{"id":426,"date":"2011-06-07T14:43:29","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T18:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=426"},"modified":"2025-06-10T10:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:22:50","slug":"chapter-21-disney-asta-and-band-camp","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=426","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 21: Disney, ASTA and Band Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Back To Disney and Daytona<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-718\" title=\"EPCOT Logo\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/EPCOT-Logo-258x300.jpg\" alt=\"EPCOT Logo\" width=\"335\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/EPCOT-Logo-258x300.jpg 258w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/EPCOT-Logo.jpg 344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><strong>I remember 1983 as one of the most fun and happy summers of my life up until that point.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There were so many fun things happening, and great places to go. This would include our Disney\/Daytona vacation, ASTA, the county fair, and Band Camp.<\/p>\n<p>I also enjoyed having Mona living with us, and we hung out just like sisters. It was interesting to hear about her dates with Michael and job at the Crystal Light Diner. It seemed so much better than my school life and all of those commitments at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Late in June, I went on the Tractor-Trailer with Dad.\u00a0At the end of the day we drove to Fairfield to pick up my cousin Peter, after having dinner with Aunt Maryann.<\/p>\n<p>Peter (who\u2019d just lost his dad, Uncle Johnny the previous year) went with us to Disney World.<\/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>Too Shy<br \/>\n<\/strong>Kajagoogoo<\/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=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Kajagoogoo-Too-Shy.mp3\">Kajagoogoo &#8211; Too Shy<\/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><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2249\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2249\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2249\" title=\"Disney '83\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83.jpg\" alt=\"Disney '83\" width=\"500\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2249\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dig those socks!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This time, the \u201976 Coupe DeVille took us 5 down to the Sunshine State, and there was another park to take in, EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow).<\/p>\n<p>Now Steve had a boy his own age to romp with on a vacation, and romp they did \u2026 all the way down I-95, through Disney\u2019s theme parks, River Country and Daytona Beach. Naturally, Dad (the terminal \u201cboy\u201d) encouraged their antics.\u00a0Mom and I rolled our eyes and pursued the \u201csophisticated\u201d route.<\/p>\n<p>There were a couple of days when Dad and the boys hung around the rides at the Magic Kingdom while Mom and I absorbed all the cool scientific stuff at EPCOT. Our favorites were Spaceship Earth, World of Motion, Innoventions and the World Showcase. We meandered around enjoying all of the treats and sights of the attractions on our Girls&#8217; days out.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2248\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2248\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2248\" title=\"The infamous pillow fight\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-pillows.jpg\" alt=\"The infamous pillow fight\" width=\"500\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-pillows.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-pillows-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2248\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The infamous pillow fight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Steve and Peter had a pillow fight in the Days Lodge furnished apartment, and Dad caught it all on the movie camera. He also joined in the fight, at which Mom and I were not in the least surprised.<\/p>\n<p>Peter became defending champ for several years following. (If they attempted this today, there wouldn&#8217;t be an intact pillow in the joint.)<\/p>\n<p>Following the stay in Orlando was a week at Daytona, at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickriver.com\/photos\/edge_and_corner_wear\/5537825888\/#large\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Americano Beach Lodge<\/a>, where we stayed in 1976.<\/p>\n<p>Dad, Steven and Peter were just as wacky there and were goofing on some guy they saw in the elevator, nicknamed &#8220;The Ghoul&#8221; the entire time. I remember sitting on poolside lounge chairs with Mom, shaking our heads as the boys ran around (with Dad) gallivanting.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2254\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2254\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2254 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-spacemountain-dad.jpg\" alt=\"Space Mountain\" width=\"500\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-spacemountain-dad.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-spacemountain-dad-300x228.