Featured Image: 2008 Reunion, (clockwise from top left) Ray Chmieleski, Alvina Chesnovitz, Tony Fastuca, Lorraine Fastuca, Lillian Stratton, Tom Swan, Joan Chmieleski, Noreen Meyer.
This weekend, I have a birthday coming up which officially marks me as old enough to file for Social Security retirement benefits. I’m not filing, mind you, just saying.
Of course, this has me thinking about lots of things. Here’s a thought to consider: Every one of us who marched, from start to finish, is now older than all the parents were back then who helped keep us up and running, and probably older than the instructors were (possible exception: Walter Kelly). Freaks me out a tad.
Drum corps – specifically, OUR corps – was life-changing for me, and I’ve finally found a way to give back besides sporadic donations to a couple different corps. How I do it (I help raise scholarship money for people who currently march) isn’t the issue. It’s what I’ve been most comfortable doing.
I know some of you have helped out with other corps over the years, and may even be actively involved these days. My hope is this: that ten, or twenty, or forty years from now, some kid currently marching thinks back with appreciation for how you made their corps experience possible. Until that happens, accept a big THANK YOU from me.
All for now – corpsdially yours from jo!