It's been awhile...

Hi out there...I forgive the lack of updates, but things have been pretty busy. How many times have you read THAT on someone's blog. Seems like life can get pretty whacked at times, and the more important things HAVE to be dealt with. That's where I've been. Let me give you a quick run-down of the events over the last few weeks...

--Sarah started kindergarten!! She loves it. My little 2 pound at birth premature in-NICU-for-her-first-month baby girl is REALLY growing up. UNREAL!!! She's doing fantastic.

--Michael Ryan is absolutely growing by leaps and bounds. He spent the first year of his life being pissed off for being here in the first place (or so I think) but now he's adapted VERY well into being the loud, boisterous and irresistably cute son of the loud, boistersous and irresistably loud dad!! Mom had a little to do with it too I guess.

--11 bands this season (yes Lee--ELEVEN!! Whacked!! Good money. But no brain cells.) But it went VERY well. Probably my best season to date. Even better than the year I wrote 16 shows for bands in 4 different states. THAT was a challenge. Anyway...I was pretty disciplined and organized and got things done. Major plans afoot to take the Ryan H. Turner Show Design Productions up a notch.

Or seven.

--Was named drill designer for Capital Sound in Madison, Wisconsin. Pretty incredible considering EVERYONE on staff is from "back there", and it was a surprise for me to get the call. I'm pretty dang stoked. My former visual caption friend from La Canada HS now lives out there and in a strange bit of fate, interviewed and got the Exec Director job for the corps. So--he told me. I was going to be the FIRST he would hire. Stuck to his word.

--Was promoted with So Cal Dream to Program Coordinator. Will keep writing drill but work closely with how the show is put together. I do have talent in this area, just not utilized. It's good that I'm still friends after all these years with one of the greatest genius minds in all of drum corps and winter guard, Mike McCool, and he's just a phone call/email away to help me make sure I'm doing the best I can.

--Waiting to hear about Impulse. Not sure what direction they're going with drill design. I may collaborate with Ron Z., but not sure. Ron Z. is very talented so there's really no need for me to be in the mix. It would just be nice to be in the mix. To mix it up.

--Work (the day job) is going well. What else can I say. It provides the main part of my income, I have my own office, new furniture, freedom, interact with LOTS of people, yet...something is missing. Still trying to figure THAT out.

--Judging for the SCSBOA. That was a major goal of mine that was finally realized. For some, or most, that's probably not that big of a deal. But I am an "outsider" intruding into the world that has normally been "band directors only". So--to be qualified, and then given 11 assignments for my rookie season has been an indication that I should probably be confident in how the PTB feel about me. I'm doing the best I can in this area. As a matter of fact, of these 11 shows, I consider 3 of them to be MAJOR tournaments--Vista, Mt. Carmel, and the Arcadia Festival of Bands. I have a feeling I'll be doing the SCSBOA Championships as well, but they won't tell anyone anything until the dust settles. I was just told to keep that day clear.

--Leaving for Nebraska tomorrow morning. EARLY. Judging the Nebraska Bandmasters Association State Championships. 31 bands. ARGH!!! I'm on a panel with Rob Jett (guard guru!), James Rocillo (horn guru--Ayala HS and SCV), Pete Weber (SCV drill designer), Matt Savage (my old drum guy and buddy from VK days)...looks to be exciting and a great panel. Weather...eh. Not so great. Probably about 50 degrees for a high, breezy, cloudy...cold. I'll be doing Visual Ensemble Analysis.

--Speaking of Ensemble Analysis, I attended my first of 3 WGASC judge's training sessions as I embark on the final part of pageantry arts goals. I'm looking to be a well-rounded adjudicator in multi-disciplines and multiple captions. There's actually a goal behind this that I should expand on a bit because even though many friends and co-workers (HI MY OCFA-ITES!!!) consider me a band geek (thusly equating what I do to nothing really important), it is to me and I take it seriously (when I need to and when I'm not pissed off about something IN pageantry arts!!).

Anyway--this goes back several years, but in 1992, I was working security at Knott's Berry Farm, and was working my ass off in the fall teaching all over the place, designing shows, and then in the spring, announcing EVERY weekend for the WGASC. I had to make as much money as I could because at 9 bucks an hour, KBF wasn't cutting it. At the time, I was living in Placentia with Phil Mortensen, band director at Valencia HS (then) and now the district music supervisor. At the time (and I can't remember exactly when he took over) but Lee Carlson was the President of WGASC, or was about to become the President. Actually, at the time, I was Vice President of Contests for the association. In any event, was very familiar with Lee and worked with him. He called me out of the blue and said if I could take a judging gig for him in Washington State for the Puget Sound Band Championships--it was for visual. I had NEVER judged a day in my life, and of course, being Ryan H. Turner and sometimes honest to a fault, I spewed out as much to Lee on the phone and gave him a thousand reasons to find someone else.

