BklynMario

While nothing will ever be more important than our own families, there's something very special about knowing that we are privileged to belong to yet another family, whose lives we share in spite of the reality that we may not even know one another personally. Our lives have crosses, not in time spent at our obligatory workplaces, but rather in sharing those few precious hours and days and nights when we have trudged through otherwise crippling snowstorms, and sweated through torrid, sunburning sessions of, "Let's try that one more time!" We have endured unimaginably improbable disappointments, simply for the ultimate joy of spending scant minutes insisting that strangers see us in all our gaudy splendor, and hear and cheer our nearly ephemeral performances. And we do this again, and again and... And there have been times when we were better than you were. And times when you were...But that doesn't really matter. All of that is forgotten with, "How've you been?", "Didn't you march with...?", "Remember when...?", and , "Hey! Two beers (or sodas), please." Then we laugh until it hurts, and quietly cry with the same result. As much as we care about each other, we live with the realization that we will never change the world. And yet, we find ourselves in a kind of noisy solace, that makes us feel just a bit better than we felt before coming to rehearsal. We are glad to see that Tom is here. That Betty was able to make the trip down. After all, we're going to work on a new piec tonight, and without them... Christmas. And all the merry, little Christmases we have known, or have yet to experience. May they continue to be filled , shared, and blessesd by our family. mario

ALL....just received a call from his wife, Filomena. Sonny has passed away. Visitation will be from 3-8 PM tomorrow ONLY. Scalia Funeral Home 28 Eltingville Blvd. Staten Island, NY 10312 718-356- 6363 For Directions, etc., go to http://www.scaliahome.com/ Sonny was a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cadets (Along with Pepe, Cluna, Gennero) Also Our Lady of Loretto, member and Director. Director of St. Joseph's Patron, member of Sky Chorus. Truly one of the good guys. We will miss him terribly..mario

HORNS......please excuse the sheer stupidity. They ARE 2 valve? OK...you can reach me at: BklynMario@aol.com Delicate question....how much? Or, in Caballero-speak: ¿Cuánto cuestan?

DCPFAN...thanks much. I do have a REAL flugel, which I got when one of my fantasy dreams came true: “A Friggin’ Flugelhorne!” Okay, I know that it's somewhat juvenile, but I really need to share this with the only people I know of who'd appreciate my total surprise and wonderment when I was handed a gift bag with an airplane take-on, weighty, but compact piece of luggage inside of it. Could it be the Super Deluxe, Grand Master Engineer Roebling Erector set that only proud, tie-wearing, pipe-smoking fathers gave their blonde/red-haired, toothy-smiling, freckle-faced male offspring nearly fifty Christmases ago? Had my time actually come, now that I could enjoy it more (or less) in this early stage of inevitable senility? But Erector sets of Verrazano Bridge capability came in aptly befitting steel containers. This was not the case-- my dreams of suspension would have to be suspended. For now, I was confronted with the plasticized metal Yamaha tag on the exterior of the very serious brown, genuine, imitation, mock Naugahyde luggage. I am frozen. The familiar, friendly, family voices call to their fatuous member in a fait accompli phalanx: “Open it, stupid!” I defer to their dictum, and unclasp the shiny locks. Bright chrome reflects the sparkle from last-minute-half-price lights from the open-24-hours-Walgreen’s. “A friggin’ flugelhorn!” I repeat the same phrase five times more. To be certain, this rivals the "Christmas Story" elation/euphoria of any Red Ryder BB rifle-- and, unless I am really, really careless, it will take an extraordinary effort to take out my eye with a flugelhorn. As the fifth incantation ends, we cut to Chuck Mangione at Lincoln Center: "And now, on flugelhorn, my main man, from Brooklyn, New York..." Coolly, suavely, I offer a small, one-handed, Pope-like wave to the adoring, anarchically applauding audience. Bouquets and single red roses are tossed. Chuck has his arm over my shoulder, and we raise our horns in salute to the benediction of bravos. “...my paisan,...’” “Hell-o-o-o! Are you still with us?” Reality --maybe. “Well, what do you think? It isn’t new. You know how much a new flugelhorn costs. ”With grail-like reverence, I remove the sacred entity from its velvet embedded tabernacle. Kneeling ( I’m already there) with priestly devotion, I raise it to eye level. (Soliloquy) “New? Why should it be new? Was Aladdin’s lamp new? Weren’t Dorothy’s shoes ‘second foot?” Once again I intone the enchanted words that transmute all that I am into all that I ... “A friggin’ flugelhorne!” “ ...give it up for Brooklyn Mario!” Merry Christmas! (I will look again on eBay.....mario)

