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The Greatest Drum Corps Moment I Witnessed


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I am posting this, admittedly, out of nothing but selfishness. It is to atone for something which I never before stated publicly, yet was so very wrong in expressing.

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to attend the concert at Tanglewood which featured not only the Brass section of the Boston Pops Orchestra, but the separate and combined forces of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps and the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. During this concert, I had the incredible fortune and honor to witness a most inspiring moment.

As many of you may know, I attended this concert with a gentleman who many of you on here know as "Ghost." We had a great day....lunch in the afternoon at the Morgan House Restaurant in Lee, MA...early entrance upon the Tanglewood grounds (thank goodness I was driving behind a man who possessed the ability to get us on the grounds well before the stipulated time of opening)...a chance to meet many and sundry staff and members of the 2015 Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps...and the chance to sit side-by-side throughout an amazing concert. It is a moment during this concert which I will describe below.

At the conclusion of the Boston Crusader's portion of the concert, they performed their "corps song"...a selection simply entitled "Giant." I had been somewhat familiar with this before this day, but Ghost was gracious enough to fill me in with many of the particulars of the selection which I had not been familiar...including, why it meant so much to BAC. It is with the very opening notes of the performance of that selection which struck me...and will stay with me forever. As those initial notes met the ears of those of us attending, I suddenly noticed, out of the corner of my eye, and incredible sight: Ghost, who was sitting beside me, immediately reached up, removed the baseball-type hat which he was wearing, and stood. Ramrod straight. At attention. The only person within the vast audience (or at least those within my rather sharp eyesight) to do so. In my years of marching, I have marched with many proud marchers. Marchers who, one would swear, wouldn't move even given the direst of circumstances. But looking back upon those marchers, I must honestly say that I never once witnessed a single person who stood with the bearing, the honor, and the meaning which I was fortunate enough to see in the man beside me that night.

I know Ghost's story. I know his background. I know why the Boston Crusaders mean so much to him. But it was at that moment that I realized that, even given all the knowledge which one may possess on a matter, one cannot know everything. And it was at that moment that I, maybe more than at any other time in my life, realized what HONOR meant. What RESPECT meant. And what DEVOTION meant.

And so, to you Ghost, I thank you for providing me a deeply enriching and humbling moment. Not as a mere drum and bugle corps fan. But as a human being. I shall forever be in your debt.

Now....if anyone else wishes to provided experiences which were meaningful to you...this being the off-season is the perfect time to do it. And even if nobody else chooses to step up and speak...then if nothing else, I am happy to have extended most incredibly-deserved words of respect to one who taught me, on that night, what respect really means. Thank you, Sir.

Edit: It is with the moments following what I wrote above that yet another, and maybe more important, realization came to my mind. I now know why DCP exists. It exists because there are hundreds...no...thousands...of people who have been touched by the activity. Have been influenced by the activity. And who, most importantly, have been molded by the activity. Some may ##### at times...some may write with any and every extreme of, what my dear old dad used to call it..."#### and vinegar"...and some may write out of what they may think is the extremest of unction. But in the end, we all post based on the same reason...we care. We care about that which meant something great to us at some time in our lives...and even more importantly, what means even more to us in these days long past the time which tired lips, sore hands, and bruised feet marked the proof of our participation. So go ahead...##### away. Express your ideas and contributions without fear...even if, in the backs of your rational minds, that little voice echoes "shut up, you ###### fool...you're full of #### on this one." It's ok...it happens with us all. And why? Simply this...because we care. Because most of us have "been there" in one form or another. And because, like "Ghost," we all still knowing and lovingly stand with prideful attention whenever, or IF ever, we should hear our song. It is not only our song...it is the song in which we believe.

Edited by HornTeacher
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I am posting this, admittedly, out of nothing but selfishness. It is to atone for something which I never before stated publicly, yet was so very wrong in expressing.

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to attend the concert at Tanglewood which featured not only the Brass section of the Boston Pops Orchestra, but the separate and combined forces of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps and the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. During this concert, I had the incredible fortune and honor to witness a most inspiring moment.

As many of you may know, I attended this concert with a gentleman who many of you on here know as "Ghost." We had a great day....lunch in the afternoon at the Morgan House Restaurant in Lee, MA...early entrance upon the Tanglewood grounds (thank goodness I was driving behind a man who possessed the ability to get us on the grounds well before the stipulated time of opening)...a chance to meet many and sundry staff and members of the 2015 Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps...and the chance to sit side-by-side throughout an amazing concert. It is a moment during this concert which I will describe below.