He told me to shut up and I got the gig. Went up, was on a panel of people I didn't know except for 2 people...and that was Brad Pearson (who was writing music for VK at the time), and this really loud guy by the name of Michael Cesario. Yeah. THAT Michael Cesario. I had a blast!! It was so much fun. I was HOOKED on judging. I LOVED IT. For some reason, it wasn't "hard", but it was hard work. Does that make sense? But I reveled in it. LOVED it.

Fast forward a few years. I get married. My show design business takes a nose dive. Things then began to build back up, albeit slowly. Had some VERY disappointing projects and interactions with some directors (in reality, was VERY hurt a couple of times when some directors showed themselves to be completely ignorant of how to be business-like). I began to think that maybe drill designing, even though I loved THAT, wasn't something that I should pursue as much as I should pursue judging. So, I made it a goal. At the time, SCSBOA was DEAD SET against people like me coming in and judging ANY band caption--visual, GE, or music--even though I had been with the association since 1985 AND had some pretty good success (and some dismal failures). I decided that I would begin to get my name out NATIONALLY, and start promoting myself to be a qualified visual judge. And magically--through my own efforts, I ended up judging over the past 6 years in Missouri, Nevada, Washington, Arizona and Utah. I even was asked once to hire a crew and fly to Washington and be the Chief Judge for a show--all 30 days before the show was scheduled--because the guy that was supposed to do dropped the ball. So I was able to get a GREAT group together, including the Zeilinger brothers, Greg Flores, Robert Whitaker, Dale Leaman, Chad Kohlmier and Paul Locke...and off we all flew. There's a point...hang on!!

During this time--SCSBOA was starting to "relax" there strangle-hold on the stance they held that kept experts like me out of the band captions. I argued with people like Don Jaramillo and Don Gunderson about this. It was illogical to allow NON-CREDENTIALED percussion and guard people to judge, but keep people like me, who OBVIOUSLY was committed to southern California marching band, OUT. After some false starts and miscommunications, FINALLY, last season I trialed at 2 shows. And as they say, the rest is history.

Anyway--the short of this is that at the time I was obviously getting calls to do things across the country (heck--even George Hopkins was ready to hire me for the famous USSBA!!!) so my "going national" goal worked. But in my HEART, my goal was to get qualified for the SCSBOA. That had been a goal that was hampered NOT by a lack of talent or ability on my part, but a VERY long process that dealt with the culture of CHANGE in the SCSBOA. And as we can see, SCSBOA hasn't imploded with the inclusion of talent that may not be band directors. So the hidden "in my heart" goal has finally been realized, and as I had said so many years, I get to give my advice and opinion to more kids and directors at one time as an SCSBOA judge.

And it makes me strangely proud to start my tapes by saying, "Hello, this is Ryan H. Turner from the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, and I'll be adjudicating you today in the area of Visual Performance." Thank you SCSBOA. I would say it's about time, but that's not the tone I want to take. I'd rather say thank you, I'm proud to be part of the team.

OK...that's it. I'm done. Sorry OCFA people. Don't have much more to say about work other than...KEEP DUMITRU UNDER CONTROL!!!

And Dumitru!!! MY BLOG IS UPDATED FOR GOD'S SAKES!!!

I don't like cats...

I'm not a huge fan...this video does NOTHING to make feel any closer or more understanding of the feline...

Hello from the Great West...

Ryan H. Turner coming to you LIVE from beautiful Orange County, California...and what a day it is. Today we were supposed to start seeing the effects of a possible Santa Ana windstorm, but true to form, the FREAKIN' WEATHER GUYS GOT IT WRONG AGAIN. Currently I'm sitting under cloudy skies with a stiff COOL wind coming from the OPPOSITE DIRECTION that a Santa Ana windstorm would come from. HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILARIOUS. Happens all the time. Which just goes to show. There is no such thing as weather FORECASTING...they should just call it what it is. Weather GUESSING. There is no future weather other than what you're experiencing right now.

