Two of our three girls were

in the Fayette County High School band back in the 1970s. It was probably

the best part of their high school years.

A lot has changed since then, but I remember well the lifelong friendships

that developed among the kids, the caring adults who worked with them,

and the excitement of a major trip for them, a concert at Disney World.

I've been privileged to be "in the loop" of e-mails and parental

exchanges since the 2000 Tiger Band has been in Australia to play for

the Olympics. I've cherished those letters as though my own flutist and

percussionist were right there with them.

The kids are home now, and the opening ceremonies on videotape that may

already be wearing out. But I'd like to share a bit of what they were

writing home as their big moment approached.

They lived in Bathurst, a university town about the size of Griffin and

four hours from Sydney by bus (or coach, as the Aussies prefer). Its residents

took the band to their hearts.

From one of chaperone Philip Foster's descriptive masterpieces:

"Whenever the band goes to Sydney, it takes four tractor-trailers

to transport the larger instruments and percussion. We assemble a crew

to get that done. I was standing by to load and started talking to a man

in his mid-50s and asked him which band he was with. He laughed and said

he was just a local Bathurstian a call for volunteers had gone out, so

he and several others came out that night to work. Most of the town is

like this.

The band responded by playing a concert for their doting hosts. "Bathurst

is abuzz about the band," Foster wrote.

Austin Bergstrom, trombonist, wrote: "We left for Sydney at 4:15

yesterday morning and we didn't get back until about 2:30 this morning.

We left Sydney at 10 and I slept the whole way to Bathurst and I got up

at 9 this morning. We don't have any rehearsals until tonight. We have

a free morning and a study session this afternoon.

"I would tell you what day it was, but in this entire trip, I have

rarely even known the day. All I know is that it is about seven o'clock

down here."

Meanwhile, the girls were having a crisis. Nikki White: "All of our

hair dryers blew up. Nobody's work. It's awful. Oh, well. We are wearing

hats anyway."

Following the Tiger Band's introductory concert at the famed Sydney Opera

House, chaperone Gail Cribbs wrote: "The performance at the Opera

House was absolutely the best I have ever heard from our band. You would

have been very proud of your children."

Austin: "It's funny, the inside of the opera house is nothing like

the outside. The actual hall is beautiful, but it looks old. The part

of the opera house we were in was for the performers and it was very average

looking. Meant to function and nothing else."

After a dress rehearsal, Austin wrote: "There were about 90,000 people

there [in a stadium that seats 110,000]. We had a bunch of band kids get

sick or pass out or something during the parade of athletes. We think

it was because they locked their knees during the whole thing."

Mom Nancy Swanagan, at home, shared telephone comments from her son: "Brian

said that several kids were overwhelmed by the huge crowd and became lightheaded.

Just nerves, he thinks. As far as he knows it did not include any Fayette

County kids, but to him it looked like over 100 kids had to be removed

to catch their breath. Some of these kids have never performed before

any kind of crowd. They have not played at football games, large concerts,

or parades."

Austin: "It's pretty cool to watch our band walk from the baseball

field over to the big stadium a line about eight people wide that stretches

as far as the eye can see." A chaperone added that it took 10 minutes

for the entire band to march past a given spot on the field.

"It's also cool to see what our band can do to a wet soccer field,"

Austin continued. "By the end of one of our practices what was once

a green field was a mud hole dotted with large patches of kitty litter

to soak up water. Don't mess with this band."

During rehearsal, Austin's section had a break, and as the rest of the

2,000-piece international band began playing "Also Sprach Zarathustra,"

he was at the edge of the field.

"It was the most awesome sound I have ever heard. I had played with

the whole band before, but when you're in the back and you�re playing,

you can�t really hear the entire sound. When I was walking alongside it

was truly awesome. I have never heard a sound so broad and rich. It was

a massive sound that commanded your attention.� The kids loved Australia

and the people they met. One asked his parents, �Can I migrate here when

I�m older?� Austin, after a bout of indigestion from unfamiliar food,

probably spoke for many when he said, �I�m ready to be home, but I�m definitely

not ready to leave Australia.� On the day of the Opening Ceremonies, many

of the chaperones stayed in Bathurst, and were feeling the impact of what

was happening. Bathurst invited them to a dinner and a big-screen viewing

of the ceremonies. �The mayor and town council will be there. I will have

to wear something other than jeans for the first time this trip,� Foster

said. Then he added: �Just returned from seeing all the kids off on the

coaches. I maintained my composure (just barely) as I wished each of my

kids luck tonight.

Seeing those coaches disappear toward Sydney was a little like the first

day of kindergarten for a parent. �I will meet them when they return at

2 or 3 tomorrow morning. God bless them.�

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