It was at my first Regional Competition at Chesterton in my first year returning to education in 2005. Mr. Campbell and I were walking back toward the buses with the judges’ “Silver” rating results. I was wearing a new school windbreaker Mr. Campbell had given me.
“You might want to take that off or flip it inside out.”, he said, with no additional comment.
I questioned him. He simply repeated the advice which I ignored because it made no sense.
We climbed up the ramp of the trailer to talk to the band. After we spoke, and when students started coming up the ramp, Mr. Campbell stopped them and said,
“Not on here. We’ll come down.”
I still had no idea.
A few seconds later they were all squirting silly string at us. It was one of those “traditions” no one had told me about. There was a “band buddy” system in place where, throughout the season, members would anonymously get small gifts for their “buddy”. But on the final competition, everybody’s gift to each other was a can of silly string.
What a mess. But, as soon as it was over, all students picked up as much of the silly string as they could. I found that impressive, but I guess it was part of the tradition … and we were at another school.
The next year, at Lafayette Jefferson, I was ready, and so were the students.
But I had a problem with the tradition and shared it with them….not sure if it was in a subsequent rehearsal or at the band banquet, but it went something like this,
“I have two problems with this silly string tradition. First, you are making a mess at someone else’s school. I know you work to clean it up, but you cannot get all of it and so there is always “evidence” that we were there.
NOTE: I started using the phrase, ‘Leave no evidence’ anytime we were needing to clean up, such as when we were having snacks or celebrating a birthday.)
And second, you are “celebrating” a SILVER rating. Yes, you’re probably celebrating the end of the season, but it just doesn’t feel right. I don’t want you to silly string ME again until you receive a GOLD rating.“
There were no “silly string” celebrations in 2007-08. But, in 2009, the band received GOLD for the first time since 2001. Speaking for both directors, I made them a “deal”…..
“Let’s have our “GOLD-rating Silly String Celebration back at HNHS, following the band banquet. Bring your stuff to the banquet, and afterward, Mr. Campbell and I will, voluntarily, meet you outside Door 34. Of course, you will have to do clean up, right?”
Deal!
I did two things to enhance our celebration. First, I brought several cans of stringy for Mr. Campbell and I to use. We knew we’d be outnumbered and surrounded, but we would not be unarmed. But also, prior to the evening, I had gone to a small group of trusted parents……
“Following the banquet, Mr. Campbell and I are going to meet the band outside Door 34. They will surround us and silly string us. When THEY surround us, I want YOU to surround THEM, and when it all breaks loose, I want YOU to silly string THEM.”
It was great.
