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"IN MEMORY OF MARY LOGSDON" - IN NOTE SECTION OF CHECK

JUNE 24, 2006 - "I WILL" "I DO" "WE DO"

The trip from Falls Church, Va. to Williamsburg was fairly uneventful, except for a stretch of road south of Richmond that caused periodic slowdowns by drivers going south, for no apparent reason whatsoever. I guess it was like a "mystery hill" kind of situation. Rod Serling's ghost again, perhaps.

I arrived in Williamsburg, at the fife and drum building at 10:00 AM, with plenty of time to spare before heading over to Yorktown and the wedding of John DeWitt and Melissa Dyer. Before leaving for the wedding, I watched the Junior corps recruits being run through marching and playing excercizes in the parking lot next to the fife and drum building. One member in particular, was very interesting to me. I think it was because of her small size. She was as serious as anyone I have ever seen. Even in the strong heat and humidity, she was unfazed. She had her "drummer face" on every time she was brought to attention and every time she performed. There is a photo that will be posted in another submission.

John and Melissa, from the Old Guard, came to Detroit and participated in the recording of the "Love forever, the Sweetness of Mary" CD that the 1st Michigan has produced as a fund raiser for Ovarian Cancer Research. See www.1stmichigan.com for more information. Melissa had invited me to the wedding, but the trip was first, and I wasn't sure where I would be on her wedding day. As it turned out, it worked out perfectly. Her Mom saw me pull up to the church and immediately planted a boutonniere on my shirt.

I protested that I wasn't exactly dressed to do this job, but she insisted. Melissa was very shocked that I had made the wedding and insisted that I walk her down the aisle as one of her "dads". I said I would, even though I was wearing blue jeans and the shirt that I designed with the www.perimeterrun.info logo on it.

Ed Dyer, Lonnie, from the Old Guard, and myself brought Melissa down the aisle. When the minister asked "WHO GIVES THIS WOMAN TO THIS MAN?", Lonnie spoke first, "The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps does.", I spoke next, "The International community of fifers and drummers, with special emphasis on those living in Michigan, does". Her Father finished up with, "Her Family does."

Photos of the event can be seen in another posting.

Following the ceremony, everyone headed for "Endview", a Civil War era plantation, and the muster/reseption that was due to take place. On the way to the reception, I stopped at a strip mall to get a "snack", since I wasn't sure my blood sugar levels were where they should be. I had started to feel a bit, "weird". When I came out of the store, the Sheriff Dept. had four cars at the other end of the strip mall. Right over by where I parked, there was a rather animated discussion going on about - this is truly ironic for me - the fact that his lady was wholly dissatisfied with the quality, style and overall look of a haircut that she had just received. It was obvious that the shop owner was equally dissatisfied witth the manner in which "customer A" was letting her know about her feelings of being ripped off. The police were doing their level best to keep a straight face, while these two women went back and forth about "Why you puttin THAT finger in my face like that?" and "You talk to me, don't yell at me", and on and on and blah blah blah…….

Frankly, the hair wasn't the problem. The woman should have been yelling at her own parents, if you catch my drift. Perhaps she was taking out years of frustration on a easy target. I hurried out of there, in case I was going to be asked what I thought of the hairdo……. There was no way, I was going to fall into THAT trap.

I arrived at the muster and parked the bike. I met and talked with quite a number of people. Lonnie and Eric, from the Old Guard were talking about the fact that they have never been rained out of a performance in their tenure with the Corps. Well, let me tell you, that this was going to be tested today.

Detroit Durty Dawgs played first. The harder they played, the harder the rain came down. They did outstanding, even with some very adverse weather hitting them in the face, and hands.  I asked Lonnie, what was going on. It was raining VERY hard. He said, hey, we're not playing yet. A group from Maryland played next. Monumental City did a fabulous job and I told them that I was impressed with the sound they produced. I had heard them a few years ago, and they had made tremendous strides in their sound.

The Regimental Drums and Fifes, from Reston, Virginia were third in line and played extremely well. I have to say, though, that my favorite corps to perform was the Liberty Hall Fifes and Drums from Hampton Roads, Va. They looked like they stepped out of a Mathew Brady photograph from Appomattox. This group was dressed as Civil War Rebels, and they sounded as good as they looked. One of them was even barefooted. They were impressive before I heard them and I was impressed after I heard them.

Just before the Old Guard put their wigs on, the rain stopped. I am not kidding. I got that "I told you so" look from Lonnie. I shrugged my shoulders, I mean, what else could I do? I was asked by the O. G. guys if I would announce the Corps, so that is what I did - WITH OUT THE SOUND SYSTEM, WHICH JUST CRAPPED OUT before I was to do that.

It worked. Everyone went to the area where the performance would take place, and the members of the Old Guard (all volunteers) present did a good job in doing what they do best.

It was a very special treat, and an honor, for me to be involved in Melissa and John's wedding. I am so happy that I made it there. It is a memory that I will keep warmly for the rest of my life.

I left the reception/muster and headed back to Colonial Williamsburg. After parking the bike near the fife and drum building, I headed for the Duke of Gloucester Street, for the Tattoo that was being beat by the fifers and drummers from the British camp. I realized that they were in need of assistance, but were managing to do a passable job with four drums and only two fifes. Both the fifers were strong players, and I could hear them over the drummers very easily.