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2254\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nobody loved Space Mountain more than I did.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We also caught the Firecracker 400 NASCAR race at the Daytona Speedway.\u00a0It was hot, it was noisy and my brother was in his glory.<\/p>\n<p>Music from the era of that Disney trip include Michael Sembello\u2019s <em>Maniac<\/em>, <em>Too Shy<\/em> by Kajagoogoo, <em>Time (Clock of the Heart)<\/em> by Culture Club, and <em>Our House<\/em> by Madness.<\/p>\n<p>This was the summer when my ex, Mike S, began showing interest again. Though we met a few times at the fence like before it was completely superficial and there was clearly no future. His actions confused me; he knew I was dating now but for some reason seemed to want to hang on somehow.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, I would sneak outside during the night, past Mona, who smiled mysteriously and, like a cool &#8220;big sister,&#8221; never blew the whistle.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2250\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2250\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2250\" title=\"Disney '83 Cape Canaveral\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-capecanaveral.jpg\" alt=\"Disney '83 Cape Canaveral\" width=\"500\" height=\"776\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-capecanaveral.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/disney83-capecanaveral-193x300.jpg 193w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2250\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cape Canaveral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Going out with guys and drumming were now a permanent part of my life. I know I <em>should <\/em>have shown Mike the door, but whatever.\u00a0If he was suddenly okay with this drummergirl, a little no-ties messing around was fine by me.<\/p>\n<p>I again went to ASTA in August, and then later in the month band camp was a BLAST. We had a new percussion instructor, one 20-year-old Mark C. with chops of steel.<\/p>\n<p>He drove us drummers to our potential, working up that season\u2019s drum feature, Dennis DeLucia&#8217;s <em>Cachaca<\/em> with slick snare riffs and visuals, and I can still play it today.<\/p>\n<p>Mark was a taskmaster, which I didn\u2019t mind. I admired him for his talent.<\/p>\n<p>The bridge of the <em>Cachaca<\/em> piece involved our four basses kneeling and rolling forward on their drums, balancing on their heads. That was a crowd-pleaser.<\/p>\n<p>My mother, a die-hard band parent, was a chaperone, and also our cabin mother.\u00a0All my friends just thought she was the best.\u00a0Mom achieved the impossible\u2014being there when necessary, but ducking out when we kids needed to be kids.<\/p>\n<p>She was so cool that one night during camp, we all got up around 3 AM to TP Gordon T\u2019s cabin.<\/p>\n<p>Mom knew darn well where we were headed, and she pretended to be asleep.<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, our band director awoke to rolls upon rolls of the stuff hanging outside. (I now pity the employees who ended up having to clean it all up.)<\/p>\n<p>One of the twirlers\u2019 bras was hoisted up the flagpole, and every staff member was dumped in the lake. Classic.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday night was the talent show. A bunch of us got together with a skit \u201cI don\u2019t wanna grow up \u2026 I\u2019m a marching band kid\u201d, a parody of the Toys \u2018R Us jingle at the time.\u00a0We also did another skit with our own verses to the \u201cOompa Loompa\u201d song from Willy Wonka. What fun we had.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16874\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16874\" style=\"width: 949px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-16874 \" title=\"Our cabin, with the best mom ever\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/our-cabin-mom@2x-1.jpg\" alt=\"Our cabin\" width=\"949\" height=\"669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/our-cabin-mom@2x-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/our-cabin-mom@2x-1-335x236.jpg 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/our-cabin-mom@2x-1-600x423.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/our-cabin-mom@2x-1-768x541.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16874\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Our cabin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>At Last &#8230; Senior Year!<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-14324\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MB-Mom.png\" alt=\"Marching Band Mom\" width=\"350\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MB-Mom.png 387w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MB-Mom-298x300.png 298w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/MB-Mom-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/>As senior year started, I was dating a guy named John G.\u00a0We met through Anne and her boyfriend, Joe P. Joe and John both attended St. Joe\u2019s in Metuchen.<\/p>\n<p>We double-dated a lot, and John and I hung out ourselves quite a bit. He took me to Roosevelt Park to see a play, <em>Brigadoon<\/em>. When it got chilly he gave me his jacket.