I've had the good fortune of being contacted by 2 friends from my past who stumbled somehow upon my blog. I really dig the fact that people are reading this. But it also intimidates me to some extent. One of the people that contacted me is a high-faluting executive for some company and he's just on another level of existance from me. BUT...he's super cool and we email back and forth every so often. Known him since 1980. And the other person is far away in another state, with a husband and kid, owns an internet based business, and is in all ways apparently quite successful. I miss her...we go WAY back... you're not supposed to have regrets in life, but I regretted the way I treated this person back "in the day". Young, stupid, and scared I was. Anyway--we're in contact and catching up and she's great. In case she's reading...HI!!!!

Marching band season in full swing now--I have 11 bands, and according to the Excel chart that I created that helps me with Project Management, I have 89.3% complete with my shows, I have 43% outstanding fees on my projected fee income, and I'm getting set to judge 12 shows in southern California and the Nebraska State Marching Band Finals!!! Ooooooooooooo rah!!! Busy man. I'm also helping out Impulse behind the scenes with a couple of projects, and I'm hopefully going to be asked back to head up the visual design for So Cal Dream.

Oh ... and I was hired today to write the drill for Capital Sound, a Division III corps out of Madison, Wisconsin. Sort of like the younger brothers to the Madison Scouts. I'm VERY much looking forward to this new assignment. Can't wait.

Anyway--I'm going to go eat lunch now. Have to meet up with some Impulse people and a sales rep friend of mine from Kanstul Horns.

I'm having a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD day...

This is interesting...

Love him or loathe him, he nailed this one right on the head...Rush Limbaugh says:I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $47 million.

If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.. Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt. Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $47 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers. We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don't you?

Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense? However, our own U.S. Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system. If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.

I said in a previous post about 9-11 that there's more to the story. A recently released video has summed it up for me nicely. It's OBVIOUS there's more to the story. Keep checking back as I will be posting the video in 3 parts here in my blog over the next week.

Perhaps...just perhaps...if you have an open mind, and you still care about what REALLY matters in this life, you'll have your eyes opened.

9-11...a day that will never be forgotten

First--the facts.

On September 11, I was working as a dispatcher at the Orange County Fire Authority Command Center in Orange. It was about 6am, and I was getting ready for work in my house in Placentia. I usually turn on the TV to keep me company while eating breakfast, but for whatever reason, I wasn't hungry, and I didn't need the TV. I got into the car, pulled out of the driveway, and headed on down the road. The radio was on my favorite station, KFI-640, and Bill Handel was on. I can distinctly remember hearing him speaking with a terrorism expert from UCLA, and I can't remember the guys name, but he's a dude that's always in the news as the resident expert. Very familiar. I was NOT listening...it was sort of just background yapping. And besides, I hadn't had my morning Diet Coke.

So, I get on the 57 freeway from Yorba Linda Blvd, and start heading south. I use this geographic reference because I remember how things started to make sense to me, and I just happened to remember where I was when everything happened. It began to dawn on me as I was listening to Bill that something wasn't right, so I started to pay more attention. By the time I had reached the 91, about 3 minutes later, I knew that there had been an obvious attack on the WTC, and that something may be happening elsewhere in the country. I was fully awake now. I clicked over to KFWB, and they had full coverage. At this time, I had a big shot of adrenaline, because I was thinking "We're having another WTC event like in 1993...but this sounds worse." I got off the freeway at Chapman in Orange and headed east bound towards Old Town Orange. There's a McDonald's about 1/2 mile down the road that I usually stop into, so I pulled in. The troll that usually worked there that morning took my order over the speaker, and as I pulled up to the window, I saw she was crying. She looked at me in horror--and I knew I wasn't a morning person, but she didn't have to look so scared of me.

"We're at war!"

I stared in disbelief at her. "WAR?"

"Don't you know what's happening?" I acknowledged that I did, but I didn't think it was war. Apparently she did.

By the time I had pulled back on to Chapman to continue my eastward journey, Bill and the morning crew were just beside themselves. Ken Gallaher, the "news man" at the time (and btw, the WORST talk show host since God created radio and why he has his own show on KFI is beyond me--they could hire a freaking monkey and get better work out of it...but I digress), was giving updates, and there was comments thrown in by Paul T. Wall, Rich Mirada, and of course Bill. As I approached the Orange City Post Office, it happened. One of the towers collapsed.