Tim Sutphin told me that some old 64th friends were in the camp, so I went looking for them. I found a few, and told them about my plans to reconnect with the Regiment and get some new kit made. It is being put together by the same lady who makes the uniforms for the Old Guard. Have you noticed how many times I have said OLD GUARD in this document? Yeah, I have too.

Tim and his wife Keely and I went to a restaurant called "South of the Border" to have Mexican food. It was very good. The best thing about the place was this cheese and refried bean dip that they had for the chips. Wow, was it ever good. I am going to try to recreate it when I get home. It was very good indeed.

I stopped at John and Rene Moon's house on the way to the Sutphin home. I am so happy that they are looking and feeling so good. John and Rene both seem like they are in better health and spirits than I have seen them in, in years. They are preparing for another cruise that will be taking place this coming September. This one will be a river cruise up the (as Tim calls it) Damyou - that should read DANUBE - River.

When I got to the road that Tim and Keely live on, the GPS unit located their house and notified me of this fact - exactly 300 yards beyond where the house REALLY is. Tim was out with a flashlight directing me into his driveway.

The last time I stayed at the house, one of their dogs, a German Shepard, was very eager to be my friend. The other dog would not even stay in the same room with me, let alone look at me. After taking a shower, I sat down with Tim and Keely and after a bit, I called the shy one over to me. To our collective amazement, she did. She walked over and allowed me to pet her and talk to her and all the regular stuff that people do with dogs. She was perfectly happy to be where she was.

None of us could figure it out. I considered that a major victory. She tickled my feet by licking them too. After a bit, I headed off to bed. They have a very comfortable futon in a spare room. It is a very comfortable futon. It is too damn comfortable a futon.

June 25 - "BY THE SEA, BY THE SEA, BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA"

We had made plans last night, that when I woke up, I would have breakfast, then pack up, then get on the road. That was the plan. Yup, I was all set to go. I woke up.
I woke up at the crack of 11:00!!

HOLY CRAP IT'S 11:00 O'CLOCK!!!!!!

That can't be right! "Keely, is it really 11:00?" "Yes it is!"

CRAP.

What the heck happened? I don't sleep until 11:00. …. EVER!!!!!

I was on the road by Noon. Wow, noon….. I made great time. Oh, yeah, two hours lost in travel time, I am just doing WONDERFULLY, thank you very much. I slept like a lump……..

Like Willie Nelson's song "On the Road Again," I am going southbound and headed for the Outer Banks.  Today's vistas have included Three Mile Bridge, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel complex. Two very cool highways. Oh, and there was that debacle with the lost passport.

Yeah, you read that right. I had put my jacket (with the passport in the pocket) in the cooler, because I was extremely uncomfortable with the temperature. This car pulls up next to me and the guy driving is waving at me. The woman sitting next to him is YELLING at me AND him. I figured she was very pissed because he liked motorcycles and she didn't. I thought it all very funny.

A couple of minutes later, I looked at the mirror and noticed the cooler top open.
I think I might have said something like "OH POOP" or something …. But I stopped. The jacket was there. The passport wasn't.

I turned around. I drove up and down that stretch of road. I put the four ways on and drove up and down the road slower. I was flagged down by a pedestrian I had seen walking. He asked me if I lost something that looked like a passport. I, of course, said yes………. Did you pick it up?

He didn't - grrrrrr - but he knew sort of where it was at. It wasn't there. I tromped up and down that stretch of road for quite a bit of time, getting the attention of the neighborhood, to say the least. The passport was outdated, thankfully, but it is gone. Lesson learned: Don't put shit in the cooler you don't intend to eat or drink.

I spent the afternoon heading for Kitty Hawk, here on the Outer Banks. Here is yet another wonder of this country. I will post some pictures here in another submission. I decided to stay here, rather than make my way to Nags Head. This little spit of land is not all that wide. The architecture is unique to what I have seen so far in my travels. Homes here on the Outer Banks, are built up on large stilts, for the most part. This allows water to move underneath during hurricane surges, rather than destroy them.

Dinner tonight was at "Tortuga Lies", an obvious local watering hole. I asked the clerk where he would have dinner if he wasn't going home, and the place mentioned above was his suggestion. He was right on the money. The Tuna steak I had was the best thing. It was very tasty, indeed. Here it is, 11:06 PM and I am still writing to try to catch up on my journal. I have come to like this part of my day. It allows me to review the happenings of the day and to reflect on what I have seen thus far. While I like the variety I have seen, I am not compelled to "stay", as it were. Still, there is no place like home, even though I am not in "Kansas" anymore.

I am amazed at the diversity of what has been presented visually to me. The sleaziness of the "MOTEL" and the luxury of the "Sands", have made me appreciate both, for what they are. I have driven through salty rain and been presented with what I thought was a truck moving past me, when in reality it was a Moose. The Birch tree woods in the mountains of New Hampshire were every bit as interesting as the Oceanfront homes of both New Jersey and North Carolina.

Tomorrow, I head further south - ever south - more south than I have ever been before. What an adventure.