Set condition "Darken Ship"

As the 2010 Navy Musicians Association reunion approaches its final evening, Navy Lyres goes dark.


In an hour, the concert band will play for the cocktail hour. We'll have dinner, speeches, no doubt, and a few sets of big band and rock 'n' roll.


Then it will be over. We'll toast each other one last time, say our goodbyes and pack up the gear so the equipment transportation crew can depart early in the morning.


I'm staying an extra day, so I'll be able to provide more reports tomorrow. But tonight, I'm taking off my blogging hat, whatever that is, to devote myself to one of the most joyous and bittersweet parts of an NMA reunion: the end. 

What went wrong?

It's down time at the Navy Musicians Assoication reunion. The concert band has finished it rehearsal for tonight, and we're all on liberty.

A good time to mention that something was missing at the membership meeting this morning: whining. Things never go perfectly at an NMA reunion--did you ever go on a cruise or tour where everything worked as planned?

Yet when President Chesson opened the floor for general comments, there was a serious lack of whining, bitching, moaning, kvetching and harping.

The board of directors is seriously wondering what they did wrong to deserve this

2012: Orlando, Florida

At the Saturday morning meeting of the membership of the Navy Musicians Association, Executive Vice-president Bob Leketa announced that the reunion of the Navy Musicians Association in 2012 will be in Orlando, Florida. The date is not yet set, nor is the venue; he already has proposals from 9 hotels, and lots of work remains to be done.

The definition of a loser

My enemy, the worthless Lee Hudson, just showed up at the Navy Musicians Association reunion. Two days late. Typical.

Lee tells me he got married this year and moved to Texas without a job or even a prospect thereof. Waiting to find a position in music education, Milton Leander Hudson, Ph.D, went to Wal-mart and filled out the 75-question online application form. He received an immediate response: Dr. Hudson is not qualified to work at Wal-mart and need not re-apply.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me. To think that Hudbucket is unqualified to sit on a stool in a stupid blue jacket, greeting people and handing them shopping carts fill my heart with unmeasurable joy, a joy that is in no way minimized by the knowledge that, within a week, he'd found a position as Assistant Director of Music in a nearby college.

Believe me, I was glad to be a sympathetic listening ear to an old shipmate who's been through hard times. I'm not the kind of guy who, on hearing such a tale, contains his glee until I he can duck around a corner.

I laughed in his face then and there.

What are shipmates for?

Victory at San Antonio

The Navy Musicans Association Concert Band performed "Victory at Sea" at tonight's performance. Here's a taste, enough to give you the feeling a fresh breeze in your face and a liberty card in your pocket.

Another source of NMA live-blogging

In a parallel dimension, NMA member John Derby is also blogging the Navy Musicians Association reunion at his site, Who moved my chops?

While he and I are old friends, I must point out that John is engaging in unfair competition: he knows how to operate a camera.

No fair.

You gotta know when to hold 'em

It has come to Big Frank's attention that poker is being played at the Navy Musicians Association reunion.

It is fortunate that Big Frank is unaware of the exact location of the game. Experience has shown that he is weak at some of the finer tactics of poker. These tactics include "bluffing," "poker face" and "folding."

Concert Band rehearsal

As promised, more video of the Navy Musicians Association reunion, provided by Frank's Lo-tech Productions.

In rehearsal for the Friday night performance,Wilbur Smith finds that progress is enhanced by getting everybody on the same page.

Smooth

Here's a rare photo: NMA Executive Vice-president Bob Leketa at the piano.

Reunion week is generally Bob's busiest time. You'll often see him flying up and down the hallways of a reunion venue,collaring the hotel staff, holding emergency meetings with event managers, "putting out fires," as he calls it.

This year, however, things are going smoothly. So smoothly that he's had a few opportunities to do what so many of us come here to do: play.

I just finish playing a set in the lounge with Bob on piano. It's not something we often get to hear, and surprise, surprise: he's good.

Who knew?

You're either part of the conversation, or the topic

A Navy Musicians Association reunion isn't just about music. It's about shipmates. That means, if you're not here, we spend a lot of time time discussing, well, you.

--Charlie Niehoff keeps bringing up John Linscott's name. John, you might want to think about showing up next year, if only to defend yourself.

-- Showband West alumni--Frank Kemp, Ed Henson, John Derby and me--particularly miss Charlie Sweet. Charlie said yes to the reunion, but his doctor said no. John and I, in particular, were looking forward to offering Charlie heartfelt apologies for making 1977 a, shall we say, exceptionally difficult year for our old bandleader.

-- The good news is that my arch-enemy, Lee Hudson isn't here. The bad news is he's coming on Friday. I'll enjoy things while I can.