Apparently the crew had a TV in their studio, because as the tower began to crumble--and I will never forget this--Bill began to scream "Oh my GOD...oh my GOD..." Talk about an adrenaline rush. At that point, it wasn't panic that set in, but it was a surety that A) I was probably not going to be going home anytime soon, and B) there was something VERY VERY huge happening. I think by then the Pentagon had been hit, and there was talk or rumor that the White House had been hit as well. By the time I got into the Command Center, I got to see what was happening.

And my world changed.

You know--a lot of people, especially at work, know that I'm open to "alternative ideas" about life, especially in the area of paranormal and conspiracy stuff. I'm most CERTAINLY not a person that BELIEVES in everything, but I don't normally poo-poo stuff out-of-hand until I have a chance to read it. I will say for the record, in the 5 years SINCE the attacks, MANY questions have been raised--legitimate, scientific, and thoughtful questions--about what ACTUALLY happened. You can't deny 2 airplanes hit the WTC (although some would argue they weren't really AIRPLANES as you and I know them--meaning, commercial flights filled with people), and you can't deny that the towers fell, and you can't deny the Pentagon was hit and something occurred in Pennsylvania. But outside of that...it's a virtual LABRYINTH of theories, inconsistencies, high strangeness, and yes, even a spiritual/paranormal connection to it (anyone ever seen the "demon" pics of the smoke from the towers????).

I'm just saying, for the record, that I'm being asked to believe some pretty incredible things to make this 9-11 event FIT into the "Muslims hate us and attacked us" construct. I'm being asked to, as an American citizen, even in LIGHT of the "Muslims hate us and attacked us" construct to give up some freedoms, all in the name of American patriotism and security. And I was asked--to the point of AD NAUSEUM--to donate to the survivor families of 9-11, and to make sure the Red Cross was supported in their valiant efforts...even though the greed I saw out of the survivor families was DESPICABLE, and the Red Cross "lost" untold MILLIONS (ohhh?? Did you forget about THAT little scandel???).

I DO know 343 firefighters lost their lives, and almost 100 police officers did as well. THESE were THE heros, no matter WHO attacked us, or WHAT REALLY was behind the attacks, or who profited. THEY gave. And those people, the ones that I broke down in tears about a week later after near 24 hours a day coverage of this horrific day, are the ones that should NEVER be forgotten, and always honored for their courage and loyalty to the profession that they chose.

Wow...life...and the curve balls it throws

I had a relatively productive weekend. Did a lot of drill, made a lot of calls, met with a lot of people, and actually got to sleep in (but only a little) on Saturday morning. Today, Sunday, I came home from church choir rehearsal about at 5:30pm and hastily started making dinner (grilled garlic chicken and "pink sauce"--which is 2 bottles of Alfredo with 2 cups of marinara--over fettucini, broccoli, and some penne pasta just in case), and got ready to feed my family plus my brother in law, his "friend" :-) , and his daughter. Plus I had to do this within 45 minutes because I had yet ANOTHER choir rehearsal that I had to be at by 7pm (what's with all the freakin' CHOIR crap, Band-o Boy!?). Anyway...

As the water is starting to boil and I was quick thawing 4 pounds of chicken boob in the microwave, I sauntered over to my computer (now relocated to my front room as part of a larger remodel plan that is yet in its infancy) to check my email. And lo and behold, the world famous Alan Irons had emailed me. However--his email was anything but what I would expect from him, as he and I have stayed friends and have corresponded over the years since he graduated from Fountain Valley HS in 1996. This was probably one of the toughest emails for me to get, as it came out of NOWHERE and I had NO CLUE what to expect.

He wanted to let me know that the flute section leader from the Fountain Valley HS Royal Regiment from 1994-1996, Anne Coleville, was tragically killed two nights ago in Huntington Beach in a horrific traffic accident. I sat at my keyboard literally stunned. I was VERY fond of Anne as she was a natural leader, TOTALLY committed to the RR, and probably one of the best students that I or Gary Wampler ever had the pleasure to teach. On top of that though, I would see her every so often over the years at shows or what not. She had grown up to be sure, and was working a real career (some kind of analyst or something), and still living in Orange County. Out of the blue, I got an I.M. from her, and I would like to say it was about 1 1/2 years ago, and we spent a good half hour "chatting" back and forth. She filled me in on her life, on her parents (who were great band boosters), and just stuff. I was stoked to hear from her back then. It always nice for instructors like myself to run into or keep contact with the kids who really made a difference in the programs I've been involved in. I can guarantee you that Anne WAS that type of person. A director's dream in my eyes.