Hey, thanks! I recently picked up some of Bobby Bellarosa's stuff for the Drum Corps Heritaage Society, and my appetite was whetted. I found a DEG horn, but one valve is missing, and the rest of the thing needs work. I just wanted a two valve middle voice thing. *NB I hardly know what I'm talking about. I'm not bad at writing stories, but nomenclature of anything beyond a single valve soprano, confuses me. Please let me know if you have any thoughts. Appreciatively....mario bklynmario@aol.com

...at a very reasonable price? Grazie! mario

DPEmerald...are the FHs still around? mario

I.L. ....I think that you've got it right! Going by your research, I found this: I can't thank you enough...... mario

Is this for real? http://www.shapeways.com/model/687406/tri-wing-mouthpiece.html?li=productBox-search mario

Click here: Tri-Wing Mouthpiece by mdahlgren on Shapeways http://www.shapeways.com/model/687406/tri-wing-mouthpiece.html?li=productBox-search Or is this a "demo" of what 3-D "printers" are capable of? Please excuse my NSH ignorance! mario

Click here: Tri-Wing Mouthpiece by mdahlgren on Shapeways http://www.shapeways.com/model/687406/tri-wing-mouthpiece.html?li=productBox-search Or is this a "demo" of what 3-D "printers" are capable of? Please excuse my NSH ignorance! mario

Click here: Tri-Wing Mouthpiece by mdahlgren on Shapeways http://www.shapeways.com/model/687406/tri-wing-mouthpiece.html?li=productBox-search Or is this a "demo" of what 3-D "printers" are capable of? Please excuse my NSH ignorance! mario

PLEASE forgive the personal note to Mr. J: John and Kay Keays visited us today. mario (I don't have Mr. J's e-mail.) BklynMario@aol.com

Click here: 1990 Archer-Epler Musketeers Senior Medley - YouTube Once upon a time......

RAY...this may be the end of the great mystery. I've forwarded the results of your exhaustive investigation to JoeDe, John Keays, and Sal Capone (No relation to "Big Al.") The check enclosed below should cover your costs. CHECK`

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/06/04/arts/music/100000002262266/the-eiffel-towers-voice.html?nl=multimedia&emc=edit_fs_20130611 I am certain that "we" could do better! RSF (Rire sur fort) I got a "C" in French. mario

RAY...don't you just love a mystery? :lookaround:/> Let's hear it for the missing spaces of our memories! :giljotiini:/> mario

Anyone recall his "real" name? Joe DaFiglia and I were talking, and neither one of us could remember. We do know that he he played in Loretto, and possibly(?)the Skyliners. Any help? Grazie.mario

Without Andy's help in convincing Bobby that "divulging" bio info for election to the BHoF was not a conspiracy theory (being from Brooklyn, Da Boss willingly yielded only his name, borough, and the fact that he was a member of "HNCC, and Skyliners,") we might never know any more of Da Kid's life. And, yes, I was invited to accept Bobby's award - an incredible honor in itself. Hopefully, I'm going to make it to DCA this year.

Congrats to all! It was a kick to both have marched with and known Bobby Hoffman esp. Even BEFORE he became BOBBY HOFFMAN...great guy! As for my boss, the inimitable Bobby Bellarosa, I couldn't be more pleased. Now he's in Buglers'HoF, Cadets HoF, and WDCHoF. Hopefully, there will be more to follow. Sincerely....mario