At the conclusion of the Boston Crusader's portion of the concert, they performed their "corps song"...a selection simply entitled "Giant." I had been somewhat familiar with this before this day, but Ghost was gracious enough to fill me in with many of the particulars of the selection which I had not been familiar...including, why it meant so much to BAC. It is with the very opening notes of the performance of that selection which struck me...and will stay with me forever. As those initial notes met the ears of those of us attending, I suddenly noticed, out of the corner of my eye, and incredible sight: Ghost, who was sitting beside me, immediately reached up, removed the baseball-type hat which he was wearing, and stood. Ramrod straight. At attention. The only person within the vast audience (or at least those within my rather sharp eyesight) to do so. In my years of marching, I have marched with many proud marchers. Marchers who, one would swear, wouldn't move even given the direst of circumstances. But looking back upon those marchers, I must honestly say that I never once witnessed a single person who stood with the bearing, the honor, and the meaning which I was fortunate enough to see in the man beside me that night.

I know Ghost's story. I know his background. I know why the Boston Crusaders mean so much to him. But it was at that moment that I realized that, even given all the knowledge which one may possess on a matter, one cannot know everything. And it was at that moment that I, maybe more than at any other time in my life, realized what HONOR meant. What RESPECT meant. And what DEVOTION meant.

And so, to you Ghost, I thank you for providing me a deeply enriching and humbling moment. Not as a mere drum and bugle corps fan. But as a human being. I shall forever be in your debt.

Now....if anyone else wishes to provided experiences which were meaningful to you...this being the off-season is the perfect time to do it. And even if nobody else chooses to step up and speak...then if nothing else, I am happy to have extended most incredibly-deserved words of respect to one who taught me, on that night, what respect really means. Thank you, Sir.

Great story. Glad you told it.

This can also be a thread in itself. There are many stories like this out there with those who learned respect from their corps and how it carried with them throughout life. There are some wonderful Cadet stories and how the history is carried on by multiple generations as well as some great Cavalier and Madison stories. No doubt many,many others from corps not quite as famous. It's shows many , young and old ( as it should ) that often there is so much more taught by these dedicated adults and what's learned by these eager and talented members.

Respect is something that is there or not and what a great story among many out there of respect for not just a corps but an idea which carries on far beyond competition or generations.

Great Story

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I am posting this, admittedly, out of nothing but selfishness. It is to atone for something which I never before stated publicly, yet was so very wrong in expressing.

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to attend the concert at Tanglewood which featured not only the Brass section of the Boston Pops Orchestra, but the separate and combined forces of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps and the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. During this concert, I had the incredible fortune and honor to witness a most inspiring moment.

As many of you may know, I attended this concert with a gentleman who many of you on here know as "Ghost." We had a great day....lunch in the afternoon at the Morgan House Restaurant in Lee, MA...early entrance upon the Tanglewood grounds (thank goodness I was driving behind a man who possessed the ability to get us on the grounds well before the stipulated time of opening)...a chance to meet many and sundry staff and members of the 2015 Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps...and the chance to sit side-by-side throughout an amazing concert. It is a moment during this concert which I will describe below.

At the conclusion of the Boston Crusader's portion of the concert, they performed their "corps song"...a selection simply entitled "Giant." I had been somewhat familiar with this before this day, but Ghost was gracious enough to fill me in with many of the particulars of the selection which I had not been familiar...including, why it meant so much to BAC. It is with the very opening notes of the performance of that selection which struck me...and will stay with me forever. As those initial notes met the ears of those of us attending, I suddenly noticed, out of the corner of my eye, and incredible sight: Ghost, who was sitting beside me, immediately reached up, removed the baseball-type hat which he was wearing, and stood. Ramrod straight. At attention. The only person within the vast audience (or at least those within my rather sharp eyesight) to do so. In my years of marching, I have marched with many proud marchers. Marchers who, one would swear, wouldn't move even given the direst of circumstances. But looking back upon those marchers, I must honestly say that I never once witnessed a single person who stood with the bearing, the honor, and the meaning which I was fortunate enough to see in the man beside me that night.