And while it's 2nd hand information, the CIRCUMSTANCES of her death really really disturb me. A GREAT deal. It's being said that she was in a car being driven by her apparently intoxicated boyfriend, who suffered serious injuries in the crash and is apparently still hospitalized. You know...for all those that drink and drive, if you want to go out and kill YOURSELVES...go right ahead. I played that silly ass game back before something slapped me upside my head, and now I have no tolerance for it. But kill someone else, and that just absolutely boils my blood. Anne Coleville, if she continued to be anything she was like when I knew her as a stellar high school student, had much to offer the world and the people in her life. But if what is being said is true, she had no chance for that because of a STUPID #(%ING DECISION made by her boyfriend. Since I have no tolerance for it, I will say this. I hope he suffers for the rest of his life and THEN some for what he did. NO SYMPATHY FROM ME...sorry. I've known too many people that have had their lives cut short because of alcohol--just check out one of my first posts in my blog to know of just one.

This is exactly why I stopped drinking voluntarily and totally on my own back in late November of 1992. I knew I had a problem when my at-the-time roommate Phil Mortensen said, "Dude...you need to chill out on the drinking." And I did. Cold. I was following in the footsteps of my parents, and I need not go down the route.

I was really rattled by this email from Alan. Death, for whatever reason, has been on my mind a lot within the last few months (and maybe I'll talk about it later...and nooooooooooooo...I'm not contemplating anything if you are thinking THAT...homey don't do the suicide thing!). I've "felt" the deaths of people lately more than ever before, and I'm sure it's because I'm 40 and I've hit the halfway mark. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh jeeeeeeeeeeez...I need to stop now. Not a good subject.

Later.

Anyway...the world has lost a very special person. And I'm quite saddened by the senselessness of it, and the loss. It's my hope that I can get to a memorial or funeral for her. I'm sure there will be MANY people there, as she probably touched a lot of people. I know she did in the Royal Regiment.

Thanks Alan for letting me know...

Deep breath...

Well, I'm going to start today (Friday) on a sad note. I went to Chino Hills HS's rehearsal last night, and met most of the staff. We have a new visual guy--Joe Gray--who is absolutely super. Didn't realize it until he pointed it out, but I already knew him because he's the boyfriend of Jen Johnson, who I basically saw "grow up" in the Fountain Valley HS guard. She went on to great success as a guard instructor for Mater Dei and the incredible Santa Margarita guard, and performed for several seasons with the Bluecoats, and ended up being hired by Bluecoats to be their business manager. VERY talented. So anyway, I RE-met Joe, and he's a great instructor. Reminded me of me in some ways how he instructs. Got to meet the famous John Mapes, percussion guru. WOW!! I've heard so much about him, and actually had seen him several times over the years, but this is my first time to work with him. What a great guy, and so incredibly talented. He's definitely on the road to be the next big thing in the world of marching percussion in my estimation. Chino Hills drum line is superb this year. But...what was sad was this.

I looked around halfway through the night, and realized that I was BY FAR the oldest person on staff. WAY older than the director! He's just a KID!!! (I'm kidding Justin...relax!). Man...it was really a realization I had last night. Sometimes those things smack me in the head when I least expect it...

I'm not going to apologize for my rant from yesterday for the "essence" of the message, but I WILL say that I'm sorry I may have been not my normal goofy and happy self. I just...I don't know...maybe it's been the incredibly long hours I've been putting in between teaching, writing, career, and family. But yesterday was like I had one last nerve left, and people were jumping up and down on it. Just be glad you weren't driving on the roads with me. SEVERAL drivers received my wrath as I went from point A to point B!! Hahahahahaha...sorry...LOL!!!

I'll try to be happier today. See??? I'm smiling right now. :-)

Whatever...now get outta here.

A little more ranting...take it for what it's worth...or I'll just shut it all down...

Sorry for the previous outburst.

