Late last night I sent a few emails to our leadership asking about updates to this week’s schedule. The response was to meet early in the morning to discuss things. We barely got started on the details when it was time to load up the bus and head to the band hall. The meeting continued for another hour or so, and during that time we got TWO new job requests! We had just figured out the logistics of getting the band to the Alamo on Friday morning when we got word that Army North is “standing up” a new brigade here on post, and requested musical support for the ceremony. Of course it’s scheduled for the exact same time as the Alamo performance. The dignitary will be a 3-star general, so that ceremony moves to the top of the list of priorities for the day. In our new system of small musical performance teams, we have the flexibility to send two smaller groups to the Alamo and still provide a small ceremonial band for the local ceremony. Score! We also heard that Army North was on the verge of buying plane tickets to bring the band from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri before they sent the request to us. Double score! The second request was for a bugler to travel with the honors team to HOUSTON. That means a 3.5 hour (each way) travel time … incredible that there isn’t an honors team (or two or three or more) closer to that site. But hey, we’re flexible, available, and probably over-eager to cover everything we can while we’re here!
There was still enough time to do a run-through of the music for the afternoon performance before we loaded the van and headed out. Since I wasn’t 100% sure where the Army Residence Community (ARC) was located we drove to the site first, then stopped for lunch at Bill Miller’s, a local fast-food BBQ place. Wasn’t the greatest, but it was fast.
We arrived at the ARC a little more than an hour early and were greeted very warmly by everyone we talked to. That included our contact (the activities leader), folks behind the front desk, even the grounds keeper! Since we were there so early I got to talk to several residents before the show started. One lady had worked as a teacher at Kennedy School in Portland years ago, before it became a McMennamin’s hotel. She told me a story of being back in Portland on vacation, reserving a room at her old school, and the staff actually found out which now-renovated room had been her classroom. They set it up with the old chalkboard set up and wrote “Welcome Back Mrs. Toft” for her. Pretty special. Two other ladies (sisters) told me stories of their time living at Vancouver Barracks when they were just 8 or 9 years old. Nice to have “ties” to people in your audience!
The 234Five (today it was a brass quintet) started the show, and I tried to do the announcing. I managed to get my own rank wrong, and stuck my foot in my mouth by asking people to “Stand up or wave or whatever you’d like to do when your service song is played” … fortunately that got a bit of a laugh instead of groans or frowns. I did tell people that being from Oregon, we were still getting used to the weather … the “severe sunshine.” Later I talked about how much we loved Oregon, and how I was sure they loved Texas. I quickly realized it sounded like we definitely did NOT like Texas (which isn’t necessarily true) so I recovered by letting them know that we were “Learning to love Texas, too.” A few flubs, a few zingers, so I guess I came out even. The music went OK for the most part, and we heard that quite a few people were singing along with the George M. Cohen medley. We got some “oohs” and “aahs” when I announced we would play “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing” by Duke Ellington.
The saxophone quartet played the second half with some pop (Beatles), classical (Debussy), a rag, march (Liberty Bell) and one or two other selections before finishing with the Stars & Stripes Forever. The people were VERY appreciative and gave a standing ovation before mingling with us for awhile.
Our host took us on a quick tour of the facility, which is rather impressive. It’s a gated community with full medical facilities, workout room, pool, outdoor ponds, physical therapy and staff, several dining rooms, sun lounge on the top floor, library, activities center, auditorium, and a whole lot more. Many residents live in “cottages” that they have purchased, and are able to decorate both inside and out (landscaping) to their personal liking. Others live in the 13-story “tower” structure that was more like apartments, which have a GREAT view from their balconies. Several hospital-type wings care for those who need the most help. Only military officers (any branch) with more than 20 years of service or their spouse are eligible, and they have about a 2-year waiting list to get in. There are about 600 residents, and we had about 120 of them there for our concert! The place is so popular they are adding room for about 300 more people.
The evening was spent finishing off the schedule, writing up award recommendations, crawling through emails, and more administrative stuff. Pretty good, busy, productive day.
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