One Time at Band Camp

Since being featured on Tasty Kitchen, I’ve been asked a lot about how I was run over by a station wagon with wood paneling… twice!  Being my birthday month and all, I’m reflecting on my age and the good ol’ days. I thought this was the perfect time to tell this story.

Photo by Taberandrew via Flickr

I’ve talked about the time my foot got ran over, but the craziest story is the time my high school band got ran over! YES… the ENTIRE band. Only in my little home town does weird things like this happen. I swear… someone needs to produce a reality show there. It’s not crime you have to worry about, but run away station wagons!

Without further ado, here is my “band camp” story…

Picture a tall, lanky 14 year old blonde girl with acne, a bad perm, acid washed jeans and giant 80’s bangs. (that’s me people!)

It’s 5 am or maybe even earlier, I’ve got my alto sax around my neck and ready for marching band practice. {oh yeah, I was cool!}

The sun is rising and there is not a soul awake in town, but the band kids. We lazily get into our places to practice marching for a big college parade which is coming up soon. Nobody is talking, we’re all half asleep and probably upset that we didn’t have time to tease our bangs very high today. Luckily I’m way in the back of the line with the large horn people. Nobody can see my flat hair.

The drummers start their drumming which means it’s time to march! Sleepily, we march straight into the street. We’ve done this numerous times, no cars are ever in site. Everyone knows the high school band practices in the morning because they are awoken at dawn each week by the screaching of our teenage horn playing.

In the street, we start the music. I’m guessing it’s “Eye of the Tiger”. That was our favorite tune. We’re rocking out 80’s style with Rocky Balboa when, from out of nowhere, BAM!!! There’s a loud THWAK and screaming in the distance. What is going on? I shake my head for a second and am looking straight into a car window with a woman screaming her head off and waving her hands all over the place. Holy crap!!! She just ran through the entire band with her car!! Double crap… she hit me and my horn neck strap is wrapped around the rearview mirror and I’m being drug backwards!! This is it, I’m going to choke to death. Triple crap… I’m going to die and be forever remembered with 80’s hair and acne.

Some how, in about 2 seconds, I’m able to get untangled. A giant station wagon with wood paneling barrels past me as it hurls kids in the air one after one. Ba boom! Slam! Ba boom! Bodies and instruments are flying, people are screaming and sheet music is floating through the air. The kids who were in the front of the marching band saw the car and were able to get out of the way. But those of us in the back didn’t see or hear a thing until it was too late.

Long story short, nobody was killed and there were only minor injuries. The car finally stopped after the length of a few football fields. The out of control driver hit 13 kids, about 5 of them were still on the hood when she stopped. Remember how big those station wagons were?

It wasn’t funny then, but thinking back about those people flying in the air makes me giggle pretty hard now… it was like a cartoon.

My friend ended up on the hood with a couple of big tuba players. I bet they hurt her more than the car.

That was my last year of band.

The story made the Tulsa evening news and many newspapers.

Did you know you can search Google News Archives for old newspaper articles? On my first search I found an article from The Dallas Morning News! Too funny…

The Dallas Morning News

13 HURT AS CAR PLOWS INTO SCHOOL BAND

Associated Press Published: November 6, 1985

PAWHUSKA, Okla. — Thirteen students were injured when a car’s brakes apparently failed as the vehicle topped a hill and plowed into the 90-member Pawhuska High School marching band, scattering instruments and sheet music, officials said.

One student was hospitalized with a leg injury Tuesday but the other band members were treated and released after the Monday morning accident, said band director John Reber. “We were crossing the street in front of the high school and an oncoming car plowed right through the middle of us,’ Reber said.

“I saw kids bouncing to the right and left and some coming over the hood, and what I can’t believe is that there were none underneath the car.

“We had somebody looking out for us.’

To be continued… Read the entire article here.

Good times!!! ha.

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