My family from South Carolina and Finland has been in town the past few days, and we've been doing the Disney thing (we still love it, even though we live here and go all the time!). Yesterday, while waiting out a rain storm in a store, I see a guy in a Cavalier jacket come in. Obviously, I went over to talk to him, and it turns out he marched 1963-67, and was one of the three guys in the baritone trio in "Tiger Rag" (the Andrews Sisters), as was Dan Heeres, who managed the corps for the three years I marched there. Another "Small World" moment (no Disney pun intended!). My family commented on how easily we got to talking - like we've known each other all our lives - because of that one connection, which was actually 10 years apart!

So I got to thinking - how many other "Small World" moments has anyone had regarding drum corps when you weren't expecting it?

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Don't know whether I'd call it a chance meeting but I serve on several boards for the American Society of Civil Engineers. A couple of years ago one of the boards met in New Orleans. After the meeting we all went to dinner.

As we were all enjoying adult beverages before dinner one of the guys who I'd been working with on a couple of the boards (for about three years) made a comment that someone was a good guy because that person liked the Madison Scouts. I asked my friend his connection and he said that he marched in Madison from 1959 through 1965 (quit when he started college at University of Wisconsin). He was in the Junior Scouts from 1959 through 1961 and in the Scouts from 1962 through 1965. I told him I remembered standing on the starting line during VFW finals in 1962 (Minneapolis) and watching the Scouts perform before we took the field--"Don't Cha Go Away Mad" and "Ballet In Brass" were two songs I remembered.

The other people with us didn't have a clue but we were talking about but we made the point that we'd just discovered that from 1962 to 1965 my friend Stan and I were in the same place competing against each other perhaps 20 times. We didn't know each other then but had just learned that we shared a common experience.

We've traded a few recordings over the past few years. Stan wanted a recording of 1965 VFW that I had. He messed up a solo in concert (he was a soprano bugler). He lives in Dallas area and goes to the DCI events when the circus comes to town each year. LIke me he likes the Blue Devils. One thing that Stan said was that a lot of the guys from his era in Madison had died early from either drugs or aids related to drug use. Madison had some major drug issues in the late 70s and 80s.

Also, on a flight to Cleveland last year I sat next to a woman who was in the Sandusky Ohio girls corps in the mid-60s. Don't recollect how the subject of drum corps came up but she remembered Norwood from 1965 and 1966.

I was matched up with a guy and his wife at my local golf course down in Venice, Florida. He's a retired California policeman, retiring to south Florida. He also was a guard member in the Blue Devils "B" Corps long ago. We've become good friends and still play golf together whenever I head down south.

What did you do in the Corps? Soprano

What years were you a Corps member? 61-62 Cadets 63-67 Imperials

Clarification

When I said Madison had some serious drug problems in the 70s and 80s I meant the town of Madison Wisconsin and not the corps.

John - the corps did too, so you weren't wrong. But they certainly weren't alone at that time. I'm not sure how the California corps even found the midwest, let alone continued to win championships! The East Coast corps were all old enough to have gone through their drug phase...

And I had another chance meeting several years ago that I forgot about! I was visiting the family in Joliet, and we took the boys to Santa's Village, when I ran into our own John Tomascek! But he didn't seem to remember me, and I doubt he remembers the incident at all. I guess I wasn't very memorable...

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Was a few years out of college and was down in Scottsdale for work. Was grabbing a quick lunch at a Jack In the Box and the guy sitting at the table next to us was Gary Wagner who played baritone in the Imperials, was one of the Bradley crew, and I think may have even marched a year with us in the Cavies?

I believe Gary still lives down there (lucky/smart man).

Bob,

My era in Norwood (and my friend Stan's in Madison) were just prior to Woodstock and the "Summer of Love" when drugs replaced booze and beer as the thing to do.

I'd imagine that the California corps had more access to drugs. Some probably grew weed in their back yard and Santa Clara and Concord are a relatively short drive to San Francisco, Oakland or Richmond where any other substance can still be purchased. Sounds like one of them should have renamed themselves "The Purple Haze." After seeing the CADETS "White Rabbit" show a few years ago I wondered whether some of the instructors, arrangers or whatever are still using some substance.

I think it was before your time at Northwestern but in 1970 the student body voted to change the name of the school's teams from "Wildcats" to "The Purple Haze." The Chancellor, Rocky Miller, vetoed the name change. In the early 70s the name would have been appropriate since the student section at football games always had a cloud of smoke over it and they weren't smoking cigars, Lucky Strikes or Marlboro's.