Memorial Day Parade
5-29-06
“Detail: Atten-hut!” "HUT!”... “Mark-time-harch!”...hit, hit, hit... “Forward march!”...hit, hit, hit... Street beat, cadence: snares... quads... bass drums... cymbals... Then, roll off... the Drum Majors conduct: one two, two two... America the Beautiful: trumpets... trombones... alto saxophones... tenor saxophones... baritone saxophones... bass clarinet... melophones... sousaphones... clarinets... flutes: An intro... the a-section, b-interlude, a again... the finale... the cut off... and back to the cadence.
The spectators clap... the veterans smile... the parents cheer... the graduates: “Go West!”... the children scream... the dogs bark... the cars and motorcycles roar in the heat... the birds chirp (drowned out)... and the cadence comes to an end once again.
The roll off begins a new song... Knights In Blue... the words run silently through the air... “Come on knights in blue we’re cheering for you!”... the sound echoes off the red-bricked buildings... “We’re here to do or die!”... the crowd claps in rhythm... “So strike with your might and keep up the fight!”... police and fire truck sirens blare in a distant echo... “Three cheers for West-Side-High!”... the deep dark blue of the uniforms beats against the heat... “For Manchester West, forever the best...”... white and yellow plumes flutter in the humid summer air... “Her glory and her fame...”... The word West beats against each in-step left thigh... “...will put you to the test, we’re gonna do our best to win a Well! Fought! Game!”... the band perceptively draws a breath for the last stretch... “Hey!”... and the snare drum taps off a new round of the street beat...
Elm Street strolls by... America... Cadence... America...Cadence...etc... Bridge Street...E&R Cleaners... apartments... Good Times... Ted Herbert’s... Music School... the mills... restaurants... parks...faceless streets... The West Band wraps up the show... cameras... judges... other bands... directors... veterans... Mayor Guinta and guest speakers...until everyone has settled in the park...
First: The Pledge of Allegiance... the band mumbles along: “I pledge allegiance to flag of the United States of America.”... water bottles are being passed around... “And to the Republic for which it stands.”... coughs, shifting, fanning... “One Nation, under God.” ... the crowd studies the crowd: who is here?... “Indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.”... An awkward moment of silence: is time to sit back down?... Introductions, speeches...two rounds of shots are fired, sharply: BAM! BAM!... Then taps... the quiet solemn notes begging all to hear Butterfield’s lullaby... and its echo... then The Star Spangled Banner... the words float throughout the park... “O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light...” the fountain’s water trickles forth... “What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?”... the veterans salute, solemnly... “Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,”... the rest, their hands resting on their chests... “O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!”... the band plays, focused on notes seen only by them... “And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,”... the Drum Mayor’s arms, giving them the quiet and steady beat... “Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:”... the star spangled banner beats against the pole restraining it above the crowd... “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave”... the world holds its breath at the fermata... “O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”...
It's not a very good mosaic, and it's not a very good essay, but in the end it makes a good... something. I love how I can feel the heat during Knights and Blue. The Star Spangled Banner isn't broken up quite right. The image is good. The organization is good.
“Detail: Atten-hut!” "HUT!”... “Mark-time-harch!”...hit, hit, hit... “Forward march!”...hit, hit, hit... Street beat, cadence: snares... quads... bass drums... cymbals... Then, roll off... the Drum Majors conduct: one two, two two... America the Beautiful: trumpets... trombones... alto saxophones... tenor saxophones... baritone saxophones... bass clarinet... melophones... sousaphones... clarinets... flutes: An intro... the a-section, b-interlude, a again... the finale... the cut off... and back to the cadence.
The spectators clap... the veterans smile... the parents cheer... the graduates: “Go West!”... the children scream... the dogs bark... the cars and motorcycles roar in the heat... the birds chirp (drowned out)... and the cadence comes to an end once again.
The roll off begins a new song... Knights In Blue... the words run silently through the air... “Come on knights in blue we’re cheering for you!”... the sound echoes off the red-bricked buildings... “We’re here to do or die!”... the crowd claps in rhythm... “So strike with your might and keep up the fight!”... police and fire truck sirens blare in a distant echo... “Three cheers for West-Side-High!”... the deep dark blue of the uniforms beats against the heat... “For Manchester West, forever the best...”... white and yellow plumes flutter in the humid summer air... “Her glory and her fame...”... The word West beats against each in-step left thigh... “...will put you to the test, we’re gonna do our best to win a Well! Fought! Game!”... the band perceptively draws a breath for the last stretch... “Hey!”... and the snare drum taps off a new round of the street beat...
Elm Street strolls by... America... Cadence... America...Cadence...etc... Bridge Street...E&R Cleaners... apartments... Good Times... Ted Herbert’s... Music School... the mills... restaurants... parks...faceless streets... The West Band wraps up the show... cameras... judges... other bands... directors... veterans... Mayor Guinta and guest speakers...until everyone has settled in the park...
First: The Pledge of Allegiance... the band mumbles along: “I pledge allegiance to flag of the United States of America.”... water bottles are being passed around... “And to the Republic for which it stands.”... coughs, shifting, fanning... “One Nation, under God.” ... the crowd studies the crowd: who is here?... “Indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.”... An awkward moment of silence: is time to sit back down?... Introductions, speeches...two rounds of shots are fired, sharply: BAM! BAM!... Then taps... the quiet solemn notes begging all to hear Butterfield’s lullaby... and its echo... then The Star Spangled Banner... the words float throughout the park... “O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light...” the fountain’s water trickles forth... “What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?”... the veterans salute, solemnly... “Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,”... the rest, their hands resting on their chests... “O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!”... the band plays, focused on notes seen only by them... “And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,”... the Drum Mayor’s arms, giving them the quiet and steady beat... “Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:”... the star spangled banner beats against the pole restraining it above the crowd... “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave”... the world holds its breath at the fermata... “O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”...
It's not a very good mosaic, and it's not a very good essay, but in the end it makes a good... something. I love how I can feel the heat during Knights and Blue. The Star Spangled Banner isn't broken up quite right. The image is good. The organization is good.
posted by Andy | 8:19 PM
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