Fran Haring

Good point. My last "live" experience at DCI week.... in 2000 in Maryland.... I had a blast watching Div.2 Prelims, Div. 2/3 Finals, and Div. 1 Quarterfinals. And the past few years, watching the Quarterfinals show at the movie theater, I've enjoyed watching the corps that are really good, but not good enough to make it into Finals. Fran

How true....... on the DCA side, in 1977, one of our soprano players in Sunrisers dropped his horn when he brought it down to his side at the end of one tune at a show in August..... then, purely by reflex, he quickly picked it back up. Only problem.... the T&P judge was watching the entire thing. One tenth penalty for dropping the horn, one point for picking it back up. The soprano player felt really bad about the whole thing. Then we found out that no one in the corps had ever informed him about the "dropped equipment" rules..... he was new to drum corps that season. However, even with the penalties, we still managed to win that show. That helped ease the pain a bit. But it was a lesson learned.... make sure the "newbies" know all the rules. Fran

Wow...... hang in there, Ruth. Prayers coming your way. Fran

Yep.... I got a call from Doc about the show the other day. I'm planning to be back as the PA announcer, if all continues to go well. Great lineup that night! Fran

Oops.... sorry. I thought I saw an "in" at the beginning of that word!!! Fran

From the sublime to the ridiculous......LOL We (Crusaders) made the Class A finals that year at that Key to the Sea show.... a week later, we competed in Open Class at the U.S. Open and came in dead last at prelims. I'll spare you all the details, but that "Tour of Ohio" in 1974 (with a stop in between in Michigan) was one heckuva road trip. Fran

This is similar to when I used to play golf on a regular basis. If I had only not shot two to four over par on each hole, I would have scored better. Fran

Very good catch!!!! I should use Spell Check once in a while. Fran

Yes, sir.... in fact, I just received a package in the mail the other day. From Hawaii. Barbara also plans to be there at the Preview! Fran

Yes, that was always my excuse when I marched. Fran

I'm sorry to hear this news..... my condolences to Al, Josh and the rest of the Katz family and the extended Caballero and Skyliner families. RIP, Ma Katz. Fran

Wow..... how could I forget this one: Ski Mask Cadets, 1981. Our one and (so far) only performance. Since we have already performed once, we've been kicking around the idea of a Ski Mask Cadets Alumni corps. Fran

I think this thread deserves a bump, simply because Tom Brace doesn't like it. Fran

On the DCA side, the NY Skyliners were hit with a one-point timing penalty at DCA Finals in 1972.... and it dropped them to second place behind the Hawthorne Caballeros. Withut the penalty, Sky would have won the show by .15. But... as a lot of folks have already said.... pernalties are part of the game. Fran

I'm emceeing the Bucs' Spring Preview show. Fran

Wow.... just when you think a thread is dead and gone...... Fran

The crowd at our theater was pretty quiet, too.... and I don't quite "get" that. Whether it's in a theater or in person, whether the performances are live or from years past, it's a drum corps show, for crissakes..... if you see something you like, cheer for it!!!! The other night there were a few times when my wife and I applauded something, and it sounded as if were the only ones doing so. Maybe we just like stuff that other people don't.....LOL Fran

Heh.... that North Brunswick theater is about 10 minutes from where I grew up. Fran

Yes, quite well. That was the start of a rather ugly night for DCA. Fran

Yeah....hilarious. Unless you were in the corps that was waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more, to take the field because someone didn't figure out that birds wouldn't fly at night. But no, I'm not bitter. Fran

1980 DCA finals........ the Bird Incident. Not my favorite DCA memory....LOL.... but one that has become part of drum corps lore, for sure. Fran

So Nick.... did you get to Chick-Fil-A before the show? We did!!! Fran

In an earlier post, I mentioned that the junior corps I marched with did not break a 60 for two straight seasons, 1975-76. We were pretty sucky those years.... but what was really scary is that there were at least two corps in our local circuit that we would beat by 20 points or so, every show. I mean, THAT is bad. Fran

Or global warming. Fran

A nice night out. My wife Barbara and I went to to the Regal Cinemas theater just north of Baltimore, about 20 minutes from where we live. We sat in the lower seating area, since she cannot yet walk up too many steps. There were only a few other people in the lower seating area, but more on the upper level.... probably a bit more than half full up there. Sound was good... definitely loud enough from where we sat. And since Barbara has a Regal Crown Club card, we had enough points to get free popcorn. Six great DCI corps....plus part of the Kingsmen Alumni performance. They were terrific. Barbara had not yet seen the 2007 Bluecoats or Blue Devils, and she enjoyed both shows. She was particularly impressed by the Blue Devils' pit percussion. Overall, not too shabby for a Thursday night! Fran