JimF-LowBari

Sorry the shots I found are all me posing behind the house. One's marked Labor Day 1977 or 1978. Only have a few full corps shots and they were when Wally was in the Rebels. Helpful hint when taking backyard photos: Make sure the ####### swingset isn't in the background.

You only say that because you're old enough to remember it Mike. :P Seriously, both sides and all generations can take part of the blame. I've heard and read bashing on both sides all thru my 32 *gag* years. Yet, there always have been Sr and Jr corps and folks that do have respec for the "other side" but their comments never are as memoriable as the bashing.

At least I get one question answered today, thanks Tom. Mmmmm, maybe a Google session will clear up my 30+ year fuzziness on the finer points of "crossing the plain". Wish I could remember the details on some of those old arguments on parts of some corps drill.

Hey Ruth, forgot about my request for pictures. Was going thru my moms stuff anf found a bunch of pics of me in the old BD uniform. Jeez, even have some with the old P/R frosted finish Bari. Too bad the rotor is hidden by my arm. Showed my wife and the first thing out of her mouth was "Wow, you used to be skinny!". :( Gad - even one in my IUP band uni (1977). Maybe I should send it to Tank....

Haven't even heard anyone talk about rules regarding American Flag (got to quit saying AF) section since the Color Presentation went out sometime after the Bicentennial. Only Honor Guard etiquette is what gets passed down anymore from the older members. Man the only thing I did in the 80s when I carried the colors was march out and plant myself with my back to the corps. That way no one would be in front of the flag. Did have judges in the old ICA circuit check us out during a show and can't figure out why. I'm still looking for a pic of me in the Honor Guard, my wife can't believe I did that just so I could be with the corps part of the season. (Hey Nanci, I should be on that tape of 1985 ICA Rain Fest (oops Championships) that Ron got a few years ago.)

Hope you didn't mean my "Lee never lacks publicity" (or whatever the #### I said) comment. Sorry I missed the event. Oh ####, now I'll have THAT in my head all night. :sshh:

We'll take an order for a good story like the one last year..... :P :P PS - Does DCA even have AF violations in the book anymore? Used to be a point or two in the 70s when we got hit with one halfway thur the season. Turns out we added CG members and with their expanded drill one, was in front of the Honor Guards plane. May have to PM lobrass7 for details when I get the DVDs s/ Guy who marched AF for two years in the 80s.

Kinda know the feeling, my MB didn't compete and wasn't too hard on teaching good marching techniques. If you were in step that's all that mattered. Only way I could break into corps was to join a Sr corps that had been inactive and was begging for new members. Was like doing Div II/III with adults.

Random thought from a random mind..... Lot of talk on the telecast about "elite" and "best of the best". Wondering how many potential members hear the talk, watch the corps and think "No ####### way I could make a corps like that". Then they totally put marching DC out of their minds, no checking dci.org, etc, etc. Still think if Div II/III was introduced with "Think we're not ready yet for what you see tonight, there is still a way to march" it would help DCI and potential members.

Last year Bush had the "Which way do we go?" moment by trooping the stands. This year Renegades had "I Cross the Line" <$1 to Johnny Cash for "I Walk the Line> Next year??????? DCAs new motto should be: "DCA, we're human, we screw up, we admit it, deal with it". Seriously - No one in Bush or 'Gades over reacted over the mistakes. The two young people from Bush who "led the parade" :P last year were welcomed back to the corps and it looks like Chris is still around. PS - There's a tape somewhere of Westshore at 79 Prelims with a Bari missing his plume 'cause it fell out part way thru the show.... guess who

On our honeymoon we went to SeaWorld Florida. Jones narrates the Shamu show starting with "The Killer Whale..." in his best voice of doom. After a while he says "this is James Earl Jones". To which half the adults in our area muttered "No #### who else?".

Dan, Lot of the "having to leave at age 22" problem had to do with the jobs we were able to get right after college. Some of my corps mates had to leave the area after college to find a job in their field. My first job after college was in my home area but had to work all three shifts (rotating shift work) in a computer complex and only one weekend a month free. Kicker was at 3AM one night we had to call someone to repair one of the systems. Who walks in but one of our ex-Contra players who also had to leave corps because of his work schedule. This was the very early 1980s and I believe the economy wasn't too good for people just starting out so "first job" choices were slim. True after a few years the job situation eased off and it was possible to go back. But sadly it seems it's a lot harder to return after a few years off. I returned for parts of two seasons but was with the Main Guard due to other reasons.

Except that people DID look..... ^0^ Don't know about modesty but Lee never lacks publicity. B)

And if I remember correctly, this comes from a guy who spent his early years in Westshoremens home town. :P

Which isn't too different from the on-season....

How else can you have a four year old yell "Yeah, old people" for your benefit at the end of a parade. :P Actually happened last year at Dundalk, MD (4th of July).

Ditto, comparing the DCA/DCI/Alumni experiences is like comparing apples to oranges to bananas. And some people don't like all kinds of fruit and that's cool. B)

T'was me, thanks.... Rondo and DD were clear on the fact that we were seeing snips of each show but wondered if the actual show length of time was given. Also enjoyed the "what the judges look for" segments which gave a better idea than the old "20 points for such and so, etc, etc" explainations. Now if I can just explain it to my wife without getting into "under the old tic system".

Edit: Ooops, rut-roh ws responding to the "burn out" factor... I've seen both given as reasons and think I saw the same RAMD thread concerning burnout. There was a higher percentage citing burnout than I expected on that thread. Other cited that DCA wasn't as intense as doing Div I DCI so why bother. And this was regarding joining a DCA corps, not just watching. Like everything else you ask 50 people you get 50 different reasons.... My reason for leaving was this not so little thing of rotating shift work (work all 3 shifts within a four week period) that had me working 3 weekends a month.

So how many commercials do YOU recall. :P All I remember is Pearl Drums and that irritating ESPN Football commercial. :P

Watched until end of Bluecoats and sounded to me that Blue Knights marimbas were a lot louder (as compared to the rest of the corps) than the other corps I saw. Anyone notice balance issues with the other corps? Disclaimer: Might have been my older model stereo TV. Sometimes you can barely hear normal conversations and then the "background" music knocks you out of your seat. (But last night I had to crank volume for the corps as the audio did seem muffled.)

Not sure about today, but many of my corps mates quit marching DCA when they hit 22. Reason had nothing to do with age and everything to do with graduating college and having to start a "real life". s/ Guy who marched (first time) from age 16 to 22.......

Ours was a staff member clapping with once in a while "commentary" in time with the beat to start us off. "1... 2... 3.. 4.... Kiss my... ###... ready... go.. "

Was it ever mentioned on the telecast how long the shows run? Have to agree with Shawn that not seeing anything close to a complete show doesn't give newbies a good idea of what really goes on. "Hey mom I want to join a corps and bust my hump to put on a 3-5 minute show". Oh yeah, got tired of seeing the guy in the bathroom stall with his pants around his ankles singing the ESPN football song. <**>

Ballentine Brewers (Sr) - not the beer just the corps..... :P Just bought their 1964 Dream(?) show and lot bett er than I expected.