I know Ghost's story. I know his background. I know why the Boston Crusaders mean so much to him. But it was at that moment that I realized that, even given all the knowledge which one may possess on a matter, one cannot know everything. And it was at that moment that I, maybe more than at any other time in my life, realized what HONOR meant. What RESPECT meant. And what DEVOTION meant.

And so, to you Ghost, I thank you for providing me a deeply enriching and humbling moment. Not as a mere drum and bugle corps fan. But as a human being. I shall forever be in your debt.

Now....if anyone else wishes to provided experiences which were meaningful to you...this being the off-season is the perfect time to do it. And even if nobody else chooses to step up and speak...then if nothing else, I am happy to have extended most incredibly-deserved words of respect to one who taught me, on that night, what respect really means. Thank you, Sir.

That is a great story!! Thanks for sharing.

I have been around drum corps for a really long time so I have experienced many great drum corps moment. Even special moments following an on field tradegy. Although I must say one of the great drum corps moments I experienced was this past summer during night 1 of the DCI East Regional in Allentown pa. After the competion corps performed an exhibition corps took the field called the FREE Players who are noted as being one of the first Special Needs drum corps. For obvious reasons this was an amazing experience to be part of.

I am just a fan and if you would like More info on the FREE Players here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/user/freeplayersdrumline/about

Edited by Triple Forte
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Great story. Glad you told it.

This can also be a thread in itself. There are many stories like this out there with those who learned respect from their corps and how it carried with them throughout life. There are some wonderful Cadet stories and how the history is carried on by multiple generations as well as some great Cavalier and Madison stories. No doubt many,many others from corps not quite as famous. It's shows many , young and old ( as it should ) that often there is so much more taught by these dedicated adults and what's learned by these eager and talented members.

Respect is something that is there or not and what a great story among many out there of respect for not just a corps but an idea which carries on far beyond competition or generations.

Great Story

I agree. Which is why I added my edit to the original post. You were far more perceptive than I, and spoke of it before I had the chance. That is far, far to your credit, Sir.

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Thanks for starting this thread. Very nice original post. It brought back memories that I wanted to share.

In 1999 I discovered drum corps, on TV. In November 2002 I auditioned (and did not make the cut) for the corps that ended up 4th place at 2003 Finals.

It wasn't until 2010 where I joined a different Finalist corps for their season as a truck driver, when I saw what drum corps was REALLY all about.

It didn't take me long to realize that of all the positions in a drum corps, the truck drivers have it the easiest. Along the course of the tour, these are some of the things that went through my head.

I didn't have to sleep on a floor, or on a moving bus or RV, I didn't have to drag all my stuff out at 3am and drag it across the parking lot in order to go back to sleep again for a measly 4 hours. I got to park the truck, drop the equipment trailer as close to the field as I can, and go park in a nice quiet corner and go to sleep right in my truck (it was a sleeper cab).

I got to see drum corps shows for free multiple times over the summer.

I got free food all day every day.

Since I found nice quiet shady corners to park in, the front ensemble would inevitably find the same quiet shady corner, and go rehearse somewhere near my truck. I got to wake up to the sound of marimbas. The best alarm clock on Earth, bar none.

I remember when we got to some school in Texas at 5-6am and it was already 90F outside. I went to sleep and woke up probably around 2pm? I opened up my curtain only to see across the parking lot, the corps out on the field rehearsing as usual. I stepped out of my truck just long enough to taste the stifling heat and humidity. I immediately went right back into my comfy air conditioning.

I checked my phone to see what the outside temperature was, and it was 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

I felt like such a *, and it was in that moment I had the epiphany that I was literally looking at the most incredible thing on Earth. And I felt that if anyone had it inside them to do what they were doing, going through hell and suffering, and even paying a couple thousand $ to do it, they could do anything. I have never felt so humbled.

I'm telling you that these kids who march/have marched corps are the most exceptional people on Earth, and I felt privileged just to even be able to call myself a small part of the corps family. And it wasn't just the kids, it was the cooks, the people sewing and hemming, the souvie booth people, the tour manager and interns, staff, etc.

Everyone worked together as a unit to achieve a common goal. A drum and bugle corps is the most incredible thing on Earth.

I wish I could take off another summer and go through it all again. I drove 2010 and 2011, and they call me every spring to ask me again, but I haven't been able to commit to a whole summer. I hope I do again at some point in life.