\u00a0John G\u00a0got me the 45 of a song I liked (and that reminded me of him), <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6tRU8aIjlkg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Just Be Good To Me<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by the SOS Band, and wore \u201cChaz\u201d after-shave.<\/p>\n<p>I was beginning to really get into him when I discovered that he\u2019d apparently been waiting for me to \u201cgive it up\u201d.\u00a0He promptly got it from some girl one weekend while visiting his sister at the University of Delaware. That was it for gigolo G.<\/p>\n<p>A sophomore mellophone player named Randy was then interested in me, and he had these laser-like electric-blue eyes.\u00a0Like most horn players, he was a great kisser. He ended up playing mad bass in a rock band years later.<\/p>\n<p>Another soph named Dave and I saw each other for a while \u2026 and so continued my life at EBHS.<\/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>Dead Giveaway<br \/>\n<\/strong>Shalamar<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375810224372\" 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\/Shalamar-Dead-Giveaway.mp3\">Shalamar &#8211; Dead Giveaway<\/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>A nice junior named Paul was interested in me briefly. <em>(Ed. Note: Paul eventually became friends with my college fianc\u00e9 and was Best Man at our wedding.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We went on a date to a hot tub party at Steve W.\u2019s house one night and watched MTV. (Paul and I would remain friends, and he ended up Best Man at my wedding years later as a close friend of my fianc\u00e9.)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_450\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-450\" style=\"width: 1006px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-450\" title=\"A shot from Anne's &quot;Luau&quot; party\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/anneparty_1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"A shot from Anne's &quot;Luau&quot; party\" width=\"1006\" height=\"671\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/anneparty_1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/anneparty_1.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary, Kristin and Dave at \u00a0Anne&#8217;s &#8220;Luau&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some guy Dennis kissed me by the back door to the stage, and a guy named Jon and I retreated to the Drama Department\u2019s prop closet for a little between-class fooling around.\u00a0A friend of mine, Jim, whispered to me that his younger brother Josh had a crush on me but was intimidated for some reason; guess he was shy. He never did approach me though.<\/p>\n<p>A really sweet guy named Henry was interested in me too but I was with Dave at the time.<\/p>\n<h3>Closing Act<\/h3>\n<p>This would also be my final high school marching band season; I had applied for admission at West Virginia but there was no guarantee I\u2019d make the <em>obscenely<\/em>-competitive Drumline.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-16876\" title=\"Happily posing as an EBHS drummer\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-drum-portrait@2x.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-drum-portrait@2x.jpg 716w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-drum-portrait@2x-178x300.jpg 178w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/eb-drum-portrait@2x-356x600.jpg 356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Therefore, this year carried a marked sentimentality for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I soaked up being a snare drummer with the EBHS Bear Band, playing my heart out and earning props from Mark the drum instructor.<\/p>\n<p>At our final home game of the season, I stepped forward on the field with the other graduating seniors to receive applause and recognition from the stands. I got my \u201cletter\u201d for Band, which Mom sewed on my jacket.<\/p>\n<p>I was jealous to hear that next year\u2019s band was going to perform in Florida again.\u00a0I would be long gone by then (and at the time, I had no idea I would be flying to Houston, TX to a bowl game with WVU\u2019s Mountaineer Marching Band).<\/p>\n<p>We had to turn in our band instruments, and with trepidation I placed my beloved snare drum back in the case, and onto the shelf in the band room it went, awaiting next year\u2019s lucky player. Fortunately, one gig remained \u2014 the township&#8217;s Memorial Day event.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t want to leave behind the parades and competitions\u2014we\u2019d done local civic ceremonies, performed in expositions such as the Rutgers Band Festival, and Tournament of Bands competitions.<\/p>\n<p>We took Best Percussion in the South Brunswick event, thanks to Mark\u2019s instruction plus a slick move where the 4 bass drummers rolled forward onto their heads and we snares did some stick snaps during the bridge of <em>Cachaca<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h4>Memorial Day 1984: Clip from the Asia chart topper <em>Only Time Will Tell<\/em>.<\/h4>\n<div class=\"wp-block-protected-video-protected-video\" data-id1=\"dmltZW8=\" data-id2=\"MTA4OTgzMDE1Nw==\"><\/div>\n<p>Following that Memorial Day observance, I closed the case on the silver Ludwig field snare forever.