Monday, October 9, 2023
We were back at St. Andrew’s for another concert. We haven’t been there in about 15 years and now we have been there twice in four days. Our friend, Jeffrey, a former Marine himself, let us know to get tickets a couple weeks ago. Thank you, Jeffrey.
We opened the program and the first thing was John Phillip Sousa’s march “Foshay Tower Washington Memorial”. What?! Foshay {jazz hands} – like the musical? {jazz hands} (I do jazz hands and kind of a Jimmy Durante voice whenever I say Foshay. I don’t really know why.) We learned about the march in the play last spring (summer? I don’t know when we saw it). Foshay was a big Sousa fan and he wanted to have a march written for the opening of the Foshay tower – and so he did. Sousa came to Minneapolis and debuted the piece at the building’s opening (Foshay told the architects for the tower that he wanted it to look like the Washington Monument with windows – hence the march’s name). Three weeks later the stock market crashed and the depression started. Foshay’s business practices came under scrutiny and he went to jail. (He was later pardoned/exonerated, but everyone seems to forget that part – which I don’t think is very fair.) Sousa did NOT want to be associated with Foshay, so he just withdrew it from being published and it quietly disappeared. Apparently, the Sousa family did not allow it to be played until 1976 when Sousa was inducted into the Great American’s Hall of Fame. (Did you know that was a thing? I did not. I need to learn about that.) Keith and I felt very special because we already know the whole story.
The band ended the first half with Semper Fidelis. They can play that better than probably any other band. Wow. It was gorgeous.
The last piece of the concert was the Salute to the Armed Services, ending with the Marine hymn. As is tradition, members of each of the service branches stand while their song is being played, and when all the Marines in the band stood up (exactly at the same time) it was wonderful.
I’ve gotta jump off track and just mention a thing from work today. I was in my happy place in 7th grade science at Woodbury Middle School. The day was going fine. After the bell rang for 5th hour to end, the kids zoomed out. A couple kids trickled in, but no one pushed the door open enough for it to stay open (they do not ever do it). I went out the door and clicked it open and went back inside.
There was a kid back in the lab with the emergency shower (in case of chemical exposure, etc) going.
No no no no no nononononoNONONONO! I ran to him. It was kind of surreal, because in all the many, many hours I have been in that room, I have never seen water come out of it. I know all the science teachers basically say you touch this, you will regret that forever, and as far as I know in the 20 years I have worked for the district, no one has ever turned one on.
But there it was. Water. Coming. Down.
It’s not plumbed to anything. It just goes on the floor – unless you are lucky enough to have a bucket sitting there – which I was! The kid turned it off – super lucky because I literally had no idea how to turn it off – and then he disappeared. I never saw him again. I made calls and talked to people and I am sure he was found, but I didn’t have to deal with it. Not another kid noticed it happen – at least no one said anything, and they do NOT not say anything – so that was a miracle.
Can’t tell you how glad I am it was me that got to have that happen. I’m so lucky.
We got to hear the D.C. military bands a lot at tuba conferences and at UWEC–always great! Thanks for the fun march story!
The lab shower incident sounds like of those “stupid kid things” we seem wired to sometimes do as kids. (Of course, we never do anything stupid as adults . . . .) Lots of good/could-have-been worse here: You were there to take care of it, there was a bucket, and the kid happened to wonder what would be like if he turned on the shower, not what would be like if he mixed some random chemicals.
Speaking of stupid adult things, who installed a shower without a drain?
I think since it is an emergency use shower – and expected and hoped to never be used – having to install a drain/plumbling would be a big expense for very little pay out. If there was ever a needed use, someone could get a bucket and it would get cleaned up. I think the building was built as a high school, but as a middle school there are NO chemicals to mix or use or get burned by. I guess you don’t turn the water off to it because if for some reason you ever did need it, it not functioning would be bad.
Oooooooo… Wish I had know you guys were going to hear the USMB. The euphonium and tuba folks are all my friends. I would have sent greetings… One of the euphonium players who retired recently was my student at Interlochen from the time he was in the 6th grade through high school. That made me feel old…