The Curse of the Byng Band

This year started out like any other year.  Band Camp. Iron Man. Swim Party.  And then...something dark and mysterious came upon the Byng High School Band. Okay. It wasn't so dark, nor mysterious.  Most of the world just calls it rain. I call it---"The Curse of the Byng Band."

State Fair Parade--RAIN
ECU Homecoming Parade--RAIN
Annual Hamburger Fry--RAIN (& cold)

Today was like any other Hamburger Fry day.  We try to squeeze one more jazz rehearsal in and 1/3 of the band was late, so I get cranky and yell at people.  (Am I so much a freak that I can only recall once in my life that I was ever late?  I was 16 and in England.  I'm not sure if it was pure exhaustion or inability to set my alarm.  But I got a "wake-up" call one morning that the entire orchestra was on the bus....except for me. Oops.)  Back to the curse....

Then I force the next there classes to free labor.  (Just be glad you weren't on ice chest clean up duty! Neither was I. I let Mr. Farris head up that department.)  Eventually, 11:00 comes around and I realize we are still short on cheese and desserts.  (Dear Sarah J. & Nathan--I doubt you read this, but if you did, you would know that we have never, ever, ever had as much cheese as the year we ate grilled cheese sandwiches for two months straight.)    I make one more frantic run to Walmart.  I almost ran over two people. I apologized and apologized.  I wonder if they just wrote me off as one of those crazy Walmart people or if they knew I was legitimately sorry for bringing near death to them?  And then...I drive home to make 13 dozen cookies & cupcakes.  I should open a bakery instead of the band room each morning.  Of course, they were "fake" cookies & cupcakes.  But for the record, I can bake real ones too.

Somehow, all of my blogs come back to my not-so-handy-dandy-radar.  Yes, I watched it today.  And for two hours it showed it was raining on top of us.  However, we at best had light mist.  So, THE moment I have you take chairs and stands outside, the real rain decides to come.  However, I have decided to look on the bright side of the rain....

1) Let's face it. The Hamburger Concert is always awful musicianship. Year after year, we fail to come through in a peak performance. Today, we blame it on the rain!

2) Since half of you have already lost your music, you'll get a nice, fresh copy for free and I'll never know that you didn't have your music (cough--cough--Cade).

3) Since we did our warm-ups indoors, you were given the opportunity to come up with that really strange hold-your-instruments-up-in-the-air-thing.

4.) Since Josh was cold, he decided that if he played faster he would stay warm. So finally, we were able to keep our jazz songs up to tempo. (Well, almost....but I have never in my life breathed such a sigh of relief! Except every time I touch down safely from a plane ride. Great job jazz band!)

5.) No one could do anything else since it was rainy and cold. Therefore, we had a record crowd and sold all but 3 of the 350 burgers!

I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of The Curse of the Byng Band.  But....if this rain turns to snow and I have to start canceling things, I will not be happy.