Lesson 448: Band Fan

Drum up the band!

It's the weekend, Readers!

Welcome to the Lamp Post for your weekly Friday night edition.

I'm getting ready to snuggle in on my new couch.

It came in three weeks ahead of schedule,

as did my new kitchen table! 

Once in a great while things do work to your advantage.

Amen!

The annual Halloween Fun Run was just that--

FUN!

I went on a bike as Elliot.

I found ET and was taking him back to the mother ship.

Trick or treating extended to more than just the annual Foxwood tractor ride.

That is a 1942 Farmall, by the way.

We added in a new thing--

Trunk-or-Treating.

We really dug that.

Fun,

quick,

simple,

safe.

Thanks Mercyhurst Prep.

Sam was once again easy to spot in the Clark School Halloween Parade.

Pink bunny by day,

gridiron animal by night.

Here is Sam with the kid he had to block all year,

Jamar Roberts.

Remember that name, Readers,

because this kid is going places.

It sounds like a famous name already, doesn't it?

Good job  Ducks and Red Raiders!

We love fall in Erie.

We try to take in every last drop of color

before the bleakness of winter sets in for the long, cold season.

I found this giant bee on my back deck

and called out to any Bug Nerd in cyber world to identify it.

The most believable post was from someone I didn't know, 

but they replied the following:

Ugh! It's an European Hornet. I can't believe you put your hand so close to one of those awful guys. It's been said that they aren't really aggressive, but that's not been my experience with them, and I've had several. The most memorable was when I was looking at my phone and one flew between me and it, I waved it away before I knew what it was. That bugger chased me all over the deck and down the side path until I tripped and went down. 

Whew! 

Survived another close one!

Ignorance is truly bliss.

Just as the football season wrapped up,

so did the season for the marching bands.

The LMBA Championships were last Saturday.

Eloise isn't musically inclined,

but I love music

and love to dance.

One band I follow,

aside from the Marching Huskies,

is that of neighboring high school, the Iroquois Braves.

They have one heck of a football team,

who currently is holding my bridge for a year

before we can take control of it again next football season

in the annual kick off game--The Battle of the Bridge.

The band practices where I workout on Tuesdays,

and I often stop to take a listen and a picture.

My friend Sue passed away last New Year's Eve from ovarian cancer.

Her husband Rob is the Band Director

and her daughter Danielle is the color guard coach.

Their show this year was titled In the Blink of an Eye

in honor of Sue,

Rob's wife,

Danielle's mother,

and my friend.

The show was symbolic of many things,

and the descriptions of them, written by Rob Chase, are below.

Here is the meaning of this amazing show. Read it first then watch.......

Did you know…

…that this year’s show concept came to me the night of Mrs. Chase’s funeral after I showed Bob the video recording of the Disturbed version of “Sound Of Silence”.

…that Danielle came up with the idea to use “Where The Sidewalk Ends” to tie it all together as I told her about my idea for this show.

…that Molly Ferko designed & drew the t-shirt artwork for the show shirt.

…that this year’s Seniors were in 7th grade when Mrs. Chase was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.

...that the Drum Majors salute says "For Sue" in sign language.

…that when the students break into the “flying routine” at the beginning of “Silence” it represents the souls of our loved ones going to a better place.

…that the color guard uniforms are an abstract representation of Mrs. Chase’s eyes.

…that drill page #36 toward the end of “Silence” represents our wedding rings.

…that in measure 76 – 79 of “Joy” Bob used the drum parts from the Edinboro fight song, “Scotland the Brave”. The traditional Scottish Dance done with that song is called the “Fling”. Every year at LMBA Championships when the Edinboro Band played this song you could see Sue doing the “Fling” in the stands as we waited for the scores to be announced. Sue loved to dance.

…that “Glorious” represents the compassionate, unselfish and loving way that Mrs. Chase approached life even after her cancer diagnosis that gave her notice that her time was limited.

…that “Silence” represents the difficult times that we all face throughout our lives.

…that “Joy” represents Sue resting in eternal glory without the pain and suffering that she handled with such grace in her final 6 years here on this earth.

…that the show title came from a picture folder on Mrs. Chase’s Facebook page that she titled “Don’t Blink”. They are pictures of our kids from birth to adulthood.

…that our Iroquois kids get it…
”I am so beyond proud to be called an Iroquois Brave after last night's performance! We played our hearts out & the audience definitely showed that. So, if you don’t already know, this show is for the loved ones we have lost and the fact that life passes us by In “The Blink Of An Eye”; the first song represents the happy times of your life with family, the 2nd song is the cancer/illness/the loss of loved ones, and the silence and despair when they're gone, and the 3rd song gives us hope that we'll be reunited with them once again someday. What an absolutely beautiful show and we definitely touched peoples' hearts....and that's what it's really all about; reaching out and touching people's hearts with our gifts. #ONEFAMILY”

…that I well up inside and fight back the tears every time you perform this show.

…that this has been a healing project for me personally.

…that the support of my band family has meant a lot to me.

…that I can’t thank you all enough for indulging me as I try to make my way to a “new normal”.

…that this show will be forever in my heart because it is so personal and I am grateful that these wonderful students have helped make it a truly beautiful piece of living art.

#onefamily

For your entertainment tonight,

Eloise brings you the Iroquois High School Marching Band!

Enjoy!

If you can't get enough band,

check this out.

It is a new show about a drum corps --Clash of the Corps.

Please watch this teaser and tune into the show

to see some of the smartest, most talented people take the field

 and do something amazing together.

The best quote of the piece, from the young man at the end of the teaser below

, will be my lesson for this week:

"I would like everyone to find that activity that burns their soul 

and drives them to wake up every day."

Find your passion,

and wake up Saturday morning and get moving on it.

ELOISE