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63 Happily married Male from Knaresborough       25
         

50 Years Back Pt. 2

50 Years Back Pt. 2

After reading back the first installment of this series, I realized two things. First; I should never write when I’m tired because I tend to leave out anything that could actually bind the lines together to make it a story, and second; there is no way in hell I could ever include half the adventures I’ve had and be able to allow you, the reader to get a feel for where I’ve been on this journey, thus far.
It is not easy to write about ones self. I fully realize, what was special to me is mere boredom to the average reader.
Maybe in years to come I’ll look back on this and use these snippets of time to write my memoirs.
When I got accepted to Comox, I was under age for the criteria that they demanded. I had to fight to prove that I belonged there. Comox had 2 concert bands and one bugle band. I practiced as a percussionist and managed to beat out 70 other percussionists to make it to the A band.
Comox was heaven to me. Nothing but music from 5am until midnight, or 1am the following day. This was 7 days per week. We had absolutely no time off. When we were graced to be able to squeeze in a few minutes for ourselves, we ended up playing music anyway.
Our training was intense. Theory, counterpoint, composition, along with the continuous barrage of scales and arpeggios drove us crazy most days. We had many engagements, one of which was the World’s Fair in Spokane Washington.
We performed there for a week straight doing 2 concerts a day. We played everything from the latest pop hits to the works of Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.
We also marched each day in the World’s Fair parade.
We beat out every other band we came across in band competitions all down the western coast.
Part of what made us great at the time when in marching formation is that we were one of the first bands to ever use complex formations when it came to marching and maneuvering. In today’s competitions, if your m & m skills are not up to par, you may as well not even show up.
Every one of us in the A band had to be able to read music and learn to play every instrument. This was an intense but intriguing part of the stresses that came with touring and studying at the same time.
Even though I proved my worth as a percussionist, I excelled with the saxophone, French horn, and the cello.
By the end of our touring season, you could see the fatigue on all of our faces.
Our last tour consisted of 47 concerts in 51 days spanning the west coast as far south as Los Angeles, and as far north as Anchorage Alaska.
On our return to base after our last performance, we ran into torrential rains and the busses were delayed some 6 hours.
We arrived back on base at 4am which gave us a whole two hours to unpack, shower, eat and be in the studio to start a recording session for an album. We grabbed sleep wherever and whenever we could as section by section, numbers were recorded. The entire process took 21 days to complete, with every member being on call having to be ready to perform on a moments notice.
Upon completion, we actually had 3 days off. I did absolutely nothing. I lay on the waterfront and soaked up the sun until we had our final banyon to celebrate the season’s end.
I’ll come back to banyon in a moment.
As if I didn’t have enough magic with the music, Comox dealt me another blow that would affect my life forever.
On the flight out west, I met a young lady from Quebec, who happened to be flying to Comox also. We caught each other’s eye, but spoke very little to each other. My French was not good at the time, and her English was very limited.
She was heading to Comox for a practical leadership course. This is a course that is grueling, physically and mentally demanding.
This young lady was Ginette, as those of you who know me, are aware of the bond that developed between us. We fell in love, even though the time we got to spend together was extremely limited over the course of a year.
When banyon came along (our year end party) , every guy in the place wanted to dance with Ginette. We found one another and remained in each other’s arms until the sun came up over the mountains.
When we parted company, we melted into each other with a kiss that to this day I can not forget.
Ginette and I would never be allowed to be together. Her father would never allow her and I to be. Years later, Ginette’s father came to my door and returned to me, every letter I had ever written to her. I never lost my love for her, and I was to find out that her love for me stayed true.
Every letter I had written to her came back to me unopened. She was never aware that I had even written her. She took her own life, keeping her love for me alive to the very end.
Her father collapsed in tears, begging me to forgive him for what he’d done. We cried, forgave and held each other to console a love so strong and one denied.
It was love that bound us together and it was love that kept us apart.
I’ve never forgotten her, and in a lot of ways, I’ve kept her close to my heart.
It is only now, some 27 years later that I am truly feeling love on that level again.
Until Ginette’s father appeared on my doorstep, I knew nothing of what had become of her even though my heart remained strong.
I spent years playing the classical, rock and gospel music circuits with various bands and orchestras. I saw the world in a couple of whirl wind tours, before lending my talents to the military for a full time commitment.

I need time to reflect……more to come.

Senile
Rosey561
Rosey561: I am sorry for your loss.
13 years ago Report
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soloturtle
soloturtle: Don't ever worry about "the boredom of the average reader".... that may be true with some writers, but your style and use of language is anything but "boring."

I teared up hearing about Ginette.
13 years ago Report
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GazeboGirl
GazeboGirl: Angels give wonderful gifts to those they love.....Ginette maybe found you Mandolyn_Wind.She would know you deserved a special love.......
13 years ago Report
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Mandolyn_wind
Mandolyn_wind: Thank you GazeboGirl, if that is the case I only hope I can live up to the love SS and Ginette shared.
13 years ago Report
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jenine59
(Post deleted by staff 11 years ago)