{"id":401,"date":"2011-06-07T13:26:29","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T17:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=401"},"modified":"2025-04-18T08:25:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T12:25:41","slug":"chapter-19-finally-a-drummer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=401","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 19: Finally A Drummer!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>And this one time? At band camp?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Later in the month, I got to hop on one of four cruiser buses to Band Camp<\/strong> at <a title=\"Camp Lohikan, Lake Como, PA\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lohikan.com\/facility.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Camp Lohikan<\/a> at Lake Como, Pa. I was finally a <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>SNARE DRUMMER! <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We all had so much fun goofing on the bus. This camp was a great setup of cabins in a big circle, a field for practice, and other features such as a dining hall and pavilion for shows.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a>&#8220;Pressure&#8221; by Billy Joel<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375809769383\" class=\"{skin:&#039;black&#039;, animate:false, width:&#039;120&#039;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Billy-Joel-Pressure.mp3\">Billy Joel &#8211; Pressure<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16870 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-bandcamp2@2x@2x.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1100\" height=\"958\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-bandcamp2@2x@2x.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-bandcamp2@2x@2x-335x292.jpg 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-bandcamp2@2x@2x-600x523.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-bandcamp2@2x@2x-768x669.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At camp, horn player Steve K kissed me after we had wacky \u201cchicken fights\u201d at night with another couple.<\/p>\n<p>Life in our cabin was a blast, and Glen W, a triples player in the line, was a real wacko who kept us laughing with his psycho impression of Sting\u2019s <em>Roxanne<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Anne, my friend from orchestra in junior high, was part of the Color Guard (flag corps). Anne was always a \u201cnice people\u201d magnet and remains so.<\/p>\n<p>All summer, we\u2019d been practicing music a couple of evenings a week, and I had my own official snare drum. I was now a solid part of the Drumline, and the social possibilities with this great group of kids were limitless. I quickly memorized the new opener, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=__VnQeoiLwE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">El Tigre<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A sophomore, Maureen (a.k.a. Mo), had been taking drum lessons since 5th grade but was on cymbals for this season.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_456\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-456\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-456\" title=\"Toga Party\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/toga_party.jpg\" alt=\"Toga Party\" width=\"500\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/toga_party.jpg 604w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/toga_party-300x269.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-456\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toga! Toga!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mo and I became friends; she was an attendant in my wedding party years later, and has a heart of gold.\u00a0We&#8217;re good friends today, as are our husbands.<\/p>\n<p>Mike (the load) dropped out of the marching band that year. I suppose the sight of his ex figuratively flipping him off from behind the snare drum was enough to keep his arrogant, pompous, sexist derri\u00e8re out of the picture.<\/p>\n<p>That was just fine by me, enjoying my freedom to sample the buffet of gourmet prime cuts in the deli case. And sample I did.<\/p>\n<p>Popular on the radio were <em>Heart Attack<\/em> by Olivia Newton-John, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y4CyNvEfWoE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mickey<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Toni Basil, <em>Pressure<\/em> by Billy Joel, and <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aT6EhoAnXbQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steppin\u2019 Out<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Joe Jackson.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a>&#8220;Time (Clock Of the Heart)&#8221; by Culture Club<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375809796330\" class=\"{skin:&#039;black&#039;, animate:false, width:&#039;120&#039;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Culture-Club-Time.mp3\">Culture Club &#8211; Time (Clock Of the Heart)<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/p>\n<h3>Farewell to Uncle Johnny<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8506\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8506\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8506\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/unclejohnnydad.jpg\" alt=\"Brothers Forever\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8506\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brothers Forever<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The beginning of junior year brought terrible news to our family. Uncle Johnny suddenly passed away of a massive heart attack.\u00a0Dad was absolutely devastated.<\/p>\n<p>We missed the first two days of school as we numbly went through those funeral-related obligations. I felt awful for Cousins Gina, John and Peter. I was too young to comprehend the haunting sadness Aunt Maryann must have experienced. Poor Nana was beside herself in grief at the loss of her youngest child. It was a horrible time for all of us.<\/p>\n<p>Dad was six years older than Uncle Johnny. His little brother shadowed him constantly during childhood, annoying Dad most of the time.\u00a0Once, at age twelve, Dad was going to spend some time with his neighborhood buddies, but Uncle Johnny begged to be taken to see the re-released <em>King Kong<\/em> at the movies.\u00a0Nana implored Dad to take him, &#8220;But he&#8217;s your <em><strong>brother<\/strong><\/em>!&#8221; Preteen Dad scowled and said &#8220;Aw, c&#8217;mon,&#8221; grabbing Johnny by the hand.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10696\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10696\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10696\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/dad-unclejohnny-nana.jpg\" alt=\"Dad, Uncle Johnny, and Nana in 1982\" width=\"500\" height=\"547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/dad-unclejohnny-nana.jpg 285w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/dad-unclejohnny-nana-274x300.jpg 274w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10696\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dad, Uncle Johnny, and Nana at Beppy&#8217;s in 1982<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Later that evening they were on their way home from the movies to find out that there had been a fire where Dad and his friends would catch a smoke and hang out. One kid had apparently tossed a lit match into the refuse, and the celluloid stored there immediately ignited. Some who had gathered that evening were injured. Several of them, including Dad&#8217;s friend Carmine, ended up with severe burns.