Mario Navetta emailed me today telling me Al Koch passed. #### it. Two days ago I started to email Al and the phone rang. Needless to say the email was never sent as something mundane had to done right way. If the email had been sent I would have been told Al how much I grew to respect him the more time passed. Al was a marching member of the New York Skyliners and without doubt the loudest baritone player to ever pick up a horn anytime, any place. Don't argue with me. I have witnesses. In 1959, I was a very bad 19 year old baritone with brains enough to know that the color guard was the perfect place for me in the Skyliners as my parish corps took a pass on the season that May. I was off to the Big Red Band in a heartbeat. The Skyliners were on the come again after three or four year of falling off the cliff of the elite. We were a highly talented but a Alan Everson type corps- "Practice!!!! We're talking practice?" Our passion was playing music and making crowds go wild. Marching was a necessary evil. Truth be told without Dreitzer's arranging genius we were just another drum corps. Hy was the King of drum corps music makers and no one in their right mind would disagree. All this being said, once the Spring weather started warming up we rehearsed on Randall's Island every Wednesday and Friday. The island, in the middle of the East River, was a desolate barren place under the Tri-Borough Bridge overpass with a dreary WPA built stadium and a huge expands of broken beer bottle littered parking lots. The lots were our grass field. On the plus side was we could practice all night if wanted to- no lived on the island. Practice over, speeches made, Midnight or later our members went back to their tribal camps. Chuck Johnson, Neuhoff, Wilke, Swan and fellow Jerseyites headed to Johnson's Bar in Union City. Guarino, Woods, Weeks and Gallagher to any of the fabulous Irish taverns in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx- home of New York's granite-eating, whiskey-drinking sandhogs. Johnny Long, our one-armed, never-miss-a-rehearsal WWII vet, dropped off at a Harlem subway station. Winky, if not being chased by a groupie or him chasing a lovely maiden, could appear in any of these camps. The Hudson Valley and Connecticut war parties went to parts unknown. This brings me to the Neptune Diner, 31st Ave. and Astoria Blvd., Astoria, Queens. Home to a local population of Greeks that rivaled the size of Athens. Diner and Greek are interchangeable words in New York City. These diners had menus covered in heavy plastic and a Manhattan phone directory listing of every food group known to the civilized world. Cuisine was a word never seen. Night shift waitresses that knew your orders and names by heart. Every Wednesday and most Fridays our contingent of Brooklynites, Queens folks and Long Islanders settled in to solve the world's problems. The roster included Lefty, our one-legged leader and creator of DCA; Hy; Jimmy Salamone, New York City patrolman and corps conscience; Ralph Shur, our plotter-in-chief; Pepe, just back from the Army playing lead and corps comic; Genero, great first bari and up and coming arranger; Cluna, another great bari wishing he could play as loud as Koch; Al, loudest bari ever and soon to be lawyer; and last and surely least- me otherwise known as "Recruit" till the day Lefty died. We had others who attended from time to time. among them Tru Crawford and Bob Bunce, another great Sky bari, pulling Hy to a back of the diner to critique or edit their arrangements. Now the stories that can be told would make this piece a book. We laughed and fought. We solved problems and created same. The practical jokes were unending. It was rare to leave for home before 3 AM and more time than not we saw the sun come up with a Thursday workday ahead. So why am I writing this today. With Al passing, I'm the last man standing and no one goes to the Neptune Diner anymore. #### it. All this bring me back to Al. He taught me by his actions and the way he lived life that all people have dignity. Al, more than most people grew up in circumstances you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. He overcame and had an extremely successful professional career and personal life. I'll leave you with this one story. It was some time in the 1970s and I was on the admin side of the Skyliners. Al was teaching the Minnisink Warrior, an all black corps in Harlem. One of the stronger elements of the corps was an incredible rifle section that had moved on to the Brassmen en masse. For whatever reason this rifle section was rumored to be coming to our corps. I called Al for a luncheon to discuss this possible membership situation. I circled around my concerns and finally asked, "Al, we heard they're all gay. Is it true?". Al shot back with, "John, I'm in the middle of trying a murder case and you're worrying about eight great kids who are gay. Hell ya they gay. Give 'em uniforms and don't worry about it. You'll never regret it". Al was so right it's laughable. Lesson learned. Thank you Al.

Just to let everyone know that "Da Kid" was inducted into The Cadets Hall of Fame this past Sunday. The ceremony was held in the Lexus Lounge at MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, NJ, prior to the competition that became an exhibition because of the weather. You cannot imagine how proud I was to accept the honor in Bobby's name. What I had to say was this: Bobby “Da Kid” Bellarosa With very few exceptions, no one loved the Holy Name Cadets, the Garfield Cadets, the Cadets of Bergen County, and The Cadets, more than Bobby Bellarosa did. Considering the countless thousands who have worn the uniform, this is a statement that demands evidence. One of Bobby’s favorite stories was how, in 1949, he joined the Holy Name Cadets— by mistake. When he missed a bus going from New York City to Irvington, to join their Sons of the American Legion corps, he took the next available bus, whose last stop was Garfield. As he exited, he saw a group of kids carrying horn cases. What followed was: “You guys goin’ to practice?” “Yeah. Why?” “I wanna join the corps.” “Oh, okay. Come with us. Hey, you from New York?” “No. I’m from Brooklyn.” From then, until he left the corps in 1953, Bobby always got on the right bus for the four-hour round trip from Brooklyn. While it can’t be verified, it’s been said by many that he never missed a practice. On the other hand, Bobby said it was true, so it must have been. You don’t argue with a Golden Gloves boxing finalist. While with the corps, Bobby won (just an estimate), more than one hundred and fifty medals for his individual French horn performances. And, he was with us in 1950, when they won the American Legion National Junior Championship in Los Angeles. In 1952, he was named Cadet of the Year. After leaving Holy Name for the Skyliners, Bobby went on to publish his Eastern Review magazine. In a time often characterized as “The Golden Age” of drum and bugle corps, his home grown 12- to 16-page, 25-cent, picture-plentiful, monthly gazette, was abundant with contributions from first tier reporters, instructors, judges, and Bobby’s very own insider gossipy, “Off the Grapevine” column. “Eclectic” doesn’t begin to characterize Bobby’s ventures. If you were a startup corps that needed horns, drums, flags, rifles, or uniforms, you went to see Bobby. Recordings? Parade jobs? Need music? A drill instructor? A place to practice? Corps jackets? A bus? Talk to Bobby. But you had to speak Brooklyn fast to keep up with him. Much like the song, Bobby had to be—and was— here, there, and everywhere all at the same time. Bobby’s greatest dream was never fully realized. His Original Drum and Bugle Corps Hall of Fame, though full of every manner of drum corps treasure, was troubled by lack of funding. Nevertheless, he refused to give up on it. Hopefully, the newly announced Drum Corps Heritage Project will fulfill at least a small part of that dream. Through the years, Bobby shared his talent and selfless contributions to every aspect of our avocation. Not believing that he ever truly deserved it, he refused to be inducted into any hall of fame. Involuntarily, he was named a member of the Brooklyn Drum and Bugle Corps Hall of Fame, and the prestigious Bugler’s Hall of Fame. When asked the reason, Bobby jokingly deflected the query with his best James Cagney tough guy voice, “Wait until I’m dead!” Bobby died last year, just one day short of tonight’s contest. Welcome to The Cadets Hall of Fame, Bobby! I'd like to thank everyone who helped make this possible. Your words and thought made it easy. While it is a hackneyed expression, I sincerly mean that I could not have done it without you - Bobby also helped. My "mission," if you will, is to make certain that my boss, is inducted into every D&BC HoF. SO far, he's also in the Brooklyn HoF, and the Bugler's HoF (All done INVOLUNTARILY) Please help me make certain this mission is successful. Grazie! btw About the Lexus Lounge: 3 pretzels, 3 sodas = $43.44. The mustard, straws, and napkins, as well as the tray for the cups, were free.

