DCI Minnesota - July 11, 2015

Very hard to believe that it's been over seven months since my last blog...yet, here we are seven months later.

It has truly been a pretty busy seven months...Jan-Mar, I was down in Phoenix helping with my airlines Merger Integration training, then back to flying Apr-present.

It's been a very interesting summer for Drum Corps, as many corps are really pushing the envelope for new pageantry. It's nice to see some new corps reaching the top spot at different contest shows, and after the first regional, an undefeated corps had finally been de-throwned, albeit for a night.

I didn't take a lot of pictures this year, however it was great to run into some old friends I haven't seen in over 20 years. A friend who marched along side me who yelled out "Sluggo" in the middle of a crazy, busy mezzanine at TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota.

We palled around, chatted, and caught up quickly, feeling like it hasn't been over 20 years since we last saw each other or marched next to one another.

After watching The Cavaliers horn-line warm up, and before settling into our respective seats for the rest of the evening,  we were walking again in the stadium mezzanine and I saw a gentleman whom I've followed since I started marching.

Mr. Steve Vickers, who is an editor and publisher since 1973 (first as editor and then owner and publisher since 1974) of Drum Corps World.  Steve Vickers led Drum Corps World to be a primary way of getting information disseminated throughout the drum corps activity. Through Vickers' leadership, every drum corps show - no matter how big or small - received coverage. It was truly an honor to chat with him for a brief moment, and for him to ask about my blog.

After I let him back roaming the mezzanine during the break, another familiar face came into view of whom I hadn't seen since my marching days.





Mr. Tim Salzman, who was our Brass Caption head, was running around and watching the different corps. So of course we just HAD to chat with Tim and catch up.



Unfortunately for this year, I wasn't as prepared as years past with a charged phone and/or camera as I had just flown in from London, England earlier in the day. As beautiful of a day it was, my heart was getting back to Chicago, then home to Minneapolis so I could watch as much of the drum corps contest I could. 

I really wasn't too late, as this was the first regional show, not all corps were performing. Since I was running around with my friend, I didn't get the chance to see some of the early corps, but I was able to go to the Cavalier buses as they were pulling into the truck lot, chat with some familiar faces, and meet my Cavalier initiate who I had the honor of talking to before the season started. Even though it was a brief chat...as he had to get going for warm-up, it was nice to finally put a face to the name. (sadly, I didn't get a picture of us...but he did get a picture of us after the show)

I was able to watch Phantom Regiment, The Cavaliers, Carolina Crown, Santa Clara Vanguard, The Cadets, and the Blue Devils. Each show was just as unique as the other.

As I said before, I didn't get many pictures of the corps as my phone and camera both died, however I was able to get The Cavaliers on the starting line.

It was an awesome show, and wonderful time to see what the corps has been producing. Each young man that I chatted with from the corps, was so gracious that I took the time and talked with them. I was more than honored that a few of them even knew who I was and called me by my name. (I know I didn't know many alumni when I marched, so it truly was an honor when the current drum major said hi to me)

Sorry there isn't more detail about the shows, or the corps. I felt I just had to get something in writing and let everyone know I'm still alive and well!

Until next time,
Sluggo

Now that Winter is virtually over, it's time to fix the Potholes!

I must first say that I really do love living in Minneapolis. It's a great place to be in, and several magazines have shown how 'cool' the city is.  The April issue of Men's Journal said "Minneapolis is lauded as the "Best Place to Live in a Big City Designed for Getting Outside” and the editors cite Minneapolis’ parks, Chain of Lakes, large biking community (#1 biking city in America, according to Bicycling Magazine), and numerous farmers markets as the reasons"

Minneapolis was even voted as The Gayest City of America by The Advocate magazine, but all of this wains in comparison in how the Twin Cities is going to recover from all the potholes we endured from the 5th Snowiest Winter of all time, according to long time  Meteorologist, Paul Douglas.

Street crews are preparing to repair potholes, but is it already too late? The city of Minneapolis has awarded MNDot an extra $1M for pothole funding. It is hard to drive down any street as you literally have to swerve to miss the holes because how deep they are, and if you do hit one, wondering what kind of damage it has done to your car. One lady interviewed said she has already replaced two tires due to running over potholes.

The repairs that MNDot is doing are great, but how long will they last? I know from years past, the temporary repairs lasted a long time, but surrounding the repair, other holes emerged. I'm not sure if it's funny or sad that KSTP.com linked up with See Click Fix Maps to map and report potholes in and around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

Yes, MNDot is working hard to repair the potholes, but we need a more permanent fix instead of a temporary fix. It's going to be only a matter of time before these repairs give way to the coming rains that we will receive.

