Bibbers and Dinkles

Just a quick post tonight. Monday morning bright and early, I start school. Chemistry, Anatomy, Statistics, and Medical Terminology. I have to figure out a way to add human growth and development, possibly as an online course.

Busy day today getting things ready for school, grocery shopping, and also hemming and fitting Reid and Connor's band bibbers. They are like black ski bibs, but not puffy, that go under the band jacket. They come all one length, about 37", and fit like a bag. If "mom" can't alter them, then one has to pay someone. But this mom can, so I did Reid's and Connor's today for their first game next Friday night. From all accounts the band is doing incredibly well learning their show drill quickly. That is good news. Less getting yelled at, I'm sure.

They call the shoes "Dinkles" after the band director in the old comic Funky Winkerbean. This is the unhemmed pant on Reid. Not too ridiculously long on him 'cause he's so tall. (about 6'1.5")

Well, that is all for now. I'm sure I will have lots to tell tomorrow. Goodnight, or...Good Morning!

ha ha ha ha ha...from this angle he looks like a giant!

Drum Corps International

This Saturday, July 31st was the DCI Southeastern Championship at the Georgia Dome.  It was an all day event, and well worth the time and investment. Most entertainment I've gotten on the dollar in a while, and of course, the kids from the FCHS Flash of Crimson Band are so hilarious, interesting, and full of life to say the least.


 This wasn't a competition for them, they are just starting to learn their show drill tomorrow, but how inspiring for all the groups of high school musicians that we saw at the Ga. Dome to be able to see these professional class shows right before starting their own fall marching seasons. I saw my first DCI show about fifteen years ago, and the skill level has only grown since then.

These kids are mostly college students, some just out of high school, some even still in high school, but the average age is 19.5. I read in the program that about a third are women. Several of the Corps are all male by long tradition. These incredibly talented "kids" perform 115 shows in the course of summer 2010.
Can you believe that? Atlanta was their 90th show date. They travel across the entire U.S., sleeping on school floors, practicing hours a day, unpaid, in fact, it costs around two thousand dollars to participate. Most raise the money or work for it all year.

Why do they do this? Because they are the most dedicated musicians anywhere. The experience is unmatched, both in musicianship gained and personal memories. The program said roughly 44% are new each year. It is grueling and expensive, so one can see why many who might like to perform each summer just can't commit the time or raise the funds.

It is pretty shocking what is being done to music education programs in the United States. I could blizzard you with facts and figures that prove, not imply, prove, that music education programs produce higher test scores across the board in all subjects, but especially in math. These kids are far less likely to get into trouble, to skip school, etc etc. Teachers know that band students are usually the best students, the most well-rounded and "delightful" that they have.

Seriously, you gotta love these kids.
These to the left are TJ and Connor. TJ plays snare drum, Connor plays drumset. I just love these guys.

Meanwhile, back at the rant, I didn't believe they could make the American education system much worse overall, but every year the government keeps managing. I heard they were going to repeal the mind-raping debacle that is No Child Left Behind. I pray that is true. I taught high school one year, 17 years ago. Yuma High School, Yuma, Arizona.

My mom taught 27 years at FCHS and other schools, my Dad over 20 years at the Citadel and other various colleges, my sister, Brynda, four years at South Forsyth Jr.High, and my sister Leigha, I think four years at Life Chiropractic college. Interestingly, we were all in the band one way or another. Most Americans just don't care how damn dumb we as a nation are becoming. They just don't, and I don't think you could convince me otherwise. If you tried, I'd wonder what segment of the population you fall into. How we can keep cutting art and music programs is beyond me. Why even science teachers can't get enough supplies...it makes me cringe. But no one is going without a football helmet. I'll just save my breath. I'm just so thrilled, so proud that there are still programs like DCI, and a lot of great college band and orchestra programs, too, still left out there. My boys attended University of Arkansas Summer Music Camp a combined six years I think. It was a real gift to be able to send them there.

Please support musical education whenever and wherever you can. Look at the above picture of the Blue Devils. Such imagination and artistry. It's everything still good about our country. Check this one out:

At the end, before awards, all the Drum Corps (which is percussion, brass, and color guard) stand together and play one song together. (oh, all the tickets are sold on one side of the field.) It was Glory, Glory Hallelujah this time. I wish you could have heard it.

