Same Place, Same Time (Nov 3)

• We started the day with a sunny, fun practice and a fantastic runthrough (it was honestly the best run of the season – including the States performance!). 
• Before we left the school, Mr. Randall said, "What, are you going out to the club later tonight?" in response to my outfit of a turtleneck, a blazer, jeans and pointy shoes. He followed it up with, "Well, compared to the rest of us, you're like an 8 1/2!" It was very funny (especially because he called my boots "obnoxious" the other day) and I told Steele, Brad, Anna and several of the kids. So, when I was leaving, I said, "I'm off to the club!" and Randall and Steele laughed and Steele said, "The crochet club?" It was very funny :) 
• I love going to States because it's always the same (and I love that I can say that statement - that we've consistently gone for 4 years now!). Driving around the same few blocks because we arrive early. Unloading into the loading dock alcove for the first warm-up (I also gave out butterscotches to the kids as they got off the bus this year ;)). Practicing as best as we can in the loading dock, when the drumline, pit and horns are also practicing and the sound is bouncing all around (I decided to bring a Long Ranger this year - brilliant idea! No yelling :)) - though this year was a little different, as I was really comfortable with the level of our show by this point...not much more to practice! Lining up and waiting at the top of the tunnel (this year, applying glitter while we waited). Then heading into the storage room down the tunnel, for final warm-up – AKA the time where we use the bathroom, remove warm-up coats and pants and stretch a little bit. After that, we made our way into the tunnel and then onto the field with the band, to wait for the final time. Anna and I made sure the girls knew that we were meeting back at the tunnel to drop off equipment and about the taped hashes and numbers and then turned to watch the group before us (we were wholly unimpressed by their costumes and their large amount of equipment and changes – 2-3 per song!). Then it was our turn! Maya’s misplacement of her Closer flag (she changed it in time) made me a little nervous that they would get flustered and confused by the differences in this field/performance space. And yes, the first number was a little rough. BUT not terrible – almost all of it was together :) And after that, they were fine – 3rd number was much better than it has been all season and they finished the 4th beautifully. It was a great run. AND the band sounded huge! It was great. We exited the field, posed for pictures, watched most of L’Anse Creuse’s show (not really impressed by them, relative to the level that they should be), and headed back to the truck. The Pit Dads were so complimentary of us, as were Henry and Patrick (who had made the trip for the performance) – it was great to hear :) We loaded everything into the truck and went back into the stadium (I had a stab of nostalgia looking at the entrance, where the EMU Band stood – and froze – after the Ford Field game in 2006). We didn’t get to see many performances before the awards ceremony. Long story short, we retained 5th place! Harrison only beat us by 0.15 points! (Really awesome, considering they used props, a small child running around the field, and several thousand more dollars in their show than us.) AND we got 2nd in the Music score! 2ND!!! SO COOL! The kids were disappointed at missing beating Harrison again but were much more excited when they realized the above facts – and in general, were very happy and proud :) 
• Upon returning to the school, we headed straight to the cafeteria and started Senior Circle. After a little while, Brad told Anna and me why we did that instead of getting out of uniform and hanging out in the band room. While we had been at Ford Field, some people had broken into the band hall, ransacking any bags and personal items in their path, throwing the food and pop that the parents had set up around the band room and over people’s stuff, smearing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the whiteboards, switching and locking some locker padlocks, sending inappropriate texts to parents, vomiting in the band room and stealing money and Ipods. It was terrible. The police and administration were there and we all had to go into the area and describe what, if anything, of our things was out of place. The kids were really thrown off and upset – many of our girls were crying. Anna and I were quite proud of them though – a lot of them were crying out of frustration that someone would do this and how people can be so immature and stupid. It was such a cool reaction to see out of even the youngest in our group. (It was also nice for Anna and I – that is how we both would have reacted so it was easier to deal with than flat-out panic. Hugs went a long way and I appreciated that we could be a parent-figure for the girls who did have parents present.) Most of the kids were able to enjoy themselves at the after-party in spite of the events that happened. And in general, it was fascinating and awesome to realize that one of the reasons the kids were so upset by what had happened is that band is literally a family and the band room/hallway is our home. I mean, would the basketball team be as upset by a theft in the locker room? Would individual students feel so violated if their school locker was broken into? Probably not. Just another indicator that band and band kids are just awesome :) As far as the theft goes, the police gathered a lot of evidence (fingerprints too – just like on TV!) and the security cameras got footage of the kids (yes, kids) who did this. Hopefully, they will catch them. And that there isn’t lasting emotional damage to any of the kids.