The title of this SDM isn’t quite what you think. I’m not talking about playing around in puddles as a kid. No, I’m talking about playing in the marching band in a storm. It seems like the perfect fit in honor of today’s huge matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and that other team. Not surprisingly, I never played football, but I was a big band nerd and proud of it.

Though I played the clarinet in concert band, I played in the pit (the percussion instruments that are stationary at the front of the field) during marching band. I did so because I wanted to get out of marching, and I think I’m glad I did it. I certainly had a different experience than I would have had if I had been marching and playing the clarinet, and I absolutely loved the sound of the marimba.

Sophomore year our show theme was the Classics. We performed classical music which is somewhat odd for marching band, but it worked well. I wish I could tell you specifically what we did, but the only thing I remember was “Ode to Joy,” though I know we performed a Bach piece and a Dvorak piece as well.

The day of one of our competitions was rather rainy. When it was time for us to take the field, it had started to rain even harder. Being a part of the pit, we could hear a walkie-talkie telling one of the volunteers to get us off the field as we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. The dude holding the walkie-talkie refused, he just couldn’t do it. So we continued our piece.

As we go from song to song, the rain keeps getting heavier. It starts to lightning, and it seemed like the thunder got in line with the beats, making the already grand music sound even grander. By the time we got to our final piece, only the pit could see the conductor as the rain was just that heavy. As I striked the chimes, I had to look up and could see the lightning and feel the rain roll down my face.

The moment we played the last beat, we all rushed off the field. There was no waiting and marching off in an orderly fashion as had been rehearsed so many times. We knew we had to get off, and had to get off then.

After the storm passed, we filed onto our buses, still partially dressed in our now soaked uniforms which now released all the sweat and grime packed in them over 15 years of use. I’ll never forget how it felt to perform with the rain beating down and that putrid smell.

Other School Day Memories:

Kindergarten and First Grade: Kisses and Skunks
3rd grade: Laundry Chutes and Floppy Disks
4th grade: Watching Whales
7th Grade: Teacher Review
8th Grade: 100 Marble Pick Up
9th Grade: Science Nerd
12th Grade: Sleepovers on a School Night
College Senior Year: Why Procrastination Might Not Be My Thing