Memorial Day Parade 2014
And now for the other part of yesterday.
It was my second parade, my first in our new uniforms. These things have been trouble from the get-go; a lot of the old timers aren't happy with them, which is funny because we were measured and you'd think they'd fit properly. Not so much. All the tops are labeled Male, meaning the females of the band, what with their extra curves, don't look that great in them--especially if said curves are pronounced. I don't fit that category, but my jacket is still tight around the hips. There was a snafu with the hats and not everyone got them, so we went without, which sucked because it was bright and sunny and warm and let me tell you, there are a fair amount of bald people in the band. Even with snaps to adjust length for the sleeves and pants, they didn't quite work. I'm tall enough and my arms are long enough that I barely needed to snap up the hems--and said snaps were so close to the end of the snap rows that gravity pulled the hems back out. I had to pin up the non-snap sides in order to get them to stay. And, well, they're wool, so they hold in the heat, which is not what you care to experience when it's sunny and 80F.
Yes, unlike last year, it was not cloudy or cool. Well, it was cloudy when I arrived at the area parking deck, and cloudy as my little group made its way to our starting area, but as we waited the sun came out and stayed out. I did cover myself with sunscreen so I was okay, but plenty of people didn't and it was obvious who fell into that category. Our starting point is the area VFW, which wasn't open while we waited. I had hoped to go inside for a drink of water or something, and others hoped to use the bathroom, but that didn't happen.
As for the parade itself, well, I've had better. I was smart and wore earplugs, and while I don't regret it, it kind of threw things off. I couldn't hear myself compared to the other people in my section, and piccolos don't tune too easily as a general rule. However, being directly in front of the percussion line, which plays almost the entire time, meant earplugs were a necessity and I'm now keeping a pair in my flute bag. Part of the uniform includes gloves, except the kind I got has the fingertips. Generally the tips are cut off on marching gloves to help with gripping the instrument. I don't recall having a problem with this last year because they have these little grippy bumps on the palms and they must have worked okay. However, yesterday I had a hard time holding and playing my instrument, so I may have to pull out old gloves from my high school days where the tips are cut off, or at least the gloves themselves are tighter on my hands. That was probably the hard part, that the gloves weren't exactly the right size, and that didn't help things. Also, with it being so warm, my piccolo kept sliding all over my face. It's hard enough to march and play when the thing doesn't move. Adding sweat in addition to regular condensation meant it didn't want to stay in place. Also having trouble staying in place was my lyre. I didn't have a problem with it last year, but perhaps these uniforms are thicker or something. I also hadn't wrapped it around my arm with the uniform on until we were lining up, so that wasn't a good thing. Oh well. So, anyway, we're performing the third of our three pieces, first time around, and right as we're starting the elastic band that keeps the lyre attached slid off. I ended up not playing a note and having to stand there with my piccolo up in playing position in one hand and my lyre also in relative playing position in the other. Not fun. And I was having a devil of a time trying to read and play and everything for the first two numbers anyway, which was odd because I'd kicked butt during rehearsal last week. Oh, right, the other issue with the lyre. The music is attached to a flip folder, which is this flat, hard piece of plastic with rings at the top. Connected to the rings are plastic windows in which you put your music. Flip folders are generic and can be used by most instruments; nearly all lyres attach to an instrument at one end and have a clip to hold the flip folder on the other. As you play different pieces of music, you flip through them, hence flip folder. Flutes, due to the nature of their lyres, have that flat plastic piece already attached, but when I was given marching music last year it was given to me on this flip folder. I had a hard time attaching it to my lyre this year for whatever reason and ended up having the flat plastic piece hanging off the back of my lyre, flipped over the top/back since the rings were connected to the flat plastic piece on my actual lyre. Well, the flip folder plastic is pretty heavy, and flipping it over the back of the lyre meant it got pulled down toward the ground, so that's probably why I had a hard time keeping the lyre on my arm. There should be two little plastic tabs that the elastic hooks to, but they broke off years ago. It's still usable overall, except in this case. Sigh. I'm debating if I want to buy a whole new lyre or fix the one I have. I did end up moving the plastic piece of the flip folder around so it shouldn't be a problem anymore.
After the parade, many of us changed into an alternate, approved outfit for the post-parade ceremony. We also raided the fridge at the bandshell for water and Gatorade. No joke, I downed a bottle of Gatorade in about five minutes, I was so thirsty. Overall the ceremony went well, and it helped us to think about what Memorial Day really means. Knowing how warm it was going to be, I'd brought a complete change of clothes--get me out of this wool!--for when we were done, and while no announcement was made, there was still lunch at the VFW like last year, so I ended up going to that. I sat with a fellow flutist and some of her friends, whom I'd apparently also sat with last year as they remembered me. I clearly recall being with other band members more, but they must have been on my other side and I didn't talk with them much. Anyway, we had burgers and hot dogs and pasta salad, and after all the walking I did anything would have tasted good. I probably left around 2:30, having left the house around 8:30, so I was happy to get home and not have to stand any longer.
Edit: I know my description of the lyre is probably confusing. Here's a good picture: http://az58332.vo.msecnd.net/e88dd2e9fff747f090c792316c22131c/Images/Products29059-1200x1200-132246.jpg
Otherwise, if you search for Flutist's Friend, it should pop right up.
