Closure ... It's a Good Thing ...

So my senior corps life (aka my second childhood) came full circle on Sunday night ....

I was at work one day in June of 2001 just minding my own business when the company president walked into my office and handed me an envelope containing 6 VIP passes he had to the “Moonlight Classic” that night. He knew a little bit about my drum corps geekiness because he was my boss in 1997 when I marched in the SCV alumni corps. As a Stockton business leader, he’d gotten roped into buying a spot in the Moonlight Classic program and, as a result, had these tickets he didn’t know what to do with and thought of me (and I’ve been to a lot of Raiders football games on that same dime by the way so I’m not complaining). Anyway, I took the tickets and we went and that’s where I discovered the existence of the San Francisco Renegades. I clearly remember standing up in my bleacher seat and screaming down at my husband Fred, over the really LOUD Renegades, that I didn’t care how far I had to drive, I was gonna’ do THIS. For the record, I was hooked by Mambo. Anaheim played it in the 70’s and I’m a HUGE Anaheim fan. So, there I was at my first Moonlight Classic since 1976 and I’ve been there every year since making this past Sunday my 7th Moonlight Classic in a row.

This year I went so I could write a contest review for Drum Corps World. Imagine that. I’m writing a contest review for Drum Corps World … well and who knows … it may end up in the editor’s trash can … but I wrote it and it was a lot harder to do than I’d thought it would be.

While I was at the show I saw friends made when I marched SCV in the 70s, friends made when I marched the SCV alumni corps in the 90s, kids I taught in high school band now taking their own shot at drum corps and a gang of Renegades that I know well and like … well, and some that I tolerate ... and I couldn’t help but notice how being a Renegade has permanently expanded my drum corps experience … from performing, to teaching, to judging to now taking a stab at writing a contest review. These are all things that wouldn’t have happened had I never been a Renegade.

Highlights …
I was surprised by the number of Renegades I’d marched with and considered good friends who walked by me and pretended they didn’t know me when they saw me … hmmm … I guess we weren’t really friends after all.

I was surprised by the number of Renegades I’d marched with and barely knew who went out of their way to say “hi” or give me a hug … hmmm … funny how situations like this tell you who your friends really are.

I was surprised that the Renegades did not tug at my heartstrings when they performed and surprised that I didn’t go all wet and nostalgic and miss being on the field with them … hmmm … surprise, surprise … I thought this would be really hard. I guess it means I left when I was ready to.

I was surprised that the Vanguard did tug on my heartstrings and that I got a little verklempt when the announcer said “from Santa Clara California, the Santa Clara Vanguard”. I guess it means I left before I was ready to (but I apparently learned my lesson and made sure the next time).

Santa Clara beat Blue Devils!!!!

I’m glad I was there on the SCV/BD Alumni Corps “SCV” night. It’s funny how marching in the alumni corps in 1997 and 2002 has made all of those tunes so meaningful for me … and no big surprise … “Send in the Clowns” made me go all wet and nostalgic … good grief!

So my senior corps experience … well, at least in California … has come to and end with some really decent closure. I feel done. I feel good …… na na na na na na na <$1 to Joe>

Now it’s onto Minnesota and another drum corps chapter that is sure to stretch my drum corps horizons even further.

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