Maybe sometime you will. But I can guarantee you these kids will be the ones we want taking care of us and running our country someday.

Walking On A Wave She Came

Was talking about my blog tonight and said how I pay attention each day for a recurring theme, or just one thing that jumps out as really memorable, and then I know what to write about. Guy has been gone off traveling most of the summer, and Reid is exhausted from Drumline, so not too many philosophical conversations with them to spark me lately. Today I washed my hair. That's it, post finished...
Giggle, not really. I noticed my hair is getting really long again. Which made me think about all the years my hair was extremely long. "The Mermaid Years." Out of the shower, I heard on the TV about some show where the guy searches for things like Yetis and stuff. He was saying, "If there's a mermaid in there, I'll find it..." Walked upstairs to file papers and look for Guy's AP Psych score report (lost), put on CD of ELO's greatest hits. Three of which are quintessential "me" songs. "Can't Get it Out of My Head" came on.....the Ocean's daughter.



Which reminded me of a poem I wrote in college in modern poetry class that had a good start but fizzled. My professor said keep the parts that are good, just snippets and stanzas, sometimes you will use them later or incorporate them, or see how to improve them, but now I think maybe this one was better just that one stanza:

Charleston sings her songs to the Sea,
Keeping him bound, though he's imminently free,
Circe, Oh Circe, she must be your daughter.
Take me back home, then, I die out of water.               

I wrote that about 1988. I still miss Charleston. They say when you grow up on the tidal plain, you never forget the rhythm of the tide going in and out literally underneath you. Charleston floats on the tide between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. It's a very complex ecosystem.

Which made me think of when, during the mermaid years that I delivered singing telegrams and worked Cons (gaming or fan conventions) as a mermaid, I attended my friend Sherry's party in my mermaid costume. I'd been looking for this picture for her since the same topic came up a few months back on Facebook. Sherry is just about my oldest and dearest friend, and a wonderful person. Yes, I still have the tail and shells in a box...

And I started thinking what it all meant, all this mermadia today. Just this maybe...

I read recently that water covers about 73% of the Earth, almost exactly the same percentage as the human body is water. So, get in the water whenever you can. Take your shoes off and stick your feet in. Go swimming if you're invited, and don't care how perfect you look in a swimsuit. Spray someone unexpectedly with a garden hose. Take a shower with your sweetheart. Run through sprinklers, walk on the beach, and toss pebbles in puddles after a rainstorm. These things are good for us. Water is life.

This poem is recent. Posted on Fb Feb 10, 2010.

I Was 
I was a Mermaid.
Sad silence gathers around me in absent waves,
the frequency lowering like
Blue Whale song.

Dischord thins me, lashes me, rocks upon me, shells
no inner ear hears.

Is it my remains you seek,
or the Song I sang to you?
My brittle tail draped heavenly masterpiece green,
How can I serve in this condition?
What would you have of me...

Bring the wine, I am dry and would offer you
a siren song yet.
Plastered in the rain from under the shadow of
an arching manta ray.

The others have died.
I am alone, the last, all that survives of what you knew
then.
I swim here... my hair of salt and seaweed flowers
behind me.
Remember.

I was a Mermaid.
__________________

The sentiment kinda went with my slightly melancholy day. Maybe I'll go to Charleston...

Listen to every song...One at a time

I'm making a pot of Stash Hazelnut Chocolate Decaf tea. I'm reading blogs that I follow. I hope once my classes start back I Will still be able to keep up with the blogs I like. I think I will make a chart of a few for each day, and spend time each day reading the last weeks posts for just those few. Most don't post every day, so I figure I can follow four a day, so maybe 25 should be my maximum. We shall see how it goes. The coffee maker is drippy bubbling. I use a dedicated coffee maker to make tea. Make actual coffee just once, and I will taste it forever.