<\/p>\n<p>Popular music from fall of senior year was <em>One Thing Leads to Another<\/em> by The Fixx, <em>Delirious<\/em> by Prince, <em>Suddenly Last Summer<\/em> by the Motels, <em>PYT<\/em> by Michael Jackson, <em>Say It Isn\u2019t So<\/em> by Hall and Oates, <em>Ain\u2019t Nobody<\/em> by Rufus and Chaka Khan, and <em>Owner of a Lonely Heart<\/em> by Yes.<\/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>One Thing Leads To Another<br \/>\n<\/strong>The Fixx<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" 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\/2019\/04\/The-Fixx-One-Thing-Leads-To-Another.mp3\">The Fixx &#8211; One Thing Leads To Another<\/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><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>A Little\u00a0PDQ Bach<\/h3>\n<p>At the start of my senior year, I was asked if I was interested in joining the school&#8217;s elite vocal group, Concert Choir. I thought it would be fun to try it, and I sang Alto all year.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4493\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4493\" style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4493\" title=\"EBHS Concert Choir\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/concert-choir1.jpg\" alt=\"EBHS Concert Choir\" width=\"858\" height=\"636\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/concert-choir1.jpg 604w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/concert-choir1-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/concert-choir1-600x445.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4493\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">EBHS Concert Choir at Woodbridge Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We performed at the Woodbridge Center Mall around Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>I also had a solo on stage to begin <em>Dona Nobis Pacem<\/em> while the rest of the choir processed up the side aisles holding electric candles.\u00a0We also sang at a couple of local competitions.<\/p>\n<p>I recall how Miss Nelson used to sit at her desk at lunch, eating little slices of cheese and Triscuit while she talked to students who stopped by.<\/p>\n<p>Mom had her ups and downs health-wise during this school year. She often wore a stiff foam neck brace for support because her vertebrae were so ravaged by the effects of chemo.\u00a0She tossed aside the wig as her hair began to re-grow, and it came in patches of fuzzy brown. She used to joke that it was a new \u201cPunk style.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-13215 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Rustler-600x402.jpg\" alt=\"Rustler Steak House\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Rustler-600x402.jpg 600w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Rustler-335x225.jpg 335w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Rustler-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Rustler.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>I got my first part-time job that fall, at PJ Maxwell, a clothing store in the Mid-State Mall on Route 18.\u00a0I worked after school and Saturdays to save for college and for a little spending money for myself as well.\u00a0When they let me go after the holiday rush, I was genuinely surprised, not having been aware of seasonal demand for help.<\/p>\n<p>I then applied at the Rustler Steak House, bussing tables and working the drinks line, which I enjoyed a lot. My coworkers and I would grab a piece of cheesecake and wolf it down in the big freezer.<\/p>\n<p>I was then working at Chi-Chi\u2019s, doing cold prep the following spring, under manager Tom Boylan. I made chili rellenos, &#8220;fried&#8221; ice cream, salsa, seafood enchiladas, and other things.\u00a0 I was surprised that the &#8220;hot&#8221; salsa was actually made with water and powder! Where were the fresh tomatoes? I was also directed to operate the &#8220;buffalo chopper&#8221; to shred the imitation crabmeat for the seafood enchiladas, even though I wasn&#8217;t 18 yet.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Chapter 22: Milestones\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=436\">Chapter 22: Milestones<\/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>Back To Disney and Daytona I remember 1983 as one of the most fun and happy summers of my life up until that point. There were so many fun things happening, and great places to go. This would include our Disney\/Daytona vacation, ASTA, the county fair, and Band Camp. I also enjoyed having Mona living &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=426\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Chapter 21: Disney, ASTA and Band Camp&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14256,"parent":4,"menu_order":22,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-426","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/426","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=426"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17904,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/426\/revisions\/17904"}],"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\/14256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}