Each morning is a little easier

Our second morning of 0900 Big Band rehearsal was a little smoother. We've learned how much coffee is necessary to assure legato swing eighth-notes.

An early farewell.

The Navy Musicians Association reunion is just getting underway, the Big Band is swinging and folks are still arriving.

And some, sadly,are departing. Members and guests come for as much of the reunion as their schedules permit. My wife had only a few free days, and had to leave this morning. She made her farewells this morning--here, she says goodbye to NMA President Terry Chesson--and hopped on the shuttle to the airport.

I am now, once again, resonsible for monitoring my own behavior.

Break's over

I came to my first reunion after 10 years totally away from the piano. Now, thanks to the annual opportunity to perform with my shipmates, I play again. The piano is, again, an important part of my life.

New NMA member John Derby has me beat: he's returning to the guitar after a break of almost two decades. We played together last night for the first time since we were stationed together in 1977.

Thanks for retuning to the fold, John. And thanks, NMA, for the opportunity to be back on the bandstand with an old friend.

It's not easy being Cute at 0917

Neil Hefti probably had Dick Bonenfant in mind when he wrote this one.

The fleet's in...

Another first rehearsal

The Navy Musicians Association Concert Band's first rehearsal is always a challenge: rehearsal time is limited, the music is challenging and the performance is Friday. 

The band has always met the challenge, and will this year, too.

Old friends and new

The Navy Musicians Association Concert Band's first rehearsal introduced us to new acquaintances...

...and reunited us with old shipmates.

Unit Cohesion

It's not something you order from a catalog and spray in the air. Unit cohesion comes from working together. Today,the NMA's Big Band worked morning and afternoon, and it payed off. We swung.

A few notes

- Here we are, back at work playing. Members continue to arrive and fit themselves into the day's activities.

- Today's schedule is unusual. The NMA Concert Band will meet at 1700, rehearse for an hour, then join the rest of us for a beer bash provided by the hotel. Rehearsal will resume at 1900.

It is expected that this last session will be extremely productive.

- I played more piano last night and this morning than I'd played during the entire previous year. My arms are now useless, flapping appendages. Yo--NMA pianists--where are you?

First rehearsal

One thing is abundantly clear: 0900 comes a lot earlier than it used to.

Lots to do

You're not likely to run out of things to do at an NMA reunion. If you want to get away, it looks like a few other things may be going on in San Antonio.

Welcome aboard

Hand over your personnel records. Have you checked in with dental and medical? The disbursing office will reopen at 1300. Find a locker, stow your seabag and report back here at 0845 for a 0900 downbeat.

A Tuesday night tradition.

It's not on the schedule, but it's an NMA tradition. Late on Tuesday afternoon, people start migrating to the lounge. When the proper instrumentation is achieved, the pre-reunion jam session begins. 

We're all anxious to play together after a year apart, so sometimes, the bandstand gets a bit crowded.

But, sometimes, just a trio plays...

...while their shipmates listen.

Here come the Seabees

Tomorrow, the Seabees will arrive.

Like the Navy Musicians Association, the Company E Seabees are holding their reunion at the San Antonio Doubletree Hotel. Unlike the NMA, this may be their last get-together.

The boys of Company E served during World War II. Like so many military reunion groups of that era, only a handful of members can still travel, and their active days are coming to a close.

Our board of directors has invited Company E to join us on Saturday night for the NMA dinner/dance, where the concert band will honor them with "Song of the Seabees."  (Mel Leketa, who hasn't left Virginia Beach yet, will pick up the music from the School of Music in Little Creek and bring it with along.)

Their presence will serve as a reminder that the Navy Musicians Association's Saturday night ceremony is not an evening of self-congratulation. It is a time we offer honor and ceremony to all who served before us.

The boys of Company E deserve our thanks. Fortunately, it's not to late for us to give it.

We are not alone

I'm not noticing any problems with my spiritual health, thank you, though I'm not the kind of guy who'll turn down the offer of professional bank services.

Not bad for a reunion that hasn't started yet

Jamming will begin presently...

...as soon as the tech crew finishes jury-rigging the bandstand.

I don't know what the problem is, but the solution, clearly, is duct tape.

Leon Harris and Bill Sterck apply the Universal Solution

We have a quorum

MUs continue to roll in. I am informed by Bob Leketa that we are at strength to begin playing in the lounge tonight, or perhaps as early as 1600.

It is hard to believe that this--

-- will soon be the site of a riotous musical bacchanal.

