Cell Phones on Tour

[CapRegBariMom]

It also helps when you send mom a text message to say "i'm on the way to the hospital". Which has happened already this year.

Hey I got one of those txts too but it also included "what's your CC # incase I have a copay?"

That was immediately followed by a phone call and it was all fine but being able to reach her in that case was a great relief

My daughter obviously has hers with her but it doesn't go to rehearsal etc. We use it primarily to send and leave txt msgs. She sends me scores; I send her encouragement and so far this season a replacement charger for one lost along the way and a replacement battery.

[bartyount]

I bought my daughter a cell phone before she went on tour this summer.

Hey Tim - fellow Sky Ryder! :) That's awesome that your daugther is marching - passing the legacy on! What corps is she marching?

[SkyRyder_FMM]

Hey Tim - fellow Sky Ryder! :) That's awesome that your daugther is marching - passing the legacy on! What corps is she marching?

She is marching with the Blue Stars. She plays trumpet, and I think she's the yongest kid in the corps, and one of the shortest. You should be able to pick her out if you see them :-)

[TuoKaerf]

She is marching with the Blue Stars. She plays trumpet, and I think she's the yongest kid in the corps, and one of the shortest. You should be able to pick her out if you see them :-)

Hope your daughter is having a great time :) . I'll get a chance to see my Blue Stars at Stillwater b**bs .

[lnavis]

It also helps when you send mom a text message to say "i'm on the way to the hospital". Which has happened already this year.

That's funny - I had to go to the hospital in Belize (major bug bite!) and couldn't call my husband. We did have limited email access, but we had to wait for the satellite to come around.

[bluecoats88]

I bought my daughter a cell phone before she went on tour this summer. This is her first year marching, and she is only 14, so I wanted her to be able to call me at any point in time she wanted to. So far, she has only called a couple of times, but it's been great. The one time she called in tears asking me to come get her I was really glad she had the phone. We were able to talk about what was going on, why she felt that way, etc., and in the end talked her off the ledge (she was just home sick and had had a bad day in rehersal, sun burn, etc.). She then talked to friends in the corps about how she was feeling, they commiserated about having similar experiences, and everything was fine later that day. Hard to say what might have happened to her that day and in subsequent days if she did not have the ability to pick up the phone and call me. Personally, I feel better knowing she has a cell phone.

Tim,

Where is your daughter marching this summer? Always Good to hear about 2nd generation drum corps members. too bad your corps wasn't still around for her to be a legacy.

Looks like others beat me to this question.

Edited June 29, 2006 by bluecoats88

[SassyMama]

Prudent use of a cell phone is definitely a plus. The way that the Cavie's are structured staff wise makes it pretty much unnecessary for the members to each have individual phones...most of the staff each have one and the communication level from what I've seen with The Cavaliers is top notch.

I remember talking with a guard member several years ago from one of the corps, it was at the end of the season, she was running out of cash and her parents had sent her a money order. Duh! She couldn't get in touch with them to tell them that she had no way to get it cashed, was hungry (it was after finals and the kids were on their own at that point) and tired. She had heard that her parents had remodeled her bedroom while she was gone for the summer and all in all it was just a bad time for her. She needed a phone to talk with her parents on a one to one for an extended period of time, instead of snatching a few minutes here and there, or sending a text message like SEND MONEY, and getting money unusuable at the time (sort of like trying to use an English Pound note in Oklahoma), lol. Had she had a phone she would have been in a much better mental and physical state than she was when I talked with her. Plus it was her first year as a corps member...wonder if she ever came back for another season.

Anyway - phones are a good thing with appropriate use.

[HornlineDiva]

OK. I think people that marched pre-cell phones seem to have this image that all we do is chat on our phones on the bus, and don't know each others' names. I find that a little amusing. Honestly, people use them occasionally at night. No one uses them for that long, and they are usually used when your friends aren't around... after lights-out, after a show, on the bus... we use them to get in touch with each other on laundry days, and we can text friends in other corps. We weren't even allowed to use them until after a show on a show day, or after rehearsal on a rehearsal day.

I'm not saying people can't rely too much on their phone.... my seat partner was a rookie, and she was crying on her phone constantly, with a blanket over her head. I considered throwing the battery away. Seriously. That's abuse of a cell. But that is the only instance I can recall.

I definitely know the people around me on the bus. I actually just took a road trip to visit them a few days ago.

So what I'm saying is, the pros far outweigh the cons. I had to be talked off a ledge my rookie year, too. :) Your daughter will be so glad she stayed.

[Mistress Kelli]

I experienced the way too long lines for the phone at truck stops, show sites, etc. More often than not, 98% of the corps never got to call home during those times. Absolutely fuhgeddaboutit if you're sharing a housing site with another corps. I'm glad kids have a way to stay in touch now.

[guardbones]

As a parent I'm glad my son has one, he calls to give scores, and just talk. ( Homesickness usually not a problem it's his 6th year.)

But as a former instructor it was once a major problem with a guard member who spent every possible moment on her phone. When we got near her hometown, she quit saying talking to her friends, boyfriend and family made her miss things to much. They were other problems she had, and the guard didn't miss her much. It did make the corps rethink cell phone procedures, but they were still allowed, and to my knowledge that was the only problem we had.