A blog, for those that are not "hip" to what it is, is an online "journal" if you will. It is simply a collection of personal opinion, and somewhat of a log of events that may be of interest to other people. Opinion is a funny thing for a person like me that wears so many hats, especially in the "world" of pageantry (lower case indicating the world at large, not the website of the same name). I inadvertently "represent" many different organizations because I hold some kind of position...i.e, board member, drill designer, consultant, dispatcher, judge, etc. I am allowed...at least I SHOULD be allowed...to voice my concerns and OPINION about events that have occurred. It is NOT my intention to be two-faced as such that I would "run to my blog" to blevy about something, but then in "real life" go about my business like nothing is happening and all is well. I will post from time to time frustrations, "REAL TIME", and hopefully, maybe, find some solace, comfort, or hell, even THERAPY by typing it out. It will NEVER be my intention to publicly bash an organization that I may be a part of. Nor should there be a LIMITATION of my ability to express in a most docile and bland way a "concern" about something that's not necessarily a huge indictment of an entire organization. To me, in my book, it says something about maturity and accountability to be able to say "Hey, we/they/them/us could have been better in this department" or something akin to that level. It certainly is NOT, again, IN MY BOOK, an indication that anything is a FAILURE, nor does it mean that there is trouble ahead and oh my God, let's not TALK about it.

But on the other hand, I hope that in my 40 years of existance, that I can and HAVE found a balance between being a complete ASSHOLE about things and totally ripping whatever apart, versus on the other side of the spectrum being so PC about things that I wouldn't be able to type a freakin' thing. Sooooo...hence....my outburst earlier today. If truth MUST be told, I was about 2 freakin' seconds from deleting this stupid blog and moving on.

But I decided maybe, just maybe, I'd take a second and put something out there now that may entice someone (or the plural...SOME) to see how the little hamster turns the wheels in my mind, and hell, who knows, maybe even CALL ME or EMAIL ME. But hey...that's cool...I am who I am and I say what I say and this should be water under the bridge. But sometimes, I just get a feather out of alignment because things are blown out of porportion, at least in MY book (and this is MY book).

Changes have been made in my blog...course correction made...lesson learned...I understand "the other side" of the argument...but I have to have my say. So...there...I said it. And it probably makes absolutely no freakin' sense to anyone except those who it DOES make sense to. Understand? You don't? Oh well... :-)

And my mailbox is currently EMPTY.

Amazing...

How many people out there are reading my blog??? And how do I find this information out???

And why are some of you calling OTHER PEOPLE ON THE PHONE about what I write?????

This amazes me. Why don't you stand up like a REAL person and talk directly to me?

Oh...and go read what was so much an issue, and let me know if I corrected it to your liking.

Good grief....

Hello out there...and where have I been?

If you don't know me by now....

You will never ever ever know me....oooooooooooooo...

Sorry. I was having a moment. YES...it's MARCHING BAND SEASON!!! Well, actually, it's BEEN marching band season for about 2 months already. Yeah, we drill designers start way before anyone else does. I have 10 bands--it's been extremely hectic, juggling the business, the career at the Fire Department, hoping for a possible career change in the next several months if a plan that I have secretly working on pans out the way that I hope it does (but I must NOT say anything about it at work because--well--because), and of course, family and all that that entails. Sooooooooooooo...updating the blog is pretty low on the Top 40 Things To Do Everyday list. I apologize.

Good news--So Cal Dream, the senior or "all age" drum and bugle corps that I designed the drill for, came in third place at the Drum Corps Associates World Championships in Rochester, New York this past weekend. This was their second trip to the "Big Game" in their short 5 year history, so they've come a long way. I think the organization's "legitimacy" has just been increased seven-fold ($1 to Lee!). Lee, our Program Coordinator, predicted this. So did I. We just talk different languages. So...onwards. My future with the corps though...eh. I'm not sure. I have a feeling I've been cut because I'm psychic about these type of things, plus, I squawked to the exec director about what I considered to be an issue and--well, you know how things "change" when you're dealing with someone. It's hard to describe. But "it" changes. Yeah. "It" changed. So...we'll see. If it DOESN'T pan out for next season, I wish the organization the best. But if it DOES pan out...I think I can help take the corps to the next level. Which is...of course...making finals in Open Class. There's NOTHING I can't do design-wise that isn't already being done. Sounds conceited--but who cares. It's the truth. As a matter of fact, in comparison to what's out there in DCA land Open Class, I think I can bring a unique style. But...I don't see a bridge to cross right now so I'm talking WAY in the future tense.

OK...Impulse is the Division III World Champion!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!! And there are many exciting things in development for the corps to get ready for sure-to-be exciting 2007 season!! Check out the website for more information--and keep your ears and eyes open for announcements coming from the corps over the next few weeks. Good stuff...good stuff.

