A PERSONAL NEW MEXICO HISTORY
PAGE THREE
ENTRY: Ballgames and Bands.....October, 1952.....a Friday
There's a football game tonight.
Everyone's excited about it.
Everyone wants us to beat Eunice. I'm excited too, but not for the same
reason. I'm excited because there will be a half-time performance
by the band.
You have to understand that
even though I'm only six, as far back as I can remember I've been going
to ball games:
football games, basketball games, baseball games, and track meets. My brother,
a senior, plays in all the games (he's really good, so I'm told) and my
folks go to everygame, all over the state, all over the entire area. They
make me go with them, damnit ! Needless to say, even at the age of six,
I've seen enough ballgames to last me the rest of my life---so many, in
fact, that I don't even watch them anymore.
I take a pencil and a notebook
to all the games, but not for keeping score. I turn around, sitting backwards
in the bleachers, and improvising a desk. Then I draw and write all night
long.
It keeps me from getting real bored. But at football games I always turn
back around at halftime. The best part, for me, is about to begin. I can
see really good now, too, 'cause most of the people who came to see the
game have left the bleachers and are lined up at the concession stand.
If it's an out-of-town game,
our band always gets to go first at halftime. If it's a home game, like
tonight, the other band starts. In either case, it's always a double show.
The air is crisp and I can see my breath when I exhale. The lights on the
field are very bright and cause all the band instruments to sparkle.
One end of the field contains a mass of sparkling red and white.
The other end of the field---a mass of sparkling blue and gold.
Wow! (I have to go pee, but there's no way I'm gonna leave.)
It all begins with a whistle.
The drum major, out in front, gives the signal to begin. The twirlers follow
in their white boots and tassels; and then, with a crash of cymbals, drums,
and horns, the red and white sparkling mass moves onto the field.
It's real exciting....even if this group does spend most of it's time on
the other side of the field. Guess they want to show off for their own
folks. Trouble is, most of their folks are down at the concession stand,
too. Next time I'm going to remember to bring my binoculars, so I can see
everything better. A wild cheer goes up from the other side (the Eunice
folks) as their band finishes it's halftime show. The band gets a standing
ovation from its home crowd, but I can't be sure if it's because they did
a really great job, or simply because they closed the show by playing their
"fight song." (that's always a sure-fire way to please the crowd)
Now it's our turn. Noelene Thompson
blows the whistle, spins her baton, and the blue and gold sparkling mass
moves onto the other end of the field. I almost have to cover my ears,
such a loud cheer goes up in the stands all around me. It seems some of
the people who left earlier have come back now, to see
the show. And what a show. ---"Ladies and gentlemen, the Jal Panther
Band under the direction of Mr. Creighton Hogan."
Halfway through the show, the announcer asks everyone to stay where they
are (to avoid accidents) because the lights are about to be turned out.
What? How can we see the band if........
WOW ! It's incredible. The lights just went out, but our band is all lit
up. They all have tiny little lights on their caps and on their shoes;
and as they continue to play and move around in the dark, the sight is
truly hypnotic. The twirlers even have lights on their spinning batons.
I know now that this is all I ever want to do---be in the band. The lights
come back on, and at the end of the show, our band pulls the same trick
as the Eunice band; and upon hearing "On Jal Panthers" the crowd
really does go wild.
FOOTNOTE: You'll probably think
this is strange, but I don't even know which team won the ballgame.
I do know, however, that we won the halftime !
No question about it.
(Copyright 1998, by Jalfalfa)