Ok its a new year. Time for resolutions and renewal. I am not very good at keeping "New Year's Resolutions". I did quit smoking one year, but I'm not sure if that was associated with the calendar changing. So, with that in mind I am not making any promises here. But what has happened that is marked by the date change for me over the last 25 years is my involvement with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. This is the organization that puts on the "Rose Parade" and the "Rose Bowl." For all of, or at least most of my life January first was spent somewhere watching or being involved with the parade in Pasadena. You could count on me being there.
This year I was on the Music Committee. I have been on many committees before but music afforded me an opportunity to get up close with the bands. I think the bands are the most fun part of that parade. I still love the drums beating out a cadence and the sound of the brass piercing the early morning air. I am always amazed I can actually hear the piccolos and the sousaphones as they march by. My position along the parade route was at the absolute end where the bands made up of mostly high schools, along with a few college and only a couple of what you might think of as professional bands, (the United States Marine Corp Band and the Salvation Army Band) finished the five and half mile march. The temperature this year was over 70 degrees.
I thought it would be an interesting study to make portraits of those band members as they felt the elation and exhaustion of that moment.
By the way, there was a band made up of blind musicians guided by their helpers who made the whole walk without a single member needing assistance. Very impressive.
For those of you who have never seen the Tournament of Roses Parade on television, I encourage you to do so. And for those who have never seen it in person, it is a spectacle you will never forget.
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