So I was reading the blog In Search of Whales, which is zombiehaven,blogspot.com. (no zombies, though. It is inspirational) I enjoyed the post titled Integrigratuitous. Which is ear-catching isn't it? Oh, I wish you could smell this tea. Zombie's post got me thinking a lot, because I have been married twice. I don't think I broke my oaths to either husband. Far from perfect was I. In some ways, though, I am perfectly me, which I kind of mean like...you're actually getting me as advertised. I guess I do feel like they both broke their oaths to me, but let me say I am so far down the road of forgiveness that I am only speaking philosophically here. And to add honestly, I don't necessarily even think oath breaking is or should be enough to end a marriage. In the midst of all the good, great, memorable things in my relationships- all toss-saladed up with the dismal and horrible and heartbreaking, I think what threw the plates to the floor and ended the party was lies. Both times. I can be tempestuous, sometimes demanding, and sometimes mercurially moody. My kids say when I lie (like to their schools if I want to take them to lunch or something) that I tell the most ridiculously convoluted lies (I think this means I am not a very good liar. Good liars keep it simple. I am, however, a good actress.)

I don't know what it was that made them lie to me, repeatedly.I don't know why they couldn't just stop doing what they were lying about or get some freaking therapy and put it to use. It is an odd experience to have someone place these things before you on their list. These things must have happened for a reason, though. I would not be where I am now, with Reid on this killer Drumline and me starting school again, in my own little weirdly laid out rental house, much like an upside-down cake. Without leaving Jeff, I wouldn't have had Reid. Life without both Guy and Reid...wow. That's just not right.And what about Reid's dad's (Jason) influence on Guy's life? And the addition of Dylan and Will, Guy's step-brothers to his and Reid's lives? These are good things. Tonight, one of Reid's best friends started his own blog (good writing, kiddo! yay!) in which he talks so kindly and with praise for the influence of Reid and myself now in his life. Surely none of this follows the rules of marriage as we have always deemed proper and best. I'm just exploring thoughts here, not saying I don't believe in monogamy and marriage.

Someone commented on Zombie's blog that they will never break their oath to his wife of 7 years. I so support that way of thinking; it is admirable. But I have to wonder...things people think at 7 years of marriage- things that happen that you would never expect or anticipate. In the end it may not be "you" at all, and the marriage might still end.


Life is like a good album. You listen to every song...one at a time.

This song was playing on Looking for Whales blog when I was there and I thought, oh, I forgot that song, I like that. So I youtubed it to see if anyone had done a good video. Lord knows Google (don't they own youtube now) has ruined Youtube for the video maker. I thought this one fit well with this blog.


And I close with a picture taken at Ground Zero of my son Guy, about age 16 then.

Moment of silence...and hugs to all.

Feeling Blessed and Having Fun

Do you ever feel like you have mental housecleaning to do? Little ticky things that need to be done on the brain to mouth, or maybe brain to hand level. Like typing stuff. Mental sticky notes of ideas that need fleshing out, thank yous to voice, possible blog posts that don't seem quite enough for a whole topic.

Here's one. If I type it and share it then I don't have to keep thinking if it will develop into a line of thought..."You can't get a pearl from a clam." This is supposed to be a variation of you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear (though believe me, if anyone could, I could- I'm a fabric genius.) But I was thinking about what we most often call pearls in the mental way...pearls of wisdom. Also, what we think of as a clam. Someone who won't talk or communicate. So, I give that phrase a different meaning...you can't get pearls of wisdom from someone who won't communicate. Which couldn't be any truer, eh? Whew! now I don't have to carry that around in there anymore.

Second, I wanted to say Hi! to all my followers on BlogFrog and Networked Blogs, and the ones who've chosen to follow privately. I can't see you, but I'm happy you're there. So, Hi!

Next, OMG, many of you do not know how crazy I am for Hello Kitty. Just the Kitty, not the whole shebang. I adore the fact that she has no mouth. The way they can convey her expression solely through body language, head tilt, and accessorization, is just a win. There, now you know. I have nothing to hide.

I'm pretty sure her 50th birthday is this year, so before you consign her to the toy bin for teens, remember- my generation had her first.


Look, it's me and Hello Kitty. I say Yes!

Yeah, so I stole the artwork off the Hello Kitty Online site. Which is super cute. And I had never seen before. Wow.

Anyway, moving along...

I'm so impressed with the Flash of Crimson Marching Band kids. It has been ungodly hot with a heat index of 105 some days. They had pre-camp last week and Full Band Camp this week. They are out there learning their show in the blazing sun. I'm either in the shade with the first aid bag and cool cloths, or prepping food in the kitchen, but I haven't heard one kid complain about the heat or how hard they are working. They've even thanked us moms for what we are doing. These are some awesome kids.

