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THE ROUND TABLE -- ARCHIVE, 2001
December 6, 2001
It's getting closer and closer to the holiday season (not that you'd know it from the weather outside), which can only mean one thing - Jim's about to give us the contest set. And, to the welcome surprise of many of us, this year's contest season will be a little different. It seems as though the EUSPBA has seen fit to re-grade your friends at the American Celtic Pipe Band - we've been moved up to Grade IV!!! Not too shabby, considering we only played in three contests last year. And we're looking forward to a great season ahead!
The problem now is, what do we play. . and where??? I'll leave what we play up to our fearless leader to work on for now, but I think it may be safe to say we'll be at more than 3 contests this year. That said, it also looks like, as with our past years in Grade IV, we may be going back to Sunday practices at some point... can't rest on your laurels when they move you up, right? Is it me, or did it just get a whole lot more exciting around here???
Finally, congratulations to Lane and Lisa Maxson on the birth of their new baby boy, Liam. While just a newborn, word is out that Liam is wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his father, Lane (from Wednesday practices!) I'm sure we'll all get to watch this young man grow up to be a fine piper some day - or drummer...
We'll have a couple of more practices before the holidays, and even celebrate with our Christmas party, but once the New Year comes, it'll be back to work - and we're all looking forward to it. Happy Holidays to everyone!!!
---- October 11, 2001
Our usual scrivener of the Round Table Update will be getting married on October 13, 2001, so it may be asking too much of him to give us, at any time soon, his words of wisdom and folly about the goings-on of the Band. But accepting the fact that HE has grandiose ideas that his marriage is somehow more important than his responsibilities to the Band, we thought we would cut him some slack (in the NOOSE) and use this update to give the young couple a lesson for their life journey. And with all kidding aside we wish Padraig and Michele the very best that life has to offer as husband and wife. So to our favorite groom and his beautiful bride we offer this Irish philosophy lesson. And if you think you've read this one before, think again.
"An Irish Philosophy Lesson"
A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of
him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise
jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So
the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas
between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of
sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything
else.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life.
The rocks are the important things -- your family, your partner, your
health, your children -- things that if everything else was lost and only
they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other
things that matter -- like your job, your house, your car. The sand is
everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or
the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and
energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take
your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the
house, give a dinner party, and fix the garbage disposal."
"Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really matter. Set your
priorities. The rest is just sand." But then . . . A student ( who also just happened to play the pipes) took the jar which the other students and the professor agreed was full, and proceeded to pour in a
glass of beer. Of course, the beer filled the remaining spaces within the
jar, making the jar truly full.
The moral of this tale is: That no matter how full your life is, there is
always room for beer.
Padraig and Michele, may God Bless your beautiful marriage and the home you
shall build, and may your wedding night be like a kitchen table...all legs and no drawers.
---- July 31, 2001
Holy smokes. We thought we had a really good showing at Round Hill. The Rockland Feis was unbelievable. When I said in the last posting "it can only get better from here," I had no idea how much better. We didn't win. But we DID take 3rd place out 19 bands. And the best part of it all was the performance of the pipe corps. Two piping judges. . . . two first place rankings. That's two firsts out of 19 BANDS! Needless to say, we were REALLY excited after seeing that! I guess the only problem is, there's no place to go but down.... I guess that will just have to be our cross to bear.
Big congratulations to everyone involved. This is probably the most excited we've ever been about the pipe band, and we're looking forward to seeing where we go from here.
The parade season has come to a close, and with a few rainouts, it was pretty light. We have two more contests left (Hunter and Nassau) and hope to see everyone out there.
---- July 6, 2001
We've got our first contest of the year under our belt (finally!) It was a pretty good showing for us. Although we were the first to play, we still took 4th place at Round Hill in a contest with 11 bands (we were announced as 3rd in error - but it's always good to hear your name mentioned). It really is quite an accomplishment. The field was pretty big and the other competing bands were all really good. We'll hang our Glengarries on that until Rockland on July 22, and see how we fare up there.
We went out there with 12 pipers, with a lot of them new to the contest circuit, and took a 2nd and 3rd. Congratulations to Michael Farwell, Brian McCutcheon, Brendan McMillan, and Tom Patton on your first contest! Our drum section had some new players, too. In fact, only two have had experience on the contest field. Congratulations to Joe Grayson and Mike Patton on snare, Jan and Kathy Meehan on tenor, and on the skins - Barney Rubble (to give you trouble) or rather, Bill Krumholz. Good work
everyone - we need to keep at it.... It will only get better from here...
It's always good to see some of the old members of the band when we venture off of Long Island. One of our former pipers, Tom Ryan, made the trek down from Worcester with his two little girls to see the days events. And all we needed to do was add some numbers to "Uncle Marty's Catering" list. And I think there might have been a half of a strawberry tart left over from the day from our other caterer (available for hire, I might add) - I'll bring it to Rockland.
The July 4 parade in Southampton worked out pretty well for us. The rain kept up, so we didn't have to sweat it out with the raincapes, and the usual "stop and go" pace of the parade wasn't really there. Afterwards, we let off some of the steam at a local watering hole. It wasn't easy to find though - is in on Montauk Highway, is it on Sunrise Highway???
