Fran Haring

"Chef of the Future!!!! It can core a apple..."

2004... I remember it well!!!

That used to be in my announcer's copy. I would shorten it to "Welcome to the DCA World Championship!!!"

I heard pretty much that exact same thing from a friend who worked for one of the top DCI organizations for several years. He said some corps were fine with whatever a host school could provide, even if it meant staff running the rehearsal from atop the corps' equipment vehicle, like the old days. But other corps.... their demands were along the lines of what you've said here. Sometimes, perhaps we (the collective drum corps "we") forget that in the minds of any number of people, drum corps ain't all that... and beggars can't be choosers.

I tuned in once to one of LaRouche's half-hour campaign infomercials... for the first few minutes he made perfect sense, talking about the need for the USA to rebuild its infrastructure and improve transportation. But then he started talking about a cabal of Jewish bankers who ran the world's financial system from a secret location in Switzerland, or something like that. Right then, I got the remote and changed the channel. What a world-class kook.

Point taken. And I guess my point, with my post, was that it wasn't the first time a corps came kinda out of nowhere to win a championship. My DCA example... the championship-winning corps caught up to a seemingly unstoppable, up-to-that-point unbeaten corps the weekend before the championship... then got the job done again at prelims and finals. That title show lives in infamy....LOL... with various folks disputing the result. I didn't see the 1988 DCI title show, other than seeing a few corps on video, including the Scouts.... but I saw the Blue Devils at DCI East that year, and was convinced there was no way they would lose to anyone. So much for my powers of prognostication.

Yes, I am aware of that. Or those two judges thought theScouts had the goods to win those judges' particular captions or subcaptions. Not necessarily their job to determine the overall winner, correct?

Heh... I remember a DCA title show back in the day that was won by a corps that didn't take any of the major captions. Might have won a sheet or two, I don't know... but no caption wins. The other contending corps were up, down, here and there, on the scoresheets. LOL. The corps I thought might have won... ended up tied for 4th. I was a 14-year-old kid, a fan in the stands. What did I know. Then or now.

Well said. Those marchers work insanely hard. Not sure that would be considered "pampered." LOL.

I was surprised to learn that the Amish and Mennonites have historically made up a relatively small percentage of the overall PA Dutch population. All sorts of groups, like the Moravians and so forth. Brenda and I went to a service last summer at the Moravian church in Bethlehem, PA. Wonderful. A very relaxed, friendly vibe. The Moravians are known for their emphasis on music, and in particular their trombone choirs. This service featured two excellent trombone players.

Gotta be honest, I've been reluctant to do a genealogy search for my German relatives... not sure I want to know if there were any "Party" members who were distant cousins or whoever. On the other hand, maybe it would provide some insight if I did find out.

Did that multiple times. Orange Line from Landover in. Drove round-trip lots of times, depending on my schedule. An adventure. LOL. The last year or so, I started catching the MARC train at the BWI stop, into Union Station, then two different Metro lines to Rosslyn where I worked. Often would catch the 5:40 AM train from BWI. Next stop down...Odenton... the train would fill up to standing-room capacity. At not even 6 AM. Absolutely nuts. Between that commute, and the several years afterward when I had a driving gig taking clients to and from the DC area (airports, meetings, wherever).... I probably know 10-12 ways, at least, to get to and from. None of them a picnic.

And the DC metro area is far worse than Baltimore. DC is far worse than anything I've ever experienced... and I lived in the NYC metro area for more than 30 years. NYC traffic is almost like a day off compared to DC. LOL

Visited Germany in 2006 when my nephew was in the U.S. Army there. The upper part of Bavaria... Nurnberg, Wurzburg, thereabouts. I would love to get back someday. Andrew is now the band director at Downingtown East H.S. in PA!!! As an aside... Johns Hopkins is the famed medical institution in Baltimore. Since the word "Hopkins" is in there, this should keep the thread on track.

In 2013, if Heartliner from Germany had made DCA Class A finals, or was allowed to do an exhibition at that show, I was planning to announce them in German and English. Channeling my inner Wes Hobby.... LOL... he used to announce the various French-Canadian corps in English and French. Unfortunately, Heartliner was not in the night show. I would have needed help from a Heartliner staffer on the German. LOL. My dad's side of the family is German.... but I gotta admit, I have pretty much forgotten most of the German language I learned in high school.