If you've never been part of a corps, go volunteer. Take the time to do it. It was an experience of a lifetime. I should have paid to be a part of it.

Sure, we (especially myself) get caught up here on DCP about scores, show designs, judges and politics, other related drama, but when one really thinks about it, none of that matters even one iota.

What really matters is the journey, the life experience. And even though I did cry at the end of their Finals performance, the end of the journey matters, but the end is not the point.

The end just crowns the work,

Edited by BoyWonder1911
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I am posting this, admittedly, out of nothing but selfishness. It is to atone for something which I never before stated publicly, yet was so very wrong in expressing.

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to attend the concert at Tanglewood which featured not only the Brass section of the Boston Pops Orchestra, but the separate and combined forces of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps and the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. During this concert, I had the incredible fortune and honor to witness a most inspiring moment.

As many of you may know, I attended this concert with a gentleman who many of you on here know as "Ghost." We had a great day....lunch in the afternoon at the Morgan House Restaurant in Lee, MA...early entrance upon the Tanglewood grounds (thank goodness I was driving behind a man who possessed the ability to get us on the grounds well before the stipulated time of opening)...a chance to meet many and sundry staff and members of the 2015 Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps...and the chance to sit side-by-side throughout an amazing concert. It is a moment during this concert which I will describe below.

At the conclusion of the Boston Crusader's portion of the concert, they performed their "corps song"...a selection simply entitled "Giant." I had been somewhat familiar with this before this day, but Ghost was gracious enough to fill me in with many of the particulars of the selection which I had not been familiar...including, why it meant so much to BAC. It is with the very opening notes of the performance of that selection which struck me...and will stay with me forever. As those initial notes met the ears of those of us attending, I suddenly noticed, out of the corner of my eye, and incredible sight: Ghost, who was sitting beside me, immediately reached up, removed the baseball-type hat which he was wearing, and stood. Ramrod straight. At attention. The only person within the vast audience (or at least those within my rather sharp eyesight) to do so. In my years of marching, I have marched with many proud marchers. Marchers who, one would swear, wouldn't move even given the direst of circumstances. But looking back upon those marchers, I must honestly say that I never once witnessed a single person who stood with the bearing, the honor, and the meaning which I was fortunate enough to see in the man beside me that night.

I know Ghost's story. I know his background. I know why the Boston Crusaders mean so much to him. But it was at that moment that I realized that, even given all the knowledge which one may possess on a matter, one cannot know everything. And it was at that moment that I, maybe more than at any other time in my life, realized what HONOR meant. What RESPECT meant. And what DEVOTION meant.

And so, to you Ghost, I thank you for providing me a deeply enriching and humbling moment. Not as a mere drum and bugle corps fan. But as a human being. I shall forever be in your debt.

Now....if anyone else wishes to provided experiences which were meaningful to you...this being the off-season is the perfect time to do it. And even if nobody else chooses to step up and speak...then if nothing else, I am happy to have extended most incredibly-deserved words of respect to one who taught me, on that night, what respect really means. Thank you, Sir.

Edit: It is with the moments following what I wrote above that yet another, and maybe more important, realization came to my mind. I now know why DCP exists. It exists because there are hundreds...no...thousands...of people who have been touched by the activity. Have been influenced by the activity. And who, most importantly, have been molded by the activity. Some may ##### at times...some may write with any and every extreme of, what my dear old dad used to call it..."#### and vinegar"...and some may write out of what they may think is the extremest of unction. But in the end, we all post based on the same reason...we care. We care about that which meant something great to us at some time in our lives...and even more importantly, what means even more to us in these days long past the time which tired lips, sore hands, and bruised feet marked the proof of our participation. So go ahead...##### away. Express your ideas and contributions without fear...even if, in the backs of your rational minds, that little voice echoes "shut up, you ###### fool...you're full of #### on this one." It's ok...it happens with us all. And why? Simply this...because we care. Because most of us have "been there" in one form or another. And because, like "Ghost," we all still knowing and lovingly stand with prideful attention whenever, or IF ever, we should hear our song. It is not only our song...it is the song in which we believe.

This great story reminded me of a post from BAC back in May on Facebook which was titled "Corps we love"...I get a bit teary-eyed when I hear Giant....it also happened this season when I heard Giant being sung by the corps in the background at one of the online performances (not sure which one now) ...but it sure really strikes an emotional chord with me...

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