<\/p>\n<p>At the scene, one woman in the crowd saw Dad and pointed, shouting furiously, &#8220;<em>There&#8217;s<\/em> the ringleader! <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">HE<\/span><\/strong> should have been hurt too!&#8221; Enraged, Nana went after her in ferocious Italian.<\/p>\n<p>Dad then gazed down at his little brother, staring up at him with wide innocent eyes, and was suddenly grateful he&#8217;d been forced to take him to the movies.<\/p>\n<p>As adults, Dad and Uncle Johnny were very close, the latter was a Newark cop who would wave as Dad drove by in his rig.\u00a0He&#8217;d always said he had a soft spot for truckers.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a>&#8220;Eye Of the Tiger&#8221; by Survivor<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375809769383\" class=\"{skin:&#039;black&#039;, animate:false, width:&#039;120&#039;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Survivor-Eye-Of-The-Tiger.mp3\">Survivor &#8211; Eye Of the Tiger<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/p>\n<h4>A late school start<\/h4>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9842\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9842\" style=\"width: 335px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9842\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/me-eleventh-grade-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"My eleventh grade school portrait\" width=\"335\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/me-eleventh-grade-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/me-eleventh-grade-429x600.jpg 429w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/me-eleventh-grade.jpg 541w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9842\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My eleventh grade school portrait<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We began school a few days after everyone else, but got up to speed quickly. My homeroom teacher was dashing, young Mr. Caseire, who also taught my Sociology class.<\/p>\n<p>I was still walking to school from Old Bridge Turnpike, down Arthur Street, across Route 18, and\u00a0past the shopping center.<\/p>\n<p>And who should assume the position of Orchestra Conductor at the high school that year but \u2026?<\/p>\n<p>Right again. Gordon J. T.\u00a0I&#8217;d had him for Orchestra in junior high, as a director at regionals, a private teacher, and as administration at ASTA.\u00a0This guy was <em>everywhere<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>That was about the time when Mom decided to indulge my request for a tropical fish tank.\u00a0We got a 10-gallon starter kit at the mall, set it up in the living room, conditioned the water, and a few days later went back for our first batch of pretty fish.<\/p>\n<p>We would watch the fish in the evenings, and learned some things about the different types.\u00a0Among our new finny family: neon tetras, catfish, blood swordtails, angel fish, and Siamese fighting fish.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9845\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9845\" style=\"width: 335px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9845\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Siamese-Fighting-Fish-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"Siamese Fighting Fish\" width=\"335\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Siamese-Fighting-Fish-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Siamese-Fighting-Fish.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Siamese Fighting Fish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We named the Siamese \u201cAlexis\u201d after the fiery character on the evening soap <em>Dynasty<\/em>.\u00a0It was fun to watch it start to ruffle itself when a little mirror was placed next to the tank. Always a learning experience with Mom.\u00a0We loved the little lighthouse that had the little circulating plastic particles in its top.<\/p>\n<p>I was always busy, in and out of school, with rehearsals, lessons, family and social opportunities. Mom later said that I really blossomed in high school, which isn\u2019t a tough thing to do with so many fun people around.\u00a0I again auditioned for, and made, <em>Central Jersey Region II Orchestra.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Late that year, our 1973 Mercury Marquis was stolen from the parking lot at Ferro Trucking while Dad was out driving for the day. That happened just before Christmas, and unfortunately, all our presents had been temporarily stowed in the back seat. Not only did Mom and Dad have to shift to get another car (a &#8217;75 Eldorado), but they had to start from scratch with Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>Dad kicked himself for that one.<\/p>\n<h3>Sweet Sixteen<\/h3>\n<p>Mom and Dad took us up to Benihana of Tokyo for another celebratory hibachi dinner when I turned 16 that November. I went to a few \u201csweet sixteen\u201d parties within the span of several months.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16862\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16862\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-16862 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/16th-bday-collage.jpg\" alt=\"My 16th Birthday Dinner\" width=\"1000\" height=\"824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/16th-bday-collage.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/16th-bday-collage-335x276.jpg 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/16th-bday-collage-600x494.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/16th-bday-collage-768x633.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16862\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My 16th Birthday Dinner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Katsoudas Kalamity<\/h3>\n<p>By that time, we had the two Cadillacs (\u201976 Coupe and a \u201975 Eldorado).<\/p>\n<p>It was an icy morning, and Dad was driving the Eldorado to work in Hillside. As he came over the bridge, some overconfident, careless jerk took a corner way too fast, lost control and collided with Dad\u2019s left front fender. That car bounced and spun on the ice to the other side of the road. The Eldorado barely jiggled.<\/p>\n<p>They moved their cars out of traffic and the cops were called for a report. Dad had to leave the scene so he could get to work on time.\u00a0In retrospect, he believes they should have left the vehicles as-is because otherwise, it was difficult to prove who was at fault.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_715\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-715\" style=\"width: 877px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-715\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/75_Eldo.jpg\" alt=\"1975 Eldorado\" width=\"877\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/75_Eldo.jpg 630w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/75_Eldo-300x143.