Tennis, a day of rest today

Day 138, "Every picture has a story"

The year was the fall of 1961.  I was a freshman at Sargent Central.  I was on the football team and that was a lot of fun but actually I realized that school was about more than sports.  I signed up for band.  Cayuga had no grade school band so I had to pick an instrument.  I didn't think Dad would have the money to buy anything so I picked the baritone as the school had those.  I was in band but of course I had no clue about playing the darn thing.  Mr Phiel approached me the third week of school and asked if I would like to play the sousaphone.  What did I know so I said sure!  Here I am at the end of my freshman year with my instrument.  As I think back I am sure Mr. Phiel(spell) looked at this 5' 11" freshman guy from the farm and thought there is someone who can carry that.  Research tells me they weigh from 25-50 pounds.  I think mine weighed somewhere in the 35 pound range.  As a band, we traveled a lot to homecoming parades so one can guess what it was like carrying that thing for a mile or two as we marched along.  In the fall of 1962 we had brand new fiberglass ones that were white and I am guessing they were maybe 10 pounds lighter.  I did not become a very good player for several reasons:

• football and basketball were more fun!  I should add that for almost the entire year I would get home from school around 6:30 or 7:00 and on game nights maybe as late as midnight.  Not much time for practice
• The thought of bringing that thing home to practice was not a fun thought.
• I think if I would have wanted to practice at home I may have needed to go to the barn!
• AND after the homecoming dance in my freshman year I did have some other interests!

Band turned out to be a lot of fun but there were many things that had priority over the sousaphone.  A side note is about the uniforms.  We got them at the end of my freshman year.  They were certainly the most snazzy uniforms in the state.  

I will not play tennis today as there is an appt to go to.  We continue to have warm weather but tomorrow, when we play our match, it is supposed to be only about 70.

I am so enjoying a book that I am reading.  It is a marine's story from boot camp to Iwo Jima.  The title is "Red Blood, Black Sand".  As I read it I think of Bryan and Quinn.  I have also wondered, as I read it, why Dad did not get drafted into the service as he would have been 30 or so when they drafted guys for WWII.  Maybe he had a farming deferment, don't know.  I know uncle Halvor also did not go and he was younger.  I will say that most of the guys in these stories are in their late teens or early 20's.  In this book a marine who is 22 is OLD!

FP is gone and I have things to do.