Weaklefthand4ever

That makes perfect sense actually. I think because of the business that I am in and having to deal with some of these types of things in real time (some people wouldn't believe what can happen in call centers with 5,000 people in them...yes....5,000) I tend to use the term "victim" because the thought is always on the present tense as the situation is almost always something that happened within hours to days. That being said, I will absolutely start using survivors instead in these cases as I believe it applies better. Thanks for keeping me honest Terri.

And those skeletons will get you every single time. The best action is to be as proactive as possible, bring your findings to light and admit openly that there may be more that either hasn't been reported to them, or that they are working through other investigations and that each case will be openly addressed within the context of what the law allows. We all KNOW that there are other skeletons. I was talking to my girlfriend last night about some of the things that we used to do in the late 80's and early 90's in corps. Looking back on them now, if I had one of my managers that report to me broght some similar things to light....good LORD the hell I would reign down. And none of those are even CLOSE to some of the things we are hearing about now.

Call me whatever you want, but the way I personally see it......it's not my place to forgive him. I'm not one of the victims of his alleged conduct. If everything is true (I have my opinions but my opinion means precisely jack and ####) then he destroyed PEOPLE. They are the only ones who could truly forgive anything. A random person, no matter how good their intentions, shouldn't expect for anyone to forgive IMHO. WE as the drum corps community can only expect for the corps and DCI / DCA to make the needed changes to ensure that the activity protects all those involved. Forgiveness doesn't enter into it. Just my opinion.

That and "Goop" were popular. We restored a '63 Mercedes and I still have my '66 Oldsmobile. I'm glad we had a big garage because I think that Olds is about 18' long.

Lava Soap!!! I remember using that when I was growing up. It felt like I was scrubbing an entire layer of skin off.  That's because you were lol. My father used to keep tons of it around that we had to use when we worked on cars together. We'll probably find out at some point that it was made from an alien substance and causes 14 different serious medical conditions.

Exactly correct and IMHO, I believe we've done a pretty good job at reigning in some of the back and forth that does nothing to contribute to resolving the root of the issues not only on this specific topic but the broader topic of needed change in the activity. There seem to be two prevailing opinions: 1. The things brought to light (as well as bringing some things back to light which should have never lost focus in the first place and should have stayed on DCI and DCA's radar) are the death nell for the entire activity and it should all be burned to the ground. -OR- 2. The things brought to light are exactly what was needed to force change and bring the activity back to being what it was always supposed to be. Unfortunately, sometimes things have to hit rock bottom to allow change to occur. None of this...NONE OF IT...should be about religion, politics, money, forgiveness, ego etc. This should about the kids and their continued education and safety (hopefully) just as it was for us when we marched.

Excellent choice.

The end of every OTHER phrase maybe lol

You would think someone with a little inside knowledge would be able to give everyone an idea of what direction DCI is leaning on that front. That being said, I know what I would do if I were DCI.

That's VERY interesting. I wonder if it impacted other corps outside of quickly saying "Oops...I'm glad the IRS didn't audit US!" and changing their policies.

You know...that's a good question. I would think (danger Will Robinson....danger!!) that it would all depend on if "damage" could be categorically proven to be a direct result of that specific incident beyond a reasonable doubt, right? I think I've certainly heard of MANY more cases where an INDIVIDUALS reputation was damaged which could be far easier to prove.

That show was SOOOO good. I remember thinking how phenomenally good their feet were considering the conditions. I would have been flat footed as could be. But not Madison...toes to the sky all the way. I don't think I could pick a better one in regards to performance. I will say that another one that makes my hair stand on end every single time is 2010 PR. It is still, IMHO, one of the most underrated shows score/placement wise that I've ever seen. And the kick stop / horn snap on that last sustain.........even for a drummer, it gets me every time.

It really depends on two factors in no particular order: 1. What is your age? and / or 2. How big of a dork are you? I personally am proud to say that I fit well into both categories as I'm on the back side of my 40's (47 today in fact,) AAAANNNNDDDDDD I'm a HUGE dork.

Valid point. I think it very much varies by industry. In mine, I would generically say that we "police" the contractors a bit more and the fines are certainly heavier if they miss something that's laid out in the contract. We're pretty much hands off until something goes to #### and then I suddenly get 642 emails (probably because 641 people felt it necessary to hit "replay all.") But all liability is shared.

Bass Drops being planned (that's just for you Jeff.)

That would have been a great show for VK (RIP) to do. "42...Life, the Universe and Everything." See, I mentioned VK so now it's drum corps specific. I win at life.

Whenever I design training materials, I always slip in a customer named Zaphod Beeblebrox into the screenshots somewhere....and as many references to "42" as possible.

Interesting thought. Sometime in the 90's (as I remember him telling me) my father, who was a food services director for Aramark and stationed at the University of Tampa at the time, stated that he was approached by Suncoast Sound about just such a thing. Now without all the details and dad being gone there isn't a lot of fact checking that I can do, but it shows some validity of your thought. Any large food services company could probably help DCI establish such a thing and help corps plan how to budget for it and make it happen. If you can deal with a college campus feeding 35,000 kids 3 times a day, my assumption would be you're pretty good at organization and efficiency. P.S - sorry about my sentence structure. I've been developing curriculum for 80 hours already this week and I'm "structured out."

And THIS is why I love the strong offseason posting group. Two Hitchhikers Guide references in a row and several people who actually got them.

The only way this gets worse is if Roman changes his last name to "Colosseum" in attempt to get around DCI's requirements. P.S. - special thanks to Chad "Ochosinco" Johnson

As George stated, famously inaccurate and Jeff hits the nail squarely on the head. I've been on the receiving end of a Glassdoor review from an ex-employee who I had to terminate for a pretty serious offense and got hauled into HR for one of AT&T's infamous "investigations." It's a double edged sword.

That right there! And trust me...it doesn't get any better. After many seasons through DCI and DCA plus college, my back is toast. I only marched tenors for a few seasons before I went to snare. A personal trainer or athletic trainer can definitely help to strengthen your back, but your body can still only do what it can do.

I remember vaguely...and I mean vaguely, being at a DCA show and one of the bus drivers decided he had enough (I simply don't remember the specifics,) and locked us out of the bus and decided he was going home with all of our stuff still on board. Luckily, when an entire corps decides to make a wall of people, you aren't going to get too far. It got resolved somehow.

I'm so glad it was the late 80's when I came around LOL. At least we had this marvelous thing called "air conditioning." You cats from 70's were tough as nails.

Very good points. I always loved VK to be honest. They were entertaining which is what it's all supposed to be about. As you said, those of us who marched or have been fans for a long while connect to the uni's as an identity of the corps. I think it's easier to identify with uniform styles (especially for fans who never marched or newer fans,) than to identify with musical styles. Nobody has the same sound stylistically as they used to have to my ear anyways. And that's not a bad thing. I'm pretty sure though that if PR went back to melt your face classical, I would be one of the old farts that would probably say "Now THAT'S Phantom Regiment!"