Kathryn has decided to be part of the marching band this year. She skipped it last year although I told her it was a great way to meet people and it could be a lot of fun. As with most things, my recommendation is not solid unless someone else tells her the same thing.

When I was in high school, marching band wasn’t optional. If you were in band, you marched. Practice was the two weeks before school started. After all, you had to be able to march at that first home football game. It was a great way, especially as a freshman, to meet a lot of people, especially upperclassmen. You started school with a large group of people you knew. That’s a powerful feeling when you start high school.

Since I played the French Horn and you don’t march with it, I ended up playing the glockenspiel my freshman year, the cymbals my sophomore year and the trumpet my junior year. My dad took pity on the band director and let me quit my senior year. Being in the drum section was a lot of fun. That’s where all the excitement is. They started the different cadences, randomly songs and were generally a rowdy bunch. They were nice to me and as the only female in the section, they didn’t give me a hard time.

The band uniforms were the type that if it was hot, you were boiling. If it was cold, you froze. A polyester nightmare. The hats were super tall, like the guards wear at Buckingham Palace. I remember someone, who will remain nameless here, changed our names in the program so I was Ellen CO’Kane. Lord knows why no one caught that.

Some of my fondest memories of high school are of times in band and with friends I made through band. We made it a good time. We had a little tailgating thing going before the football games.  We always went out and about after the game as well. Now it doesn’t seem like football games are quite the social event they were when I was in high school. Regardless of your social rank. you went to the game.

My debut on the glockenspiel was  “Love Me Tender” and you could really hear the bells in that song.  Fortunately I didn’t screw that up. Actually the glockenspiel was easy because you generally followed the melody. It was a bit awkward to carry but I liked it. Thinking about it now, I was probably better at both the glockenspiel and the cymbals than I ever was at the French Horn.

Tonight I’ll pick “Love Me Tender” from my IPod in honor of my marching band days and as a toast to Kathryn’s marching debut. I hope she enjoys it and makes the kind of friends and memories I did.