I'm glad people come to visit me at my house. That's the only time I sweep. I keep my place neat and my kitchen clean, and dishes out of all the rooms, laundry folded and put up, etc. But I almost never sweep. I have some kind of broom phobia or something. Maybe all those silly mop commercials. So, my wood floors are likely a resource for stray leaf bits, dropped cheerios, and the odd pretzel M&M. Oh! maybe because I used to have a dog. She never left a food bit, no matter how small. Oh this is so sad, and devolving. Hahaha

Skye, Frank, Reid, Ike, Me, Guy, at Mad Italian from April 2010. Di must have been taking the picture.

Will, Reid, Dylan, Guy, Cheyenne

Me and Frank, bowling at Stars and strikes.

Dylan and Will are Guy's step-brothers on his Dad's side. Their mom, Michelle is really awesome. She is having some major foot complications after a melanoma surgery, so I'm praying for her to get better soon. I like her a whole lot. She makes my ex a better person. Smile.

Okay, last item, and such a good one, too.

Andrew "Drew" Green, a local artist, comic author, and really talented guy, who has a cool blog where he showcases his characters at drew-green.blogspot.com, and will be hugely successful one day, so catch on now, made me a caricature of Sylace (who says yes). It is so darn cute. I have been told I'm a cartoon, so now officially so! Thanks so much, Drew.

I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people and experiences in my life. Love you all!

Saturday night! Woo Hoo!

It's Saturday night. Connor is over visiting Reid. We are watching Man on Fire and eating peanut butter chocolate cookies. Okay...for those of you who didn't take to the chocolate cobbler....let's see what you think of these.

These are, like, the easiest things to make in the world. Not like peanut butter cookies are difficult.
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup white sugar (but hey, brown is fine if that's what you have)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla (I like to add a half teaspoon of cinnamon, but you don't have to)
also need 3 hershey bars, milk or dark
......mix ingredients together except for the chocolate bars. spread with fingers onto a baking sheet into a
rough rectangle shape. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. Top will slightly puff, and look dry/cooked.
Let cool on the counter for about two minutes. break the hershey bars into small squares and arrange on top of the cookies. They will melt in just a couple of minutes but retain their Hershey shape. Spread chocolate out with a spatula or knife. Eat warm, eat cool, try to get some before they all get eaten...hahaha. Pop in fridge if you need the chocolate to harden so you can cut and stack them. If you need them to be even prettier, put Reeses pieces in the melty chocolate. Or whatever you like!! Fun!

So Connor is on the Drumline with Reid. He plays the drumset. He reads this blog! So that goes to show that you can make the blog if you're lucky.  He's even going to get a picture!

At Connor's feet is Aero. (the other kid is Reid, you noticed, huh?)
Aero is a full blood-ed Caanan. She's a desert dog, and very smart. I'm really used to dumb dogs, or dogs smart enough to act dumb all the time so nothing is expected of them. I know soooo many people like that. Aero has her head on his foot, isn't that cute?
     So, one funny story. I have this doorstop that is black cast iron. It is in the shape of a scottie dog. Because it fits against the door, it is flat on one side. When Reid was maybe two and a half he decided to take a closer look at this doorstop he'd been seeing all his little life. He pulled it out and looked at the back and exclaimed, "hey, it's only half a dog!" This was really cute from a two year old. We still refer to it as the "half-dog."

Aero took a look at this doorstop and started growling. She was very unnerved by its presence. Aero clearly recognized it as a "dog." And that is pretty darn smart, because dogs generally don't recognize some silly half-caste (joke) terrier that smells like nothing but dust as a fellow dog. Having a dog around for a few days is a real treat. Goes well with the cookies!

Hey, full moon tomorrow. Let's see if anything unexpected happens.

The Few, The Proud- Percussionists

I can't believe that Percussion Camp starts back tomorrow. Reid will be there 9-5 this week, then next week starts full Band Camp, 8:30 -5. The Color Guard practices an incredible number of hours, maybe more than the Drumline...or maybe the same, I'm not sure, but their dedication shows. The Guard is stunning and moving to watch, especially in the indoor competitive season. WGI Indoor Drumline defies explanation, you just have to see it.