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-715\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">1975 Eldorado<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Apparently, Katsoudas told the officer that Dad was &#8220;partially on the wrong side of the road&#8221;, which was an absolute fabrication.<\/p>\n<p>Dad later managed to get telling information from the DMV about this guy and his deplorable driving record with dozens of traffic infractions. To Dad&#8217;s chagrin, it was all inadmissible in court.<\/p>\n<p>Katsoudas insisted on no personal wrongdoing, there were no witnesses, and the outcome of that court case angered us for years.\u00a0Dad ended up having to pony up 50% for of the repair costs on that technicality.<\/p>\n<p>Classic songs from the first half of junior year include <em>Maneater<\/em> by Hall &amp; Oates, <em>Rock the Casbah<\/em> by The Clash, <em>Africa<\/em> by Toto, <em>Down Under<\/em> by Men at Work, <em>Allentown<\/em> by Billy Joel and <em>You Got Lucky<\/em> by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.<\/p>\n<table class=\"floatleft\" border=\"0\" width=\"300\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"60\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/td>\n<td width=\"414\"><strong>&#8220;You Should Hear How She Talks About You&#8221;<br \/>\nby Melissa Manchester<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"&quot;https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Melissa-Manchester-You-Should-Hear-How-She-Talks-About-You-Billboard-Top-100-of-1982.mp3&lt;\/a\"><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5013\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5013\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5013\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/celine_sweet16_1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"At Celine's Sweet 16 party\" width=\"400\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/celine_sweet16_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/celine_sweet16_1-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/celine_sweet16_1.jpg 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5013\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bridget, me and Deena at Celine&#8217;s Sweet 16 party<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Being a snare drummer in the marching band was exhilarating. I thoroughly enjoyed practices after school and on game days, performances at pre-game and halftime, parades and competitions.\u00a0Pep rallies in the school gym were so much fun. I was completely involved, and over the moon.<\/p>\n<p>Mom brought\u00a0me to see the famous violinist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.itzhakperlman.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Itzhak Perlman<\/a> in concert at Rutgers. He was absolutely phenomenal, and I even got his autograph on my program.<\/p>\n<p>She always snagged the chance to enjoy special events and since I was involved with music, this was a wonderful opportunity.\u00a0This\u00a0was another example in a long line of &#8220;Memories&#8221; she strove to make, just as Grandmommy had done with her.<\/p>\n<h3>Spring Things<\/h3>\n<p>The following spring, the much-hyped final episode of the TV series M*A*S*H hit the small screen. Anne hosted a party at her house, and some people decided to come dressed as the characters on the show.<\/p>\n<p>My favorite \u201ccostume\u201d from the evening was George W. as Father Mulcahy, a dead ringer if there ever was one.\u00a0I\u2019d hoped a cute guy, Jay would show, and he did\u2014I still have a snapshot (courtesy of Anne) of him walking through the front door, tucked into my 1983 diary.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14251\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14251\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-14251\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MASHcast-600x262.png\" alt=\"Cast of M*A*S*H\" width=\"800\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MASHcast-600x262.png 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MASHcast-335x146.png 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MASHcast-768x335.png 768w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MASHcast.png 1179w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14251\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">M*A*S*H is said to have been the greatest finale of all time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There were other social events like retreats with the church youth group, Walther League. We went to Camp Beisler and had fun with typical pranks, staying up late, and a few teen-oriented educational sessions of course. Sometimes we&#8217;d stop for ice cream at Buxton&#8217;s after a Sunday night gathering.<\/p>\n<p>We also had dance-a-thon, volleyball-a-thon, and a car wash to raise money for things I can&#8217;t recall now. I also enjoyed going to the church Christmas bazaars with Mom, and baked cakes for them. We also sold crepes at the Fair.<\/p>\n<p>This was also around the time when I started to play with the Imperial Symphony Orchestra in South River. Rehearsals were once a week in the evenings, and the concert would be on a Sunday afternoon. I was in first violin, but I wished I could play in the percussion section.<\/p>\n<p>I got to play snare in the Memorial Day Parade. It had been a long winter, and I was aching to get started with the band again. After three miles beginning on Harts Lane, we cadenced to the Municipal center. Mom and Dad took movies when we played <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=80vEk58OofQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Aztec Fire<\/em><\/a> at the reviewing stand. My heart burst with joy at the applause.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Chapter 20: The Keys, Please\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=414\">Chapter 20: The Keys, Please<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13050\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/drum-avatar-thumbnail-sm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" \/> <a title=\"Return to Memoirs\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=13681\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Return to Chapters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And this one time? At band camp? Later in the month, I got to hop on one of four cruiser buses to Band Camp at Camp Lohikan at Lake Como, Pa. I was finally a SNARE DRUMMER! We all had so much fun goofing on the bus. This camp was a great setup of cabins &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=401\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Chapter 19: Finally A Drummer!&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16868,"parent":4,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-401","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17624,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/401\/revisions\/17624"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}