Expedition Nomadic Adventures

My next door neighbors, Clifford and Joyce Ingram’s raised 6-children, who were born two and three years apart. When their eldest child Cynthia began playing the drums in the local elementary school band no one expected her siblings would follow in her musical footsteps.
As the years passed their home was filled with the sounds of a Tenor & Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet, French Horn, and Trumpet.
When my two children came of age, they also followed the path of their neighbors with Alexander playing Trombone and Allison a Flute, and Piccolo.

During those early years, my neighbors and I enjoyed our outside decks and patios with the sounds of young children practicing their musical instruments in the background. Fortunately, one afternoon my older neighbors the Kirkland’s, who are former band parents shared their wisdom, bringing us various high-end ear-plugs and over the head noise canceling headsets.

Those first few years of practice produced a horrendously cacophony of music sounds that makes me cringe as I write this story.
But as time passed the sounds improved and our life as band parents taking my neighbors and me to hundreds of school sporting events, parades, Marching Band Competitions, Jazz band ensembles, and so many concerts we stopped counting after 100 before they graduated high school.

The achieving glory was watching all of our young musicians excelled with their instruments to be offered scholarships to attend college.

It’s hard to believe that nearly twenty-eight years ago, their musical endeavors began, but nothing has brought me more happiness than to be in my backyard with my neighbors tonight to experience the cacophonies of instruments for a jazz concert written and produced and being played by our children.

We are all genuinely loyal band parents for life. 🙂