Diary of a Dumb Day

I woke up yesterday a bit slow-moving, I walked Romeo and then nicked myself, a little dot of blood, shaving my legs. I put on a band-aid so the blood wouldn't wreck my white tights. The band-aid got all tangled and stuck in my tights (but later came out in the wash). 

 

Bill complained about his white pants stained orange from sunscreen. I remembered Bill had another pair of white pants unopened. He found them in the band room.

 

This was our first time performing at this parade. Most of our parades we have done for decades.

We were running late. The parade was set to start at 11, but we were supposed to register by 9:30.

 

The roads were getting closed off by police just as we arrived and when we drove around to other roads they were also closed for the 4 mile road race before the parade. So much for registering by 9:30. 

 

As we were looking for a way around the road race, we encountered a highway dept guy who'd pulled up in a big white truck. He was wearing a protective mask and scooping a fresh and bloody skunk carcass in the road just before the road race. I rolled down the window to thank him and gagged and nearly retched my scrambled eggs and cilantro pesto breakfast onto my white spotted dress. Thinking back, it was funny, but it was already that kind of day.

 

We finally made it to the designated parade parking lot at a school, but it was already packed. We found space, illegal of course, next to a back hoe and a dumpster. At this point we were well past the registration time, and now the runners filled the street. All we could do was wait.

 

We left our instruments in the car so we could get to the start of the parade, about a half mile, to register, and then had to walk back to get our instruments. We encountered the rest of the band - yay! - and then turned around and walked back with our instruments to the start just as the parade began. And then we marched and played the whole parade route once again! So I guess it was 4 or 5 miles by the end of the day.

 

I had forgotten my water and ran out of time to take my asthma inhaler. Just one mishap after the next and this was true for all of us in the band. I almost twisted my ankle stumbling on a large pebble in the road. Luckily my knee buckled as a reflex.

 

The weather was perfect. Our small band looked great in their whites and milkman hats and black bow ties and we sounded good! It was not too hot and not too cold, no humidity. The crowd was happy and appreciative.

 

We got home without mishap. Luckily the huge amount of homemade tomato sauce with spicy sausage, mushrooms, olives. and tricolor pasta I made two days ago was ready to feed us! Bill 's brother and fellow bandmate Jeffrey joined us. I stuffed the sauce into cubanelle peppers and warmed them. I had my homemade hummus and a cilantro sauce with romaine lettuce for dipping.

 

Bill dropped some tomato sauce on his new white marching milkman pants. Later we ran off to buy Spray and Wash. After two unsuccessful treatments I finally read the directions. Spray and rub and treat with hot water! It worked like a charm! Duh.

 

For dessert we had my homemade molasses granola and raisins. We paired E.Wedel 80 percent dark chocolate with our coffee.

 

Bill and I fell asleep at 8 PM in spite of the fireworks, Romeo trembling on the bed with us. I woke at 3:45 AM, a little sore, but ready for the day. It looks like a beauty!