Fran Haring Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Like some others who've posted here, I never met Jason... but reading his posts back then, I felt as if I had known him all my life. A life that ended too quickly... but a life well-lived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrainWreck Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I remember that night when it was posted here that Jason passed. He loved corps and his truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 His AIM name still sits in my buddy list, as I can't bring myself to delete it. Miss that guy so much. I posted a similar message a couple of years ago, and his contact info remains in my mailbox. And as I stated then, anyone on AOL can forget about getting Tickbox as a screen name. I've already got it! Garry in Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhsalan Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Ginger's Site for Jason's Memorial Service Still miss you buddy. I am a better teacher and person because I knew you. RIP and enjoy the view..... AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhsalan Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Hard to believe it's been 11 years.... Here's the text of a post I made on my facebook wall tonight. Thought some of you here would appreciate it when you have time to read tomorrow. Sitting here tonight, I was thinking back to a visit Ginger and I made to a hospital 11 years ago today to visit one last time with a young man who had taught both of us and so many others so much. As we walked out of the hospital that afternoon, Ginger and I sat down on the benches and both cried… We knew we would never seen Jason Lowe alive again. A courageous battle that he had fought for almost a year, was about to be done and there was nothing any of us could do to change that. He faced that inevitability with a calm and peace so far beyond my own understanding, it was truly amazing to be in the same room with him in his final days. Ginger was able to spend time and talk with him, but I found very few words that seemed to be able to convey how I felt and what he had taught me. That's one of my few regrets about the time I knew him, I hope he knew how deeply he changed us all. When I first met him in person, Jason was just “another member” of our hornline at Spirit for the 2000 season. A drummer initially, he had taught himself to play mellophone after a back injury ended his hopes of marching battery percussion in the drum corps environment. He then hauled himself to Wisconsin for a season to march with the Americanos (what would now be an “Open Class Corps”) to develop some experience and have a better chance to march with Spirit. He auditioned and earned a spot in the 2000 Spirit hornline and was a solid performer, but not our most outstanding player. What I began to notice about him over time, was a tenacious determination to improve, to not allow his lack of background in brass hold him back from being one of our strongest performers. He wasn’t there yet, but he was determined to get there. The corps almost folded on June 8th that season. As Spirit alumni, friends, parents, fans and competitors across the entire activity came together to support us as we struggled to save the drum corps, it was kids like Jason that I thought of most often when I wondered whether or not what we were going through to try to “make it work” was worth it all in the end. It was Jason and a couple others that I simply could not imagine having to tell that the dream they had of marching with the Spirit of Atlanta, was going to be ended only weeks short of their first show. It kept some of us going during some really dark times. I’ve often wondered what “might have been” had the corps folded. Would he have been diagnosed earlier? Would it have made a difference? But in my own heart I know, that had the corps gone down in those fateful early days of June 2000, Jason would have been one of the first in line asking Freddy and I to find him a place to march. With his determination, I have no doubt, we would have found him a spot somewhere and he would have finished there as gallantly as he did with us. Throughout that season, we could see his pain, but he NEVER gave in to it. He would NOT sit out of a rehearsal , in spite of our suggestions and he was determined to never miss a show despite what we all realize now had to be excruciating pain. Over the course of the summer, he became an inspiration to his friends and to the staff for his dogged determination to fulfill his responsibilities as a performer. Little did we know, he would come to inspire so many more with his story of courage in the face of overwhelming odds against him in the year to come. After coming home and being diagnosed with bone cancer, he chose the most aggressive treatment possible with the intent of winning that battle as he had won so many others, through sheer determination and strength of will. Though he didn’t ultimately win that battle, after being given weeks to live, he went on to inspire everyone who knew him and many who never met him in the coming months as they learned of his courage and character. We were all amazed as we watched him climb out of his hospital bed to perform with the Corps Vets Senior corps only weeks before his death later that summer. He had been unable to perform that summer on a full junior corps tour, but Corps Vets took him in and gave him the chance to perform one last time. When others would have wallowed in self pity, he was fighting a battle I’m not sure many of us would have even had the courage to start. In the time since his death, Ginger and I have both learned to try and appreciate even the most simple things in our lives. Whether it be a sunrise that others didn’t get to see, our a yellow butterfly that reminds us of our valiant young friend, our blessings surround us each day even when we don’t take the time to recognize or appreciate them. So I hope that the kids marching in Indy this weekend, take the time to stop and soak it all in. Savor the moment for there is someone, somewhere that would give anything to be in your shoes, to have that chance, just one more time to “live their dream”. Best wishes to all the drum corps kids and families this weekend and may the lessons they have learned in the activity resonate as deeply as all those Jason taught so many of us in the time we knew him and the 11 years since we lost his goofy smiling face. Jason, RIP my friend, you will be forever missed and NEVER forgotten. AA 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I'm glad you started this thread! RIP Jason! We're still thinking of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 11 years. Wow. RIP buddy. I think about you often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 wow, it has been 11 years. Miss ya man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) There are certain people who touch you in ways you don't expect. Jason went from smart-### redneck to a hero in many hearts. He's still in my buddy list; I won't delete his name. And I have an alternate e-mail address that I occasionally use. Tickbox. It was one of his many screen names. He loved ruffling feathers, especially when they needed it. He was also a loyal friend, a loving son. So when this comes up again every year, it's like the Phoenix is rising again, and it's name is Jason. Edited August 9, 2012 by CrunchyTenor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler C. Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 )> I love my drum corps family dearly, and it's because of people like Jason Lowe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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