Well...Summer is beginning to wind down and soon Fall will be upon us. The days have started to get noticeably shorter, the evening air a good bit cooler, and the sweltering heat and humidity of the early mornings have begun to yield to the brisk, breezy dawns that seem to be very much alive with the chirping cicada calling out their summer song from the tree line of the woods. The calls of the birds seem to be less about finding mates and more about finding potential found stores for the less fruitful months ahead. While everything is still very green, and there are still blooms on the crepe myrtle trees, there is certainly a sense in the air that soon everything will begin to change again, that the leaves of the hardwood trees will explode with vivid and spectacular colors before wilting away into winter.
The usual "dress code" around here will change soon...in a few more weeks it will be jeans in the morning, shorts in the afternoons, and denim jackets in the evenings. Not sure if it's an actual "dress code" around here per se, but ever since I can remember, that particular clothing did seem to be standard issue for the fall months in the town that I grew up in and still reside.
For some, the end of Summer means the end of fun times, and the end of lazing about, doing much of nothing, as was and still is the case with most children and teenagers who view summertime as their vacation break from the toils of school.
Since I was about thirteen years old, the end of Summer was always an exciting time. The end of Summer always meant being able to go back to school and seeing all of my most dear friends on a seemingly daily basis. The end of summer also meant the beginning of football season, which also meant the beginning of marching band. I LOVED marching band. Even though it could be tough to deal with at times, it was, and still is my favorite team sport.
The usual "dress code" around here will change soon...in a few more weeks it will be jeans in the morning, shorts in the afternoons, and denim jackets in the evenings. Not sure if it's an actual "dress code" around here per se, but ever since I can remember, that particular clothing did seem to be standard issue for the fall months in the town that I grew up in and still reside.
For some, the end of Summer means the end of fun times, and the end of lazing about, doing much of nothing, as was and still is the case with most children and teenagers who view summertime as their vacation break from the toils of school.
Since I was about thirteen years old, the end of Summer was always an exciting time. The end of Summer always meant being able to go back to school and seeing all of my most dear friends on a seemingly daily basis. The end of summer also meant the beginning of football season, which also meant the beginning of marching band. I LOVED marching band. Even though it could be tough to deal with at times, it was, and still is my favorite team sport.
For those of you who don't believe marching bands can be a team sport, I invite you to go attend a DCI drum corps competition.
I learned a lot out on the marching field. I learned about music, instrument care and repair, proper hydration, tan lines, bee stings, heat exhaustion, staring at girls without getting caught (well, one in particular), social boundaries, friendship, life, love, and trust.
I even got my first piercing on a marching field...true story.
Yep...some of my most fond memories of my adolescent and teenage years were made in marching band. Which is probably why I always pause, quietly listen, and gently smile every time I hear the tappings of a drumline in the distance. Just knowing that Summer is coming to a close and that Fall will soon be here in full swing is enough to make me smile.
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