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I remember fondly the advent of "color television". My father (a self proclaimed expert on all things new and exciting) would sit on a footstool not more than three feet from the console color television set and fiddle with the controls in an attempt to get the color "just right". This was a time consuming process that required the special skill only HE possessed! Accordingly, the rest of the family only saw the rear of his body and the rainbow hued glow that surrounded it. Many exciting technological breakthroughs arrived in those days, the touchtone phone for instance. with some imagination and dexterity one could play a tune with the buttons! Tape recorders allowed my sister and I to hear what our voices sounded like. From "HI-FI" to "stereo", music seemed to fill every corner of the livingroom! With just the memory capacity of a hand held calculator, NASA computers put a man on the moon and we all were witness to the event via a live broadcast! These were indeed fascinating times!

Technology was delivering the promise of a wonderful future for my generation. Even so, the only things I remember to be labled "instant" were coffee and mashed potatos! Most every daily activity required an investment of TIME. Depending on the particular task at hand such an investment could be considerable or not.

A drive across town took an hour or so before the interstate system was completed. Family vacations to Boston required months of careful planning, saving and

of course, deciding which two lane route would get us to the Pennsylvania Turnpike in good time. Only then could my father "open up" that 390 engine in his 57 Ford

and make up for lost time! While true that Jet aircraft were regularly breaking the sound barrier and cars were gaining in horsepower, the days of our youth were slow-paced, generally speaking. We kids waited patiently for just about everything we desired.

But I digress. "success" was a time consuming PROCESS. It required patience, planning, saving and hard work, regardless of the goals in mind. "gratification" came only after such efforts were painstakingly completed. I tend to think us kids understood and accepted this "process". It was the way things worked. We really had no alternative but to "get with the program" as it existed then. My local Drum and Bugle corps started out with second hand uniforms, Bugles gathered from the four corners of the midwest (most were 1950's vintage horns) and reconditioned school busses. New instruments were accuired one by one over time (and numerous bake sales, pop bottle and paper drives). Each improvement and accusition was a source of immense PRIDE. It took years of hard work from every member.

Fast forwarding (in the interest of "time") I don't know just WHEN it occured, but technology came on like a "Tsunami" of cell phones, email, twitter, personal computers, Instant messaging, Ipods, Blackberries (not the "cobbler" variety), answering machines, call waiting, forwarding, screening, holding, VCR, DVD, CD, cable T.V., Sattelite T.V. (500 channels and not a thing worth watching), Microwave ovens, Mega Malls, Hypershops, (self checkout included), And amazingly, I saw an ad on T.V. yesterday for a self propelled vacume cleaner/ floor cleaner that is guided by a home installed GPS! Each of the aforementioned inverntions is designed and offered for ONE reason: "Instant Gratification". No waiting required. A kid today can skip right over (after private lessons) and audition for a DCI corps located across the country, pass the audition, get a state of the art instrument, a new custom uniform and go forth and "succeed" in ONE season. Instantly. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it IS what today's youth are used to. Their entire lives have been structured around "play dates" day planners, instant EVERYTHING, microwave dinners, "latchkey kids" with busy working mothers, left to the video game screens to find previously mentioned "reality". Of course, such instant gratification comes with a hefty price tag. A recent look at DCI top ten corps fees confirms this fact. What I fear is not the dollar price of this gratification, but the cost to society, "down the road". That is an issue worth debate. So, are todays youth just "getting with the program" as it exists for them in this century, as we did so many years ago in ours? Are they learning the values of patience, planning and hard work to become successful? Can we or SHOULD we be offering alternatives to achieving success? Does anyone see the inherent value of such corps as those who used to be called DIV. 2 and DIV. 3 DCI CORPS? Do you see them as possible avenues to teach kids the value of patience and planning? I am more interested in the opinions of OTHERS, rather than my own. Can 'we who came before' effect a change in direction and content for the betterment and good of the "Activity"?

Edited by hairbear
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At age 4…success is…not peeing in your pants.

At age 10…success is…making your own meals.

At age 12…success is…having friends.

At age 16…success is…having a drivers license.

At age 20…success is…having sex.

At age 35…success is…having money.

At age 50…success is…having money.

At age 60…success is…having hot romance.

At age 70…success is…having a drivers license.

At age 75…success is…having friends.

At age 80…success is…making your own meals.

At age 85…success is…not peeing in your pants.

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