Verbatim: "Trouble"

Truman Capote claimed he didn't take notes during interviews because he had nearly absolute recall of conversations.

I will make a lesser claim. I can accurately recreate conversations if I make notes soon after and transcribe the conversation in full within a few hours. As a newspaper columnist, I often have to do this. The results are "verbatims," accurately recorded conversations that have been only barely edited for clarity.

Having said that...

---

"Trouble"

a Verbatim 

transcribed by Frank Mullen

Frank is sitting in the passenger seat of the Holiday Inn van on the way to the airport after the 2015 NMA reunion when the driver asks a question.

Driver: So, you were with those Navy guys?

Frank: Yes. We had a great time.

Driver: I thought so. There was this guy smoking a cigar out front of the hotel; coupla the other guys told me he was trouble.

Frank: Lots of those old guys are trouble.

Driver: They said you musician guys aren’t having fun unless the shore patrol has to come and break it up. Said that guy with the cigar was the ringleader.

Frank: The guy with the cigar—was he a big guy?

Driver: Real big. Wish I could remember his name; Jerry, something like that.

Frank: Terry?

Driver: That’s the guy! Wooeee, he’s big. Bet he’d cause a lot of trouble.

--The End--

Taps 2015

Taps. Taps. Lights out. All hands return to their racks and maintain silence about the decks.

Taps.

Temporary Authorized Absence

This is my last night in Virginia Beach. I'll fly home tomorrow, taking with me a seabag full of memories.

What this means is I won't be online for a few days. I'll hope to post more pix and maybe some video over the next week or so. But you know how post-reunion life really is: all your regular responsibilities jump out of the bushes and demand your attention.

This reunion will stay in the mind and heart for a while; see you in a few days.

Concert Band: A Slippery Slope

The NMA is not the old School of Music. Players don't ascend through "A," "B" or "C" bands. All are welcome to play in all our ensembles.

But, just because you can play doesn't mean you should. This solid reasoning has kept NMA President Terry Chesson out of the concert band since our organization's founding. This, it bears repeating, is due to constant vigilance and observance of the Prime Directive of the Concert Band:

Many members are concerned about the possible repercussions of Terry's performance with the concert band this year. In rehearsal and in concert, Terry played in an exciting, contemporary arrangement of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" that required improvisation on the alto saxophone.

Their worries are based on the typical "slippery slope" argument, which goes like this: Let someone play a little sax jazz solo with the concert band and the next thing you know, he'll be flitting into rehearsal in a sequined jumpsuit carrying a B-flat clarinet, demanding to be featured in an arrangement of "Stranger on the Shore" with glitter shooting out of the bell of his Selmer.

Friends, you need not worry. Concert band conductor Wilbur Smith assures us that Terry's performance was a needs-based exception. He was granted a one-timem non-renewable "Provisional Concert Band Membership" that expired Friday night immediately upon the conclusion of "Armed Forces Salute."

I trust Wilbur and won't lose any sleep over this. If you're the worrisome sort, there's nothing I can do about that.

Our time together is brief.

We remember the good times and the not-so-good times. We share laughter in the lounge when a sea story evokes a memory of the friends we found in the Navy and shed tears in the ballroom when the Navy Hymn reminds us of those we have lost.










Then we go home.

Reunion Wrap-up: The Power of Preparation

2013 concert band's first rehearsal;
the stalwarts do their best despite
incomplete instrumentation.

The NMA concert band's first rehearsal is often, shall we say, shaky. Many members haven't arrived yet, leaving half the chairs empty.

This year, the rehearsal hall was packed on Day One, giving us, in essence, an extra rehearsal. By show time on Friday night, this band was in top form.

Preparation and enthusiasm were also key to the success of our dance band. On Tuesday night, rehearsal director John Branham organized a working party to set up the hall for our first morning rehearsal. As a result, the band didn't have to spend half the morning juggling music stands and rhythm section gear. It was almost like having an extra rehearsal.

This year's first concert band rehearsal:
a mighty sound issues forth

Even here at the Holiday Inn, our "home port," schedules can go awry. Since our last reunion, the hotel has had a change of management, a factor that, in the past, has thrown the occasional snafu or two into the schedule. But this year, we never had to scuffle through last-minute schedule-juggling. Our reunion planner, Bob Leketa had clearly done his work.

I hate to say this, but I almost missed watching Bob storming around the hotel saying, "I gotta put out another fire." He actually looked like he was enjoying himself.

We all did. And much of this was due to preparation.

And, of course, much was due to the success of the first rehearsal; rehearsals really are more effective when the players are actually there.

I'm Up at the Crack of Noon

Recent Navy retiree Carl Gerhard
solos at the Saturday night dance...

The 20th Anniversary reunion of the Navy Musicians Association is now history. I said my last goodbyes in the lounge around midnight, hit the rack, woke up at 8:30, said "No way,: rolled over and slept for another three hours.

...to the delight of our former and
active-duty Navy membership.

 I'm about to tour the building; there are generally a few people still around the day after the reunion. But the party is over, the memories settling into place. And I'll share some of them with you in a few hours.

Meanwhile, there must be coffee around here someplace.