Perils of Caffeine in the Evening

I’ve been gone from these parts for awhile, but you haven’t missed anything.

At least until last weekend, which was a flurry of band activity. Saturday was all-day Band Camp for the marching band, held at Camp Long in West Seattle. We ran through our music as an ensemble, broke up into groups by instrument (sectionals) to work through the more difficult parts of our trumpet music.

After a bountiful potluck lunch we practiced marching (and playing) for the first time this year, dodging potholes in in a parade field and then onto asphalt to encounter their ankle-munching cousins.

The vibe of the band post-pandemic is a lot different, at least from my perspective. There are only 5 or 6 of us pre-pandemic marchers, everyone else seems under 30 and very talented. Coming back after the long hiatus, I feel like Rip-VAn-Fucking-Winkle, even without the white beard.

Monday night was our regular rehearsal night, and we took to the streets surrounding our host church, which is smack in the middle of the (Washington) University District. I’m sure we inconvenienced many a motor vehicle, but as we progressed, inhabitants of fraternity and sorority houses gathered on their front porches and cheered us on. We’ll see how it ages next week.

On a personal note, I’ve lost a little over 10 pounds, and it feels great, like why did I never think of this before. A large swath of my closet that had been off-limits for 10 or more years is suddenly available, and beckons to me in all its 80s-era glory.