Monday, September 27, 2010

For the love of a Memory


Band Buses, Marching Contests and Football Games… Oh! My!

         Freshman through senior year of high school were some of the most amazingly memorable times of my life!   There were plenty of bus rides, contests and football games to go around. As long as I live, I am certain that I will ever forget those days. A few of them stick out more vividly in my mind.
As a freshman, I remember feeling so privileged to be a part of the high school band. It was such a fun, exciting and fast paced lifestyle! This was something I would learn to love. I loved the people that surrounded me during that time. They were all such great mentors. I looked up to a few of the seniors, and a few moments spent with them were the best.
My best friends in 2001-2002 were two awesome people, Amber Blakemore and Jeremy Freeman. They were seniors and they were best friends. I was on the color guard with Amber, and Jeremy played trumpet in the Marching Band. Oh the memories.
One contest that year was probably one of the most memorable events that happened that year, the Huntsville contest. When I close my eyes I can still picture the afternoon. That year, our show theme was “The Perfect Storm”. We had various arrangements of beautifully written music by James Horner. One of the pieces was from the movie, “The Perfect Storm”.
We had marched during the exhibition part of the contest and felt that we had done well. Our Guard and drumline were flawless, not to brag, but the horn line lacked pizzaz. We were not too confident about getting into the finals. The band was sitting with baited breathe while we listened to the awards being announced. Division Three drumline: 3rd place… not us, 2nd place… not us… we are all thinking at this point, great, so much for that! … 1st place… PRAIRIE GROVE HIGH SCHOOL! Cheers erupt from our part of the stadium. Then came the Color Guard: 3rd place… not us… 2nd Place… not us… We hadn't lost all hope yet, after all the drum line pulled it off… 1st Place… PRAIRIE GROVE HIGH SCHOOL!!! We just couldn’t believe it. While they were announcing the horn line awards, we hoped for the same outcome. 3rd place… not us… 2nd… not us… and then came 1st… not us. Our egos were beaten down a bit, but we were still proud. Time to announce the top ten finalists. Eight bands were named off one right after the other, at which point we were about ready to head home. Then, next thing you know we hear, PRAIRIE GROVE HIGH SCHOOL!! We were soooo loud, I can almost hear the roar of cheering and excitement.
We were going to perform in the finals! It was so much fun to perform with some of the best bands from the region. Time came for the awards of the finals. Tenth place was named, and it wasn’t Prairie Grove. Our section of the stadium burst into cheers just because it wasn’t us. It’s funny thinking about it. We were a little embarrassed when we realized what we had done, and we got chastised for it later, but at the time everyone thought it was pretty funny. Now it’s even funnier. I can’t imagine how that other band felt. We ended up coming in 9th place, which was fine by us. We had made it to the finals! It was quite the accomplishment for us. I remember the ride home being one of the best trips home that year.
I could probably write on and on and on about memories from when I was in band. There were so many great ones. The best years were freshman year and my senior year, so many good times had and great friendships cultivated. I will never forget those days. 


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