We have three more contests left - see you out there...
---- June 1, 2001
Is it Summer yet? We've marched down Wellwood Avenue once already, so it must be. And tomorrow we march down Wellwood Avenue again. I love Lindenhurst, don't you?
We've been gearing up for the contest season. It's our first one in a couple of years, so the excitement level is high. We've added a few new bodies and are hoping for the return of some old ones, so we should have a pretty sizeable pipe corps out there. Our drummers, as usual, are chomping at the bit right now - already in midseason form. We're looking forward to a successful 2001 campaign as turn up the heat and for another
lengthy run on the contest circuit - hopefully for years to come! Congratulations goes out to two of our very own - Jim Ryan and Deb (Llewellyn) Ryan tied the knot - twice. Once in Disney and back home a week later. For those of you keeping score, their actual wedding date was May 21. The ceremony on Long Island was filled with all of your piping friends at the ACPB. Judge John Mullin, our last Pipe Major before Jim, performed the ceremony.
We're looking forward to an eventful Summer of 2001. Keep your eyes peeled - you don't want to miss us.
---- April 12, 2001
A little late, but here's a run through of what happened during the month of March. It was a busy season, but a good time was had by all (I think).
We opened up with the East Islip parade and, though notorious for cold weather, it was actually warmer than previous years. On the advice of parade administrators, some members were sent to a nearby watering hole for warmth and spirits before stepping off. Alas, after just one pint, the call came in. "There marching, there marching!!! We have to go!!!" Now, after years of marching in this parade and starting from the same location, it's pretty well known that we have plenty of time after the parade starts. This year, we hade 5 pipers running for the parade with pipes flailing and kilts lifting. Of course, they weren't marching. But we were ready to go, darn it! As
usual, once the parade came to an end, we headed back to the Beachtree for food and drink, and, also as usual, Jim Ryan regaled the crowd with same real perty pipin'. All in all, it was a good start to a busy month.
And then we hit Bayport. The week before, Cutch, Marty and Pat spent an early Thursday morning out in Bayport to promote the parade on News 12. Pretty exciting, huh? Except the gig was cancelled because of snow. There they stood. A dusting of snow at there feet, a sprinkle of sleep in their eyes, and not a single TV camera around to record it all. As for the parade, we were again blessed with pretty good weather. It was a little chilly, but the stop-and-go pace of the parade kept us warm. AND we debuted our new Mairie's Wedding piece at the reviewing stand. That, at least, was pretty cool. And the solo piper for that was just remarkable!
Let's skip to the big one. New York City, The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps. This is always the best gig. This year was no different. The weather was great, we had a couple of old Meehan friends, and a couple of old St. Columcille friends, too. We headed down Fifth Avenue with a strong pipe and drum corps, and sounded great. We probably got some of our best coverage in years from NBC - with some good
close-ups on Jan Meehan and Billy Krumholz, Jr. And a few name mentions, to boot. That was a little new for us.
After the parade, we always look forward to getting back to the bus and
relaxing a little bit before heading out on the town. Unfortunately, our bus driver had other plans. This guy was awful. We stood outside the bus for a good half hour after the parade and he took his sweet ole' time getting back for us. After making sure we were all seated and had our trays in the upright and locked position on the way in, we figured he'd be a tough cookie, but it went beyond what we expected. AND we had him for the whole night. After the parade, we had two dances to play at - and both went off without a hitch. It was one of the longest days in quite a while for your friends at the ACPB.
Our last gig of the St Patrick's day season is always the same. The Montauk Parade. For some reason, we seemed to have been moved up in the line of march this year. There was some wondering on the bus as to how we could accomplish that feat. Perhaps there was a meeting on
Friday that we were not aware of. Oh well, never kick a gift horse in the mouth, right? After the parade, we got the chance to check out Tom Etter's new digs. It's a great place, especially for enjoying heros and beer. And after that, we headed to, of course, the Graham's. What a great time that is. Year after year they put out a great spread and welcome us all in like family. It is truly the best way to end the St. Patrick's Day season. By the way, our bus driver for Montauk was MUCH better than NYC - although I think I caught him sipping a couple of Irish Coffees at the Graham's.
Now it's time to gear up for the contest season. We're sure to put out a good group this year, with a lot of our students making the transition to pipes and a full drum corps. We'll see you on the field in 2001.
---- February 9, 2001
Ah, yes... the Round Table.
With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, we are creeping ever closer to the 2001 parade season. Every now and then we get lucky and have the Great Holiday fall on a Saturday. This is one of those years and we're all looking forward to it. Traditionally, we play four dances in one night during the St. Patrick's season. We caught another break this year, and our "Night of a Thousand Dances" has been split up. Should make life a little easier for all of us.
After the St. Patrick's parades come to an end, it will be time for us to focus on the contest season. WE'RE BACK! Back in Grade V, but back nonetheless. With the new rules for this contest season, we feel pretty confident we'll have a good showing this year. It's just going to take practice, practice, practice. You'll see us out there. And we hope you'll be pulling for us.
More to come after March.....
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