Tim K

It’s too bad about Glassboro. Traffic getting to the stadium was a bit tough due to rush hour and red lights, but the ample parking was great and it was a great facility.

When I mentioned CVS and the urgent care facilities in my area, I was not endorsing CVS, I was mentioning why Walmart Health has not established itself in my area just yet. Actually if Yelp reviews are to be believed, CVS Minute Clinics are not great either and my one experience at a Minute Clinic is not a ringing endorsement. People can disagree about whether Walmart Health is a good option, but I don’t feel that mentioning that some Walmart pharmacies are understaffed and at least in one case was closed for a week is a political position.

yes, we have to be picky about who, what, where, and when. An activity devoted to musical and marching activities for youth has to pay attention to ethics and standards. I’m not critiquing corporate sponsorships or partnerships, I am questioning this particular business. Walmart is not known as being a good employer nor is it known for retaining employees. That’s not as important a factor if the busses stop at Walmart so marching members can stock up on food, health and beauty items, socks, etc. but is it optimal for medical care? Perhaps it’s anecdotal but a Walmart near me had to close its pharmacy for a week because they could not find a pharmacist and pharmacists were stretched so thin, a substitute from another store could not fill the position. People had to travel to the neighboring store for refills and no new prescriptions were accepted at that store. Maybe in the South, Midwest, West Coast Walmart Health is the urgent care equivalent of the Mayo Clinic, but I’d be cautious.

Full disclosure: I’m not a Walmart fan and avoid it like the plague. I also never heard of Walmart Health until today. CVS has minute clinics and there are plenty of Urgent Care facilities in my area so perhaps there’s not a market for it in my neck of the woods. My question is what kind of care do you receive at a store where self checkouts are now the norm, finding employees who can actually help can be difficult, and the company has a reputation for underpaying employees who are not valued? Are corps better off only relying on Walmart Health as a back up?

I’m thinking that in response to that post, the less said the better.

I’m not a lawyer, and no I’ve never played one on TV, but I’m thinking the right lawyer could have some of the bankruptcy judge’s rulings overturned. The wrong lawyer could also have them etched in stone. For one thing, Cadets is such a generic name in drum corps, just look on DCX and you see tons of corps named Cadets, and maroon and gold uniforms are not trademarked. I could see where FHNSAB, Holy Name or Garfield attached could be too close to the original, and I could see where people associated with Cadets beginning a new corps with the same name would be problematic, but there could be room for compromise, namely if alums not associated with the corps in an official capacity wanted to restart it. The question for me is would it be the same or has too much water passed under the bridge?

As we’re continuing this discussion, we need to keep in mind that the lawsuit was the final nail in the coffin, but even without the lawsuit the chances of Cadets taking the field again were slim to none. Remember we’re talking about years of serious financial mismanagement, not to mention a number of crazy decisions along the way. After 2019 it looked as if there might not have been a 2020. Covid and a year off gave Cadets a chance to regroup. The corps had revolving leadership, two significant leaders in particular who never had full support. I know one was beloved and one was a bit controversial to put it mildly, but personality issues aside, both were qualified and would have been able to put another corps back on track. Then there’s the move from Allentown to Erie. Don’t forget some one time insiders were predicting the end of the Cadets in the fall of 2017/winter of 2018 when it was rumored GH was leafleting cars of people auditioning for Bloo, Crown, and BAC while their winter camps were in session, hoping they’d march Cadets. Most of us would have loved to see Cadets take the field again, and I will miss a corps I have loved for years, but if it hadn’t been the accusations and potential aftermath of a legal settlement, it probably would have been something else.

My sentimental favorite is 1980. I loved that show and it was fun. I also saw it early on and would never have predicted Garfield would have made finals that year. Runner up sentimental favorite 2021 “Shall Always Be.” 1984 “West Side Story” is one of my favorite shows of all time. 2013 “Side by Side” was well done. 2022 “12.25” gave us a bit of Christmas in July.

