Why I march...

Or should I say marched? While I am moving to a new school (one without a marching band) I will never forget the times spent on the football field with over 100 of my peers. I marched in the Stratford Bands for 2 years and have learned so much in such a relatively short time.

Those 100+ peers I mentioned? Yeah, I knew all of their names and faces- and was able to match the right face to the right name for the most part. We were all odd, quirky, and downright crazy at times. Particularly on the bus or during a rainy-day indoor rehearsal. But the laughs weren't really the reason I continued to march with them for a second season.

No, it was about the family. The sense of community. We shed sweat, tears, and the occasional blood, together from July until December. From heated band camp to windy parades. When a band member was hurt, you helped. When a band member was struggling in class, you helped. When a band member needed help piling their hair into their hat, you took joy in knotting their hair into wacky pigtails and other twisted hairstyles. (Sorry boys, but dress code is dress code. No hair on the collars!)

My first season of marching ended with knee surgery after I stepped in a pot hole at our very last parade. My second season started with knee surgery. Because I couldn't march, they put me on the front line with the mallet percussion. Even though I had no CLUE what I was doing, they managed to fit me in and I didn't mess up too bad at competition. And I never once felt left out.

But that's the thing. An organization like band has so many different types of people. Injury-prone persons, tie-died hair persons, geeks, nerds, the works. And the only thing we all have in common is music. But its enough to start. And by the end of the season? We're family. That's why I marched.

Pictures:
top right: Show shirt from 08 season. We made State finals for the 1st time in 6 years!
middle left: Me marching at State my freshman year. The show was Musicology 101

Want to know what it's like to be part of the band? Read Just One of the Guys available on Kindle and other formats now!

Why I Foster Greyhounds

Today's post is the first in a random (no-schedule) series "Why I ___." The first-edition feature?

Why I foster greyhounds.

Yep. Usually you hear about foster kids- children without a legal guardian who have to move between families and homes while looking for adoptive parents. It's the same basic concept with the dogs- racing retirees in need of a forever home. My family's job is to help train these racers to be home-friendly pets when they've never even been inside a house before.

So why do I do it? Here are two good reasons:
Meet Boo (left) and Brody (right), my two current retired greyhounds. Brody is about 7 y/o and Boo is about 4 y/o. Both dogs raced, but neither was very good and both retired early without being bred.

"Fly Bye Brody" was my family's second foster dog, arriving while I was in 6th grade. He fit in with the female grey we had at the time and was such a goofball we couldn't bear to let him leave. Boo was one of our first fosters after my 8th grade year- two of our dogs had passed away that spring. "Sweet Crunch" was her racing name (how do you shorten that?) and had the adorable habit of perking up her ears like the little girl in Disney-Pixar's Monsters Inc.

The dogs that come through our home naturally a bit confused- not only are they in an actual house, but they've been transported from the Florida kennels to stay with complete strangers. One foster was terrified of hardwood floors and hopped from the carpeted floors to the rugs. We've had others that were terrified of the cats, the stairs, or both. Each dog is different, but every single one just wants to make people happy.

The dogs on the track are fed the worst sort of meat on an irregular basis. The beef that's deemed unsuitable for humans and that isn't even used in commercial dog food. Most of them have bald spots on the backs of their hips from the kennels and others have scars from scrapes and fights with other dogs.

And yet, the greyhounds still enjoy life and human attention. They still run in circles- often leaving tracks in their owner's backyards. They beg for attention, treats, and a good scratch. These dogs have a resiliency that few humans possess. While the laws in Florida are changing so that the dogs don't have such a long career, they still need people who (with great patience) can teach them how to live off the track. And if I can help place these dogs in a loving, permanent home, then that's something I want to be doing.

I work with the Greyhound Pets of America Charleston chapter. For information on greyhounds and racing stats, go to Greyhound-Data.

Look and see some cool pics/stats/pedigrees of greyhounds I have owned/do own: Faithful Message (Faith), Levi Rider (Levi), Fly Bye Brody (Brody), and Sweet Crunch (Boo) are a few.

Did you know that while they are called greyhounds, breeders and trainers believe grey, or blue, colored greyhounds are unlucky?