We're picking up steam

Officers at work

The pianist has pounded out a Bb for tuning, the drummer is adjusting his cymbals, the bass player is plugging in to his amplifier and the saxes are shuffling through the music on their stands. It’s the first rehearsal of an NMA reunion.

You may wonder: how does all this equipment get here? Elves, probably. Maybe magic elephants haul this stuff from Virginia Beach on their backs. When they reach the hotel, the Amazing Kreskin closes his eyes, puts his fingers on his temples, and bass drums and string basses levitate off the elephants’ backs and float into the hotel.

Well, not exactly. The job of getting musical gear from Virginia Beach, halfway across the country and into a hotel is done by the NMA’s officers. These are not white-shoe, wardroom officers; these are amplifier-toting, piano-carrying, bass drum-schlepping officers. They do a lot of dirty work we never see.

All's quiet on the quarterdeck

The registration room is the quarterdeck of an NMA reunion. It is where newcomers get their first impression of our association's get-togethers, and where seasoned members look to see who has signed in.



Mariners of old knew that it's always quietest right before the storm. Deb Holl knows this, too. She's methodically battening down the hatches before the deluge of MUs begins.

One day to downbeat

Random stuff pours from my head. I'll do better after coffee.

--Although the NMA reunion begins tomorrow, shipmates have been filing in to the San Antonio Doubletree Hotel already. Yesterday brought Doyle Church, John Branam, Leon Harris, Ambrose O'Donnell and Rabbit Simmons.

--I saw Charlie Sweet on the list of folks who've registered for the reunion. Charlie and Doyle Church were my first unit leaders. I learned a lot from them. A first class petty officer was a pretty important guy to me in those days.

Bling!

No drum roll, please

Terry Chesson and David Blakeley drove a van full of NMA gear from Virginia Beach to San Antonio.

Their advice for anyone who takes a 1,600 mile trip in a vehicle packed tight with drums, pianos, amplifiers, basses, music stands, lights and cartons of reunion gear: somewhere in that rat's nest, probably buried at the bottom, is a snare drum. Before turning on the ignition, turn off the snares. If you don't, they will rattle and roll, mile after mile, day after day.

Terry and David look a bit frazzled today. They've just driven halfway across the country in a permanent buzz roll.

There's a first time for everything

I forgot my underwear.

Okay, long story that we don't need to go into here. The point is, there's a Wal-mart nearby, I needed a few things, David Blakeley did, too, and he has wheels. So we drove to Wal-mart.

I've never been shopping with a guy before. He knew what he needed, I knew what I needed, we split up, got what we needed, paid and left.

Total time in-store: approximately seven minutes.

Don't believe Google Maps

Driving to San Antonio for the NMA reunion? Have a good trip, drive safely and, when you enter the San Antonio city limits, ignore your Google Maps printout of the location of the Doubletree Hotel.

The hotel is at the northeast corner of the intersection of McCullough Ave. and the I-410 loop/access road. It's not south of the I-410 loop/access road, where Google Maps has it.

Once again: Doubletree = NE corner, intersection of McCullough and I-410 loop/access road.

Believe me.

Still waking up..

Got in to San Antonio late last night...

Looked for shipmates in the obvious places...

...and went to bed.

The Daily Poop - Sun, 20JUN09

I'm outta here.

If the rain lets up so Jo can drive me to the airport. If the plane isn't grounded because of tornado warnings. If. If.

If all goes right, there'll be no more posting today. No Facebook. Nada. I'm in transit to San Antonio for the Navy Musicians Association reunion.

Though it doesn't officially begin until Wednesday, people will be dribbling in: folks who are combining the reunion with a bit of travel, early birds like me, NMA officers. Since I won't get in until late tonight (Sunday), I'll try to start posting tomorrow (Monday). Who's in town, who's not, what's happening, what is rumored to be happening. As I recall, "scuttlebutt" is the term.

That's it: a couple of days of scuttlebutt.

By the way, I promised low-tech videos this year, and I'm carrying through with the promise. I have no idea what I'm doing, but that didn't stop me from joining the Navy, and it won't stop me from posting a few videos during the reunion. In fact, within the last hour, I shot my first video, edited it and published it online. Here it is. 55 seconds of background noise, insufficient lighting and slamming doors. You'll find it impossible to believe I don't know what I'm doing.

Deep in the heart of Texas

Well, pardners, I'm here at the Doubletree Hotel in San Antonio. I got in at 11:15 PM and did what any sensible MU would do: I found the bar. It was closing down, but the bartender told me some of the Navy guys had already been in. I'm not the only early-bird in town.

I'm exhausted--taps, taps, all lights out. I'll post tomorrow morning after I've had a chance to get the lay of the land.

This will not happen way early in the A.M...