It was my second parade, my first in our new uniforms. These things have been trouble from the get-go; a lot of the old timers aren't happy with them, which is funny because we were measured and you'd think they'd fit properly. Not so much. All the tops are labeled Male, meaning the females of the band, what with their extra curves, don't look that great in them--especially if said curves are pronounced. I don't fit that category, but my jacket is still tight around the hips. There was a snafu with the hats and not everyone got them, so we went without, which sucked because it was bright and sunny and warm and let me tell you, there are a fair amount of bald people in the band. Even with snaps to adjust length for the sleeves and pants, they didn't quite work. I'm tall enough and my arms are long enough that I barely needed to snap up the hems--and said snaps were so close to the end of the snap rows that gravity pulled the hems back out. I had to pin up the non-snap sides in order to get them to stay. And, well, they're wool, so they hold in the heat, which is not what you care to experience when it's sunny and 80F.
Yes, unlike last year, it was not cloudy or cool. Well, it was cloudy when I arrived at the area parking deck, and cloudy as my little group made its way to our starting area, but as we waited the sun came out and stayed out. I did cover myself with sunscreen so I was okay, but plenty of people didn't and it was obvious who fell into that category. Our starting point is the area VFW, which wasn't open while we waited. I had hoped to go inside for a drink of water or something, and others hoped to use the bathroom, but that didn't happen.
As for the parade itself, well, I've had better. I was smart and wore earplugs, and while I don't regret it, it kind of threw things off. I couldn't hear myself compared to the other people in my section, and piccolos don't tune too easily as a general rule. However, being directly in front of the percussion line, which plays almost the entire time, meant earplugs were a necessity and I'm now keeping a pair in my flute bag. Part of the uniform includes gloves, except the kind I got has the fingertips. Generally the tips are cut off on marching gloves to help with gripping the instrument. I don't recall having a problem with this last year because they have these little grippy bumps on the palms and they must have worked okay. However, yesterday I had a hard time holding and playing my instrument, so I may have to pull out old gloves from my high school days where the tips are cut off, or at least the gloves themselves are tighter on my hands. That was probably the hard part, that the gloves weren't exactly the right size, and that didn't help things. Also, with it being so warm, my piccolo kept sliding all over my face. It's hard enough to march and play when the thing doesn't move. Adding sweat in addition to regular condensation meant it didn't want to stay in place. Also having trouble staying in place was my lyre. I didn't have a problem with it last year, but perhaps these uniforms are thicker or something. I also hadn't wrapped it around my arm with the uniform on until we were lining up, so that wasn't a good thing. Oh well. So, anyway, we're performing the third of our three pieces, first time around, and right as we're starting the elastic band that keeps the lyre attached slid off. I ended up not playing a note and having to stand there with my piccolo up in playing position in one hand and my lyre also in relative playing position in the other. Not fun. And I was having a devil of a time trying to read and play and everything for the first two numbers anyway, which was odd because I'd kicked butt during rehearsal last week. Oh, right, the other issue with the lyre. The music is attached to a flip folder, which is this flat, hard piece of plastic with rings at the top. Connected to the rings are plastic windows in which you put your music. Flip folders are generic and can be used by most instruments; nearly all lyres attach to an instrument at one end and have a clip to hold the flip folder on the other. As you play different pieces of music, you flip through them, hence flip folder. Flutes, due to the nature of their lyres, have that flat plastic piece already attached, but when I was given marching music last year it was given to me on this flip folder. I had a hard time attaching it to my lyre this year for whatever reason and ended up having the flat plastic piece hanging off the back of my lyre, flipped over the top/back since the rings were connected to the flat plastic piece on my actual lyre. Well, the flip folder plastic is pretty heavy, and flipping it over the back of the lyre meant it got pulled down toward the ground, so that's probably why I had a hard time keeping the lyre on my arm. There should be two little plastic tabs that the elastic hooks to, but they broke off years ago. It's still usable overall, except in this case. Sigh. I'm debating if I want to buy a whole new lyre or fix the one I have. I did end up moving the plastic piece of the flip folder around so it shouldn't be a problem anymore.
After the parade, many of us changed into an alternate, approved outfit for the post-parade ceremony. We also raided the fridge at the bandshell for water and Gatorade. No joke, I downed a bottle of Gatorade in about five minutes, I was so thirsty. Overall the ceremony went well, and it helped us to think about what Memorial Day really means. Knowing how warm it was going to be, I'd brought a complete change of clothes--get me out of this wool!--for when we were done, and while no announcement was made, there was still lunch at the VFW like last year, so I ended up going to that. I sat with a fellow flutist and some of her friends, whom I'd apparently also sat with last year as they remembered me. I clearly recall being with other band members more, but they must have been on my other side and I didn't talk with them much. Anyway, we had burgers and hot dogs and pasta salad, and after all the walking I did anything would have tasted good. I probably left around 2:30, having left the house around 8:30, so I was happy to get home and not have to stand any longer.
Edit: I know my description of the lyre is probably confusing. Here's a good picture: http://az58332.vo.msecnd.net/e88dd2e9fff747f090c792316c22131c/Images/Products29059-1200x1200-132246.jpg
Otherwise, if you search for Flutist's Friend, it should pop right up.