Just a note to let EVERYONE know that Bobby Bellarosa has been chosen to be a member of The Cadets' Hall of FameIt goes without saying that I am grateful to all of you who made this possible. The recommendations I submitted bordered on voluminous - OK, I'm exaggerating a bit, but there were lots of them. As you might know, Bobby was elected to The Buglers' Hall of Fame, and also the Brooklyn Drum Corps Hall of Fame. The ultimate objective is to have him as a member of every HoF that our activity sponsors. More later. In the meantime, here is the Cadets announcement, as noted on their website. A very special thank you to Raymond A. Cappiccelle and Greg Cinzio. mario It’s official: It’s now on the Cadet Website: The Cadets Announce the Class of 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees Monday, April 30, 2012 Record-number 400 ballots tallied in Hall of Fame vote There is no more prestigious an organization in drum corps than The Cadets Hall of Fame. There are 43 names listed on the wall in The Cadets office in Allentown, PA and they read like a “who's-who” of the activity. This year, thanks to the nominations and votes cast by the members of The Alumni Association and the Legacy Committee of the Cadets Hall of Fame, four new members have been voted into the 2012 class of The Cadets Hall of Fame. Congratulations go to: Gino Cipriani, Brass Caption Supervisor (2000-02, 2005-Current) Greg Lagola, Colorguard Designer and Choreographer (1989-Current) George Lucas, Long time volunteer (1980’s-90’s) Robert Bellarossa, Holy Name Cadet (1948-52) George Hopkins, Director of the Cadets said in congratulating this year's class, "We thank the members of the Hall of Fame Committee for their hard work in making this process a success. We had 400 votes cast this year, and we are all looking forward to the day when the thousands of members who are Alumni will all participate in this very special privilege." Hopkins continued, "I would like to personally congratulate the members of the Class of 2012 on their induction to the Hall, all of whom I've had the distinct pleasure to work with over the years and who have made the Cadets what they are today." This new class for 2012 was announced at the live webinar from the Cadets camp in Woodstown, NJ by Hall of Fame Committee Chairman Eric Santo. Dr. Santo said he was very thankful for the voter turn out. There were over 400 votes this year compared with 300 last. The induction ceremony will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on August 5 prior to the Tour of Champions Grand Finale. You can purchase tickets to this event atcadets.org/tickets. All the best, Greg Cinzio

ALL...thanks so very much for your support and thoughtful words.Needless to say, I too wish that Bobby would be inducted in *every* HoF, via acclimation. I've done The Cadets, Pennsylania, and (Say a prayer!)DCI. Mass, NJ, and WDCHoF will have to wait until next year. To be perfectly honest, I thought it might be otherwise, but that's okay;unlike the Reublican prmaries,no one could compete against "Da Kid." Again, my sincer thanks to everyone. The waiting period will have a party for each of Bobby's inductions. Stay well........mario