I should be happy that Minneapolis didn't make Gadling's Worst Potholes in the World list two years ago. This problem does show that potholes aren't just a Minnesota problem, doing a quick Google Search I see headlines such as: "Vermont's worst pothole season", "Seattle catching up to record number of potholes", even Scotland spent £3million over five years for damage and injuries caused by potholes.

One just hopes that the pothole repairs will be better than this years snow removal. 

What's in a Tattoo?

Over the years, I remember my dad telling me how disgusting it was seeing people with tattoo's. Well, he really never officially said it, but he had a dislike for tattoo's themselves. It was kind of funny because one of his good friends owned a tattoo shop and I remember visiting him often at the shop on several occasions.

Fast forward a few years. I've thought about getting a tattoo close to 20years now...geez, has it been that long now? Well, anyway, I've been thinking about getting a tattoo that has a lot of meaning for me. One that would remind me of the two best years of my life. Those years happened after I graduated high school and marched with The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps from Rosemont, IL.

I wasn't sure what type of tattoo I wanted, but several had come to mind.

One was what we called the "Standing Man". In 2003, a few alumni and I were talking and we thought about getting this tattoo somewhere on our bodies. Well, one actually did it and put it on his calf, while the other two chickened out. Of course it turned out really cool and I really wanted to get one, but I was way too nervous to actually do it. I didn't know if I wanted this or not as well as know where I would put the tattoo, would I put it on my calf, arm, shoulder-blade? I just didn't know.

Another option was to get the "Guido" head shot. This is a little more detailed and up close, but again would remind me of the hard work, dedication, the many miles we traveled, marched, and the countless number of new friends (brothers) I would make not only during my two years of marching, but the new friends I would make over the years from the great organization. The idea again went to where would I put this tattoo? I couldn't come up with a good idea, and just never thought about it again.

Two other options I thought about which linked to the Corps itself: a 'Rainbow' tattoo (as one of the two corps songs is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), or a 'Rose' tattoo (because the corps has been sponsored by The Village of Rosemont, IL since 1982.) Neither of these really struck me close to home, but I kept thinking to myself how I could remember those wonderful years. What am I missing that when I look at this tattoo (which will be forever) that I could say "yeah, I worked hard for that tattoo, and made some very lasting friends and grew up because of them"

It finally donned on me during 2003. I got laid off of work for 5 months, and it couldn't have come at a better time for me. It was Summer time! That meant the corps was already on tour, and I could finish out the rest of the season volunteering my time with them giving them my 'expertise' (or help) with administrative duties, or better yet, help drive one of the Support Vehicles, or Souvenir truck.

A few of the current marching members had tattoo's that resembled another 'nick-name' that was associated with the corps. "The Green Machine".  The Cavaliers marching was so precise, that when they marched around the football field, they literally looked like a moving machine. You could usually hear a pin drop in the stadium because the crowd was so intent in what the corps was doing, or waiting to see what kind of drills would be made.

Some of the young guys had 'Gear' tattoo's. Gears resembled this well oiled machine. We received 1 gear for each year we marched with the corps, and a separate gear for being initiated. These gears would be worn around our necks. New guys didn't have any gears as they haven't completed a full year marching. Some only had 1 gear, while the 'old guys' would have 5-10 gears.

Since 2003, I knew I wanted a tattoo, but just couldn't bring myself to actually getting it done. Now that I've narrowed it down to either the 'Guido', 'Standing Man', or 'Gear', the question became where was I going to put it. I couldn't put it too far down my arm due to work (they look down on tattoo's), and I didn't want to have it always covered up when I was off duty. Did I want to put it on my leg? What about my shoulder blade where I've seen other tattoo's?

One of my great friends here in Minneapolis already has several tattoo's, so we were talking about me getting one finally. He has a tribal band around his arm that he altered to put a lightening bolt in, as well as a dragon tattoo down his forearm.

As we were talking, he kept asking me what I wanted, or where I wanted to put it. I mentioned the shoulder blade, but he made a very good point as when would I ever be able to see it and enjoy it. He knew this tattoo meant a lot to me, so why not put it in a place where I could see it. So, I finally made my decision. The upper part of my left arm. I chose the gear along with the two years that I marched. I chose the Green, Black, and White as it's the corps' colors as well, but I didn't think the white would really come out well. The Tattoo artist at Saint Sabrina's did an outstanding job!

I gave her two idea's of what I wanted. I wanted the gear to be 3-D, as well as colored. I told her about the significance of the gear and years and this is what she came up with. I'm extremely happy to finally have something that forever links me to an organization that means so much to me.

I was surprised that it didn't hurt as much as I was expecting. I suppose that the technology has changed so much over the years that it's gotten a lot better than it was in year's past. The funny thing is, I'm already thinking about putting the 'Guido' tattoo on my other arm where the feather would go off onto my back....what do you think?