I spent pretty much all of Saturday in Plymouth, for the Light Brigade’s final performance in the annual Thanksgiving Homecoming Parade (which, rumor has is, the folks of Plymouth hope will someday rival Macy’s parade). Thanks to Glenn waiting until the last possible fucking moment to ask his friend –who then flaked off– to fix the Taurus’ brakes, the car was undriveable so my uncle had to drive an hour out of his way to pick me up. I did reimburse him for gas, so aside from the fact that he had to get up an hour earlier, it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.
We arrived in “Historical Plymouth” at 8:15 am as we were told the roads were to be closed down at 8:30. We then sat around for almost an hour for the stores to open. I needed my caffeine fix (via diet Mountain Dew) and my uncle wanted to try and find some sort of ear coverage that could be worn around our Aussie hats. Oddly the liquor store was already open. After I acquired my fix at Rite Aid we ventured over to Benny’s where my uncle found mini colored compact fluorescents. Elated, he grabbed a both a red and green one which he will use in his enclosed outdoor lights (once it warms up enough for him to put them and the other holiday lights up). We also found some fleece head wraps that were thin enough to fit under our hats.
At 10 am we began changing into our uniforms. Those of you who are familiar with drum corps already understand that it is not necessary to have a changing room (or a room at all, for that matter) to accomplish this. Did I mention it was fricken cold? Barely in the 20s before taking the windchill into consideration. And it was fricken windy, too. We were supposed to be dressed and ready to march to our spot in the queue at 9 am but given the forecast the Light Brigade’s manager insisted we hold off an hour and a half. “What are they gonna do?” he asked, “Not invite us back again, next year?” *laughs* In drips and drabs the corps. made it to our spot, where we continued to wait for another hour. I was wearing nylons and thick thermals under my uniform pants, with a snug fitting workout shirt, a thick thermal top, a long sleeved shirt and a short sleeved tee under the top. By the time we stepped off I swear my entire body was frozen. It didn’t help that my flag pole was metal, either.
We managed to make it through the parade, including the high winds at the waterfront that almost toppled the colorguard over. While we waited for our turn at the reviewing stand the guard chatted about what we were going to do next. Most of us are going to give a new corps., Bay State Sound, a chance but there is supposedly talk that the Boston Crusaders want the colorguard, as a whole unit, to join them (all but two of their colorguard are leaving). None of us is budging, though, until Sandy, our captain, is officially asked by the Crusaders to be their new captain.
After the parade, my uncle and I had lunch before we had to head over to the hall for our practice time. The corps. did a quick run through before the two of use went out in search of Irish Mist, a LB pre-show custom. We visited three liquor stores before we found it. By that time it was about an hour before we had to be ready for warm-up so we had a light dinner, found a spot near the hall to park and booked it into the practice hall. I was a wimp this time, opting to wear my coat and bringing my uniform with me to change into at the practice hall. The hall was packed. Apparently everyone else decided to show up early for their warm-ups, too. At 7:30 pm we hauled our equipment in and proceeded with our warm-up.
By 8:00 pm we were lining up in the Memorial Hall (as best as we could, given that someone decided to put a concession stand in the middle of the “green room” this year).
This is the show. Don’t let the title fool you. There are six parts, the rest of which you can find in the related section to the right. I’m to the right during most of the show. During a couple of tunes you don’t even see me (not neccesarily a bad thing as you miss me at the height of my performance high… and not see me nearly fall on my ass), but you do get to see my prized pink flag. *laughs*
After the show we turned in our equipment (Except the aforementioned flag. I sewed it. I was taking it with me, dammit!). Some of us went straight home or to the hotel. Others went back in to see the rest of the other corps. perform. Still others went back to the hall to get stuff left behind and give hugs to old friends. After my uncle nearly squeezed the stuffing out of a dear friend who had left the Light Brigade a few years ago, we grabbed our things and hit the highway. It took us about an hour and a half to get to Arlington. About an hour into the trip the post show buzz started wearing off and a knot developed in my stomach as I wondered what was next for me. I really don’t like the Crusaders’ music, though with the entire LB guard we can make anything they play look good. Glenn wants me to join them because (according to him) the Crusaders have black members and (also according to him) blacks don’t talk shit about each other. *rolls eyes* However, while we were waiting for our turn at the Memorial Hall we watched the Crusaders practice and I did not see one black person on the floor. I told Glenn this. He thinks I’m lying so that I can play with Bay State Sound, instead. *double eye roll*
Anyways, I’ve got two months to think about it. Hopefully the right direction will show itself.
