D-Day

It finally arrived. D-Day. D for departure.

I tried hard to make Sunday last as long as possible, but Monday wouldn’t wait. I was up at 5:30 to help Jamey get ready for school one last time, packing his lunch and saying our goodbyes before we left the house, even though it was my turn to drive the carpool. I managed not to cry as he and the neighbor girls exited the car, but I snuffled my way through the next few traffic lights. Jenna called after I returned to the house; she still feels the effects of Tour even though she is in Ireland.

The morning passed in an odd fluctuation of time; at times I found myself enjoying the early morning light filtering through the leaves of the trees behind our house and watching squirrels as they raced about the yard. Other times I would blink and another thirty minutes would have passed in an instant.

John and I loaded the car with my luggage and containers, bus comforts and coats. The drive to Bolling was unhurried, with little traffic to slow us down. The parking lot was crowded; the commissary and PX are always busy on payday. The buses were parked towards the back of the lot, so we circled around from behind and slid into a space next to the bus five minutes ahead of the official loading time.

Others had arrived before us, some already unloaded in the parking lot. Once the bus bays opened, there was a steady stream of band members and family members carrying boxes and bins, suitcases and garment bags, blankets and pillows, traveling to an fro like a busy colony of ants. The bus and luggage truck from the barracks arrived and great piles of luggage massed upon the asphalt.

There was more than enough time to load; families finished and walked to the PX to grab a quick lunch before departure. Fifteen minutes or so before we needed to board the buses, people trickled back to the loading area. Small children ran about cheerfully as though at a summer concert, not quite grasping the concept that Mommy or Daddy were leaving.

Irv and Trox finally announce it was time to board and last minute hugs and kisses were given as we boarded the buses. And so, Tour began.

While our first concert might feel an eternity away from our families, we really didn’t have far to go; first stop Chambersburg, PA. People seemed fairly cheerful, chatting with their neighbors and making quick phone calls to family. We eased into the Tour bus routine, slipping into naps or sliding on headphones. By the time we stepped off the bus, it was as if we never stopped touring after Tour 2006.

Our first stop is a very typical Tour stop; a nice hotel along the highway, with plenty of restaurants and grocery stores and no sidewalks. Leslye and I played Frogger to get across the highway in search of the grocery store. We are lucky – this hotel and the next boast refrigerators in the rooms, so we could pick a few things that would normally require a cooler.

Our first concert was in a high school auditorium. Five years ago, we played this same concert site without the luxury of air conditioning. Tonight, though, the stage was pleasantly cool when we arrived to warm up. For the tour veterans, it didn’t take long to slip into the pre-concert routine. Warming up, checking your music, ironing your uniform, changing, and lining up backstage to wait for Charles to say “On Stage!”

Tonight’s program was the C program; my most technically demanding program. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end! It went as well as most first Tour concerts go, a little rough around the edges, but well received by the enthusiastic audience.

One day down, forty eight to go.