So our group has been practicing a new song for the last few months. This is in anticipation of the Veterans Day ceremony out at the Coast Guard station. Pretty big venue; over a thousand people in the audience.
Well, first they got our name wrong on the program. Not a big deal, it was pretty close, and they said it correctly when announcing us. We help to open the ceremonies with the Star Spangled Banner* and Grand Old Flag. Then we sit down and listen to testimony from some incredible vets of the Korean War**.
Then the bagpipers come out. Now, I like good bagpipe music. A group of bagpipes playing "Scotland the Brave" can really get the blood flowing. Well, they place these guys at opposite ends of the hanger. So they can't hear each other over their own bagpipe, and there's no director. They each start playing "Amazing Grace". At different tempos. And different keys. And one of the players has Parkinson's. I swear I am not making this up. It's pretty painful, because you can't really hear either melody. One of them finishes a full 8 measures after the other.
There's a bit more pomp and circumstance, and then the XO calls for the striking of the colors and ends the program. Which is pretty shocking to anyone who has a copy of the program (ie, the audience), because he accidentally turned a page and cut about four performances from the end, including our last two numbers and the debut tune we have been sweating over for months.
He was pretty embarrassed and apologetic after the show, and I'm sure he had to endure endless comments from people asking "Hey, did you know you skipped…"
But still. Rats.
*The Anacreontic Song, if you're an 18th century British musical layabout.
** Which is still going on, by the way. At over 50 years, it's America's longest war.