I believe GH took over as director in 1983. According to a person I knew who had marched with 27th in 1981 and did not jump ship and march with Garfield, GH used to claim he was the true director from the moment he started with the corps and even though he wasn’t director at the time, he personally recruited George Zingali, Marc Sylvester, and Peggy Twiggs. I’ve also heard GH recruited Zingali who brought the others with him. I haven’t seen this person in many years, and at the time he was not anti GH, so it wasn’t a gossipy conversation, just an observation.

I’m not sure if this is related, but a few weeks ago I was talking with a friend who coordinates internships for college students. It was a general group conversation and one person in the group was a teacher who worked for a summer camp and mentioned difficulties in getting qualified counselors who are over 18. The woman who handles the intern candidates said she faced similar challenges and while most internships she steers students towards will have candidates, there are fewer applicants for more positions. Maybe young people in general are choosing to do different things in the summer months and it’s catching up with drum corps.

Why not?

According to DCX the last time any music from “Godspell” that was performed by a DCI finalist was “O Bless the Lord” in 1976 by Blue Stars. Some music was performed after 1976 but not by finalist corps. No one has performed any pieces since 2003. “Day by Day” was the top choice with a few “We Beseech Thee” and “All for the Best.” I’m surprised no corps ever performed “Turn Back O Man” which could have been a fun piece and am very surprised no one ever did “On the Willows” or “All Good Gifts” both of which could be effective pieces. The list was pretty long for “Jesus Christ Superstar.” “Jesus Christ Superstar” is more adaptable to drum corps, with 1999 Madison being the strongest and most entertaining version (it’s also one of my favorite all time shows), but “Godspell” is a better vehicle for schools and community theater groups. A poorly sung “Godspell” can still be an enjoyable evening if the cast has good comedic skills. A bad performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar?” I went to an outdoor performance in Portsmouth, NH a number of years back. If the great Augustine was correct when he said “he who sings prays twice,” this production was a prayer of lament. All the Heavenly Host of angels and saints could not save that production, and that’s putting it charitably on this Easter Sunday evening.🙂🐇🐣

There have been other discussions about PBS and DCI parting ways with all sorts of theories. Unsuccessful pledge drives is often the primary reason given, and there’s some truth to that, at least as far as WGBH Boston’s involvement, but there were still broadcasts after WGBH. However those were different days. PBS was local and much of the broadcasting was local. PBS is now well endowed financially as are many of the stations. Production standards are higher and what PBS offers is much different. “Upstairs Downstairs” was considered high quality in the 1970’s. Compare it to “Downton Abbey” today. It would never get airtime. PBS would not produce a DCI finals show today. It would be too expensive. PBS might broadcast a finals performance filmed by someone else, like they do with live performances today. PBS still shows operas from the Metropolitan Opera, but it does not produce them like they did in “Live from the Met” days. The culprit is probably licensing.

I didn’t get to Allentown or finals in 2014 but did get the chance to see “Felliniesque” in Atlanta and the following evening at NightBEAT. For me, it’s a fan friendly show that caught me by surprise, especially after “Rewrite of Spring” the previous year. It told a story, had humorous moments, and was well executed. Blue Devils enthusiasts I know often love one aspect of their shows whether it be percussion, brass, guard, design, etc. more than anything but this show was a total package and won the crowd. It certainly caught my attention. I just feel old knowing we’re remembering it on its tenth anniversary!🙂

I agree that society has changed, but by the 1980’s most colleges had policies about professors and teaching assistants not dating students, non fraternization rules in athletic activities, etc. For those of a younger age, more and more states were requiring mandated reporting. The rules in many cases were in place. One thing that has changed is how we view offenders. Offenders were never the people we know, or so many thought. We believed offenders looked like creeps, probably drove vans with interiors that looked like a lounge, and were obvious leches. If there were questions about someone who gave no clues about being an offender, often people would say “I know him, he’s all right.” Since most of us don’t want to believe the worst about people, it’s understandable. Looking back, it seems that when we discover inappropriate and often criminal behavior, it’s often not those we expect.