Our first G.F.

In the '70s and '80s, "G.F." was the abbreviated term we used to describe those too-frequent times when it hit the fan, when everything went wrong. ("The bus broke down, we got there late, the gazebo was too small and there were 6 people in the audience; what a massive Goat F***.")

The first G.F. of the NMA reunion showed itself this morning as we were warming up for our final concert band rehearsal. Through a scheduling error, rehearsal was located in the ballroom adjacent next to a conference of the FIAIA.

The manager brought the problem to conductor Wilbur Smith. Smitty didn't waste any time looking for fault; there was no time to waste on assigning blame, so he found the solution. We moved one more room down the hall and started only a few minutes late.

I should add that FIAIA stands for "Florida Internal Affairs Investigators Association." These were cops. Lots of them. They had guns. Lots of them.

Smitty made a great decision.