Post-CB
Crystal (Light) Ball is over, and I'm nearly recovered. I have to say it really was a marvelous feeling to be able to see it from the back row of the pit. Ct. Anton surprised me by coming to the event; usually we're up against a fighting event, so he's never been to the ball. He's a terrific ME drummer, and I'm happy to say he's at home in a Western pit, too. Very good drummer! Plus a nice guy. Great addition, and great company for me in the pit.
None of the usual suspects were there this year, so that was sort of odd for me. But it was also sort of refreshing. Lots of new faces. Two of the musicians had been in for under a year, and two more were at their first event. Out of 14, that's pretty high. And yep, the pit was about half the size as in recent past years, and that was ok, too. It was all pretty high quality. Everyone behaved. Very different! :)
This year's leader did a terrific job, and she was happy doing it. I talked to her afterward, and she seemed to be walking on clouds. She was so excited, she said something about how she couldn't wait until next year...then caught herself and mumbled something about perhaps I wanted to lead next year. HAHA! It was so hard not to bust up laughing in her face. My relief and her joy make a great combination.
I received a marvelous hand/arm/shoulder/head massage from a grateful dancer. It was awesome! Really helped melt away some of my tension from the previous week.
The drive home was unreal. Horrible visibility. I'm a tense driver under the best of circumstances. The drive was terrifying for me. Poor akitrom had car trouble on the way from Iowa. Long story short, I took him to his mom's house in Chesterfield after the ball, then drove myself back to St. Charles. I was content doing 30 mph, and he was quite kind about it, not trying in the least to speed up. Driving alone, after dropping him off, was very scary for me, but I just kept chugging away, slowly but safely. About 3 miles from home, I'm making the approach to the Blanchette Bridge (I-70 across the MO River), but I can't see the bridge--that's how bad visibility was. All of a sudden, a car shows up from nowhere and seems to be pacing me. Maybe he wants in front of me, to get off on 5th Street, so I slow down even more. He slows down. OK, maybe he wants the 5th Street exit, but doesn't want to be rude and get in front of me, so I get my nerve up and bring my speed up to 40. Nope, he's still pacing me, freaking me out. Maybe he's signaling to me that I have a flat tire or something's wrong with my car--but I'm too terrified to remove my eyes from the whiteness directly in front of me; I can't see the bridge, I don't know where the lanes of traffic are, and I don't want to go off the shoulder of the road or hit the upcoming bridge.
After more pacing and more freaking out (on my part), I finally look over. A carload of high school kids, window open, cell phone out (maybe taking a photo?). I guess that's all they wanted, because after some hollering and hooting, they drove off. I can only say that if anything happened to them, it's Darwin at work. I'm just sorry I was in their neighborhood. But maybe going to balls when there's a winter weather advisory is also Darwin at work. ;) In any event, I made it home, and my relief was enormous. Wish I could have had the massage AFTER the drive home. :)
None of the usual suspects were there this year, so that was sort of odd for me. But it was also sort of refreshing. Lots of new faces. Two of the musicians had been in for under a year, and two more were at their first event. Out of 14, that's pretty high. And yep, the pit was about half the size as in recent past years, and that was ok, too. It was all pretty high quality. Everyone behaved. Very different! :)
This year's leader did a terrific job, and she was happy doing it. I talked to her afterward, and she seemed to be walking on clouds. She was so excited, she said something about how she couldn't wait until next year...then caught herself and mumbled something about perhaps I wanted to lead next year. HAHA! It was so hard not to bust up laughing in her face. My relief and her joy make a great combination.
I received a marvelous hand/arm/shoulder/head massage from a grateful dancer. It was awesome! Really helped melt away some of my tension from the previous week.
The drive home was unreal. Horrible visibility. I'm a tense driver under the best of circumstances. The drive was terrifying for me. Poor akitrom had car trouble on the way from Iowa. Long story short, I took him to his mom's house in Chesterfield after the ball, then drove myself back to St. Charles. I was content doing 30 mph, and he was quite kind about it, not trying in the least to speed up. Driving alone, after dropping him off, was very scary for me, but I just kept chugging away, slowly but safely. About 3 miles from home, I'm making the approach to the Blanchette Bridge (I-70 across the MO River), but I can't see the bridge--that's how bad visibility was. All of a sudden, a car shows up from nowhere and seems to be pacing me. Maybe he wants in front of me, to get off on 5th Street, so I slow down even more. He slows down. OK, maybe he wants the 5th Street exit, but doesn't want to be rude and get in front of me, so I get my nerve up and bring my speed up to 40. Nope, he's still pacing me, freaking me out. Maybe he's signaling to me that I have a flat tire or something's wrong with my car--but I'm too terrified to remove my eyes from the whiteness directly in front of me; I can't see the bridge, I don't know where the lanes of traffic are, and I don't want to go off the shoulder of the road or hit the upcoming bridge.
After more pacing and more freaking out (on my part), I finally look over. A carload of high school kids, window open, cell phone out (maybe taking a photo?). I guess that's all they wanted, because after some hollering and hooting, they drove off. I can only say that if anything happened to them, it's Darwin at work. I'm just sorry I was in their neighborhood. But maybe going to balls when there's a winter weather advisory is also Darwin at work. ;) In any event, I made it home, and my relief was enormous. Wish I could have had the massage AFTER the drive home. :)