In Sickness and in Health

No, this is not the announcement that I will be traveling to Saskatoon to see Al venture into marriage again. Sorry.

This is about my sickness and my daughter's health.

WORST FIRST!

I have always had bad ears. As a youngster, they were bad. Tubes helped until I had a SCUBA accident and had to come to the surface without breathing. In 2002, I was diagnosed with a Cholesteatoma. Initially I assumed that meant I had 6 months to live. Technically - it should have had surgery but I was not into the idea. Furthermore, I was told that avoiding infections would prolong the growth of the cystic area. Good enough for me.

Well, I have had a couple of small infections but nothing noteworthy. Until now....it started late August and into my Disney vacation. I came back and noticed some blood in my ear canal every AM. No pain and none of the tell-tale signs of an infection. Logically, I ignored it. I flew to Indy this week and then I felt it coming. By the time I descended into MSP on Wednesday, it was full blown. Thursday AM left me with the most blood coming from my ear that I can ever remember. Doc on Thursday to get my regular regiment of meds including drops, antibiotic and a steriod dosepack to reduce inflamation in the ear canal which is now swelled shut.

It is now 2 days into the meds and draining is high but I am not confident we are nailing the thing. Kind of scary....

ON TO BETTER THINGS!

New Richmond has a rich history of marching bands. Currently, the middle school is perceived as better than the high school for a variety of reasons. The MS director is the former director of the HS bands that won national awards.

Ashlie has a dream of pursuing music. Her piano and guitar abilities are great. Her sax is second nature. She felt she needed something to boost her resume and when they announced tryouts for the future Major/Majorette, she wanted it. As a ninth grader, this was a lofty goal. This would mean she would begin learning it yet this year as the current Major is a Sr. She as been in this band just since June.

Of course, the reason for the post is that Ashlie was selected Majorette of the NR Tigers Marching Band beginning her learning from Andy this year and taking over next summer. This is huge and he competition was tough. She will have 3 years to help refine this band to the quality it once was. I could not be more proud of her. This is a great achievement.

CONGRATS ASHLIE!

This one time, at band camp....

Well, we are back from our week at band camp. Technically, not band camp but close enough. Jess, Jake and I played chapparone to the 103 middle schoolers of the New Richmond Middle School Marching Tigers on the 9 day journey. The itinerary looked like this:

Day 1: Depart NR, drive all night to Cleveland.
Day 2: Perform field show and march in 3 mile parade. Visit Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Drive all night to Jacksonville, FL.
Day 3: Perform for Mandarin Middle School (1568 students) in Jacksonville, FL. Bring kids to Blizzard Beach where I am certain we left an oil slick. We all were starting to stink!
Day 4: Drive to St. Petersburg. Do a field show and perform again on the field for the Tampa Bay Rays. Awesome! Head back to Orlando to get to the Magic Kingdom. March in Spectromagic Parade for 55,000.
Day 5: Magic Kingdom all day with another parade, the daytime Share a Dream Come True with roughly 38,000 onlookers.
Day 6: Drive East to Kennedy Space Center. Perform field show and tour center. Go to Cocoa Beach for fun, sun and a BBQ.
Day 7: Load busses at 6:30 AM. Character breakfast at Animal Kingdom. Leave AK for EPCOT at noon. Stay remainder of day at EPCOT with the 1 mile+ parade around Showcase Lagoon. Approximate viewers was 45,000. Load busses at 11 and leave for Memphis.
Day 8: Memphis - with performance for Elvis and tour of Graceland. See Mud Island in the Mississippi River. Head to Interstate BBQ (Best in Memphis and has been on every food TV show) for BBQ and peach cobbler. YUM! Drive all night to Madison.
Day 9: Perform at Wisconny State Capitol in Madison and tour. Head for New Richmond

I have to say, despite the smelly people, 4 nights on busses and very little sleep, it was a fantastic trip. Here are 2 of my favorite photos. The first is a lucky chance that I saw Ashlie on the big screen at Tropicana Field as the jumbo screen was behind us. The other is the band at Kennedy Space Center. This was a once in a lifetime trip for many of the kids. It showed on their faces and I am so proud to have been a part of it. GREAT JOB New Richmond Tigers!!