4th of July

Ok, so I don't have pics -- again -- thus you will have to visualize our participation in Benson's celebration. Our family is pretty low-key when it comes to holiday happenings, but one thing Rod, Margo, and I do enjoy on the 4th is playing in the "Benson Bobcat Alumni and Commuity Band". I know you are aware of Margo's flute-playing, but did I mention that Rod plays the trombone? Yup, and he is quite good in spite of playing just once a year for the past 20 years and then not at all for the 15 years prior to that. Like 4 of our children, Rod was a member of the Benson High School Band. Twenty years ago, two alum wanted to get former band members together to play for their HS reunion. Little did they know what would come of that idea. People came out of the woodwork wanting to relive their "glory" days.

A few years ago, non-alum community members wanted to be a part of it. And that's where I came in. When Margo entered high school, I decided I didn't want to be left out of the fun. I approached the band director (Margo's band teacher) and informed him that I played the piano, had never played in a band, but that I could read music and count time. I offered my services playing the bass drum - an instrument that is not as easy as I use to think - and he accepted. So for the past 5 years I have been playing the "boom-boom", as I call it, and enjoying the experience. (I am still trying to convince Nora [saxophone] and Michael [any horn] to join us.)We played in the 45-minute long parade riding on a flat-bed trailer in the morning then gave a one hour concert last night. And for only practicing once or twice right before the 4th, we sound pretty darn good. We even played "The Stars and Stripes Forever". The band's, and crowd, annual favorite is "Kansas City". I get chills when we play this because it has a wonderful trombone part throughout the song and Rod is great on it. His upper lip was a bit swollen and numb by the end of the night. We then went over to Nora's in-laws house to watch the fireworks. The town has other events throughout the day but Rod and I opted to return home to the coolness of the house.

Because we are in the parade, we do not get to see the other entries. However, I need to mention the "float" two entries in front of us as being the most "refreshing" I have ever seen in a parade on a hot July morning. Our sister ward's youth were riding in a semi-truck's open-tank trailer that had been filled with water. They spent the entire parade splashing in the water and throwing it out onto the spectators. They were definitely the "coolest" float.

My band T-shirt and the hat to protect from the Arizona sun.