Just last week, she came home begging for permission to have her schedule changed so she could join band. We were shocked. I am thrilled, but still surprised. I got busy and ordered a trumpet for her, and she got busy getting a new class schedule. I was so busy, in fact, that I forgot to tell Mom about this new development.
Mom found out, of course, and yesterday, we finally got to discuss the whole situation.
What surprised me about our conversation was learning that Dad had been quite bothered by his second granddaughter's statements about "band geeks." Apparently, the way she went on and on about how no one in band is "cool" and how everyone in band is a "geek" hit a nerve with Dad.
You see, Dad was a "band geek", too, once upon a time. I guess I'll have to check with my aunts and see if they know what instruments he played.
I know he played the bass drum. There was a problem with it though - Dad was a scrawny kid. He always said that he had to wear suspenders because he was so thin that a belt would just pull his pants down. And bass drums are big, and heavy. So, Dad played the bass drum, but only if it wasn't windy - on those days, the bass drum played him.
I hope Dad is getting a good laugh now at his granddaughter's expense. She is eating her words about the members of the band.
Maybe one day soon she'll play Taps at her Poppa's grave - the only thing that would have pleased him more would have been for her to play Reveille at daybreak - and, of course, for him to have been here to hear her play and see her eat her words.