As I write this, Reid is practicing.

He can't really know just how dedicated and talented he is. He can't really know just how impressed I am with his work, and work ethic, even as I tumble him out of bed telling him that if he doesn't do as well as he wants, then he has no one to blame but himself. That is a mom's job. Encourage, cajole,harass if necessary, but keep the perspective and reality clear- that his gift is a gift from God that he alone can manage.

Reid prides himself on his individuality, but I'm not sure he even knows how different he is. He told me a story about last Thursday night's Drumline practice, and I hope he is not upset that I relate it. I gather the instructors were not pleased with the condition and skills of the percussionists after their time off this summer. They were slack in their timing, flabby and weak in the ways of percussion, if not physically. Mentally unfit for duty in the singularly focused, myopic way that Drumline demands. Their director went around the room and said he could guarantee he could point to each person and tell them how much they had practiced during the break. He went around and said basically, "a little," or "none" to each in turn. You must realize that there is no way a student would speak up and defend him self or herself- to argue with the Percussion Teacher is tantamount to treason. Reid was labeled as a "none." He did not flinch, nor signify disagreement, although I have heard him practice this summer, although he lives drumming and plays his drum set. Because in his mind, compared to what he should have practiced, compared to the hours a day consuming thing that percussion is, he had indeed achieved a "none." I am sure that entire Drumline, labeled nones and littles, had practiced as well, but they were doubtless all of the same mindset as Reid.

You would have to understand that this experience is so eerily akin to BootCamp that it is startling. I was married to a Marine Recruiter. I remember well the DEP process, and then the Basic Training experience. The Marine Corps is a pinnacle example of breaking a "man" down, and re-forming him into a Marine instead. This is what the Drumline does. They break you down, so as to reform you as a Flash Of Crimson Percussionist. To get where they are, 11th in World WGI standings last year, this is a necessary process. I understand that. Sometimes I just wonder at times if it is the right thing for my child, my teenager, my son.

After labeling the littles and nones, the percussion Director asked the group if anyone came into this practice session with a firm belief that their "spot" was established on a particular instrument or position. No one raised their hand except for Reid, even knowing he had just been identified as a none. Realize that no one was supposed to raise their hand. They were to display proper humility. They were to show their understanding that their lack of discipline over the summer had lead to a guarantee of nothing. This is no commentary on all the kids who did not raise their hands, because they were doing exactly the right thing. They are all talented, and many probably had earned the right, as upperclassmen, to feel they had indeed earned their spot.

So what happened? The Director looked at Reid and said, "Well, at least he is honest." I mean, these Directors aren't Tyrants. Mr. Tucker has exceptional skill at making these kids into what they need to be to compete at this level. But I hope he appreciates Reid's determination to stand firm in his own individuality sometimes. Occasionally. Because Drumline isn't about individuality. There are other times when Reid has stood alone for some internal principle at percussion practice. That can be a sign of a natural leader. We shall see on that front.



Where we moved from in Arkansas, every new school Reid went to would initially resist his individuality, and then give in under his relentless onslaught of charm and achievement... Spelling Bee champ, Quiz Bowl Captain, Comic Genius of talent shows, Outstanding Percussionist of the year twice, Lead role and runaway star of local theater production...I'm saying this because Oh MY God was he trouble in a lot of ways for his teachers. The talking, the drumming, the joking, the flirting, the challenges he repeatedly presented to their viewpoints and even teaching methods. His disdain for you if you were not up to his standards for a teacher. I'm not saying this is a good thing. I'm telling you that this is who Reid has been from the moment he was born, and all his parents have managed to do is provide some shaping, smoothing, and refinement. And I back him up, 100%. Name me a great achievement made by someone who went along with all the rules. Tell me of the invention that changed things that was made by someone who never took chances...who didn't think for himself....

I am inordinately proud of him. He is nothing but himself. And he cares deeply for others- an intensely loyal and generous friend.

I just don't know what this BootCamp experience is going to do to him. I know what it can do FOR him, make him a far far better percussionist, make him a team member and maybe even a leader. I just have to believe that nothing can shake the Viking from his ship. And maybe only he will get that reference. Go for it, Reid Eriksson Cole. Give it everything you've got, and take everything it has to give.

ps, your mom loves you.