us to close off a couple of streets near the high school, and we spent our entire Christmas vacation marching up and down and practicing. Bunches of alumni came back to inflate our numbers too, and one of the parents made an 8mm movie as sort of mini documentary. Everyone told every relative they had in other parts of the country to watch it, and of course, the second we rounded the corner onto Colorado Blvd, they played a commercial over us.

That was long parade too. Most parade are 1-2 miles at the most; the Rose Parade is six! Everyone had to make sure they put moleskin on their feet before they started. The next year, the band was invited the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. I didn't go that one; I had graduated by then, and although alumni were welcome, I couldn't afford it. My brother went though, even though he hadn't been in band for a couple of years (he'd decided he liked chorus better).

To this day, I still recognize marches and often hum the part I played along with it. Playing second saxophone for so long gave me an appreciation for harmony and countermelody - I still usually find them more interesting than the main melody.

Comments

[calypso72]

Playing second saxophone for so long gave me an appreciation for harmony and countermelody - I still usually find them more interesting than the main melody.

Heh - David played sousaphone and he still focuses in on the bum bum bum coutermelody in marches....

[senoritafish.livejournal.com]

A few years of playing and it warps us for the rest of our lives... :)

[angelsmum.livejournal.com]

Hah, yeh I sang second soprano in choir and played cello so I too listen out for the countermelodies. =)

[senoritafish.livejournal.com]

Let's hear it for second chair anything!

[angelsmum.livejournal.com]

w00t!

[jedi-bunny.livejournal.com]

Midnight is perfectly acceptable as a bed time. In fact, most nights my kids are up at least that late. I did insist that they go to bed at reasonable times the last 2 nights but that is only because I've been sick.

~hop~

[senoritafish.livejournal.com]

I'm a night owl myself, so sometimes I have problem making even myself go to bed.