Rumors and rumors and more rumors...the drum corps activity is always alive and well with rumors. Mystikal, a little birdy told me, is departing the Ventura area and heading for greener pastures, where apparently kids LIKE to work hard. I don't get the Ventura area. But--oh well...they're losing their best chance to have a regional powerhouse corps with a committed director...another birdy told me that he was going to be applying for the directorship of a certain corps back somewhere else and is VERY excited about the prospect....said birdy is VERY talented and would probably kick some booty in the position....we shall see...Pasadena gearing up for 2007, the site of the Drum Corps International World Championships, being held at the Rose Bowl of course, and much to the chagrin of some real WINNERS...uh, sorry, I meant to say WHINERS on Drum Corps Planet...they fear everything from the Rose Bowl sucking as a venue (please...), to accessibility, to cost, to this to that...whatever. All I know is the east coast people better be buying their tickets early or they won't even GET a seat because everyone and their mother is going from the west coast to 2007 finals. PERIOD. It's about DAMN TIME that DCI came out here.

OK...enough band/corps geekdom stuff. Fire Department going well. Got new office furniture so I won't be in my office using a table that I found outside covered with rat poop and 1 inch of dust. Still trying to "find my niche" in this position, which makes it a little frustrating to say the least. The chief of the section told me yesterday that "ultimately you are responsible" for the TEMD program. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...how about giving me my 7.5% staff raise and a FREAKIN' JOB DESCRIPTION!!! I've been winging it for 6 months now. Sheeeeeeeeeeesh. Oh well...it's the OCFA. Remember, it's the organization that told 911 dispatchers that (at the old place) we were not allowed to "park closer to the building" because we had to leave that open for the I.S. people. Yeah...the same I.S. people that CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or the same OCFA that just promoted someone in finance that CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH and has regularly screwed things up on timeslips and paychecks. There you go. Makes me feel REAL good about MY accomplishments. I guess I must SUCK because I got promoted, hanh? Backwards thinking...I know...and I also know I'm just freakin' ranting. But try as they might to do some good things (and they do, I have to be honest), the OCFA amazes me some times with their truly stupid decisions. Where was I???

Oh yeah. Anyway--with "winging it" and no 7.5% staff raise and no job description, I did receive the best evaluation I've ever received by my immediate supervisor, so I must be doing something right. I was actually pretty amazed by the evaluation. Which reminds me...it was written by my immediate supervisor, even though strangely I don't report to him. Isn't that weird???? JOB DESCRIPTION AND FLOW CHART PLEASE!! :-)

On the personal front, I'll just say this. I wish I had more time for my family. I'm suffering badly in that department, but I feel a moral obligation to provide for my family, and that's what I do. I'll leave it at that.

So....until next time....I'm out of here and back to drill and other "stuff". Hope you enjoyed reading....now get outta here.

A truly sad day...

There have been times over the past few years that within the music business people have passed away. For instance, one person in my own life, Ron Hoar, died and it was quite a blow. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get out of work to get to his service. But most have never heard of Ron Hoar. A GIANT in music education here in southern California. Anyway--many have passed away seemingly recently, both famous and not so famous...but none hit me in the heart like what happened today. I was driving to an appointment today when KFI radio announced during their half hour news break that Maynard Ferguson had passed away last night. That was really really sad...and it hit me in the heart. I grew up listening to Maynard, being a "Fanaddict" and a member of his fan club, and following him religiously all over southern California. I'll type more later but something is wrong with this interface and I can't make a new paragraph...bye for now.

Press box report

I'm actually sitting in the pressbox, using John Donovan's computer, and watching DCI semi finals...technology. Amazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing ain't it? Having fun...feeling a little sad due to some memories associated with Camp Randall Stadium. I'll explain that later in my blog maybe.

Anyway...I'm alive.

Check in from Madison...

Having a great time...I overdosed on Drum Corps yesterday. All is well. The Top 12 are PHENOMENAL. Absolutely unbeliveable. And IMPULSE WON DIVISION III by OVER a point. GOOD JOB!!!

Pacific Crest...sigh...they were DEFINITELY robbed, but little ol' me thinks they need a style update...a new vision...and...

RYAN H. TURNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The drill.............AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!

Sorry...my distaste for over-priced mediocre drill CONTINUES to grow.

I'm about to say something I've NEVER said before...

...and it's going to blow your minds. Really. It blows my mind just THINKING about it much less about ready to publish this. OK...I got to get myself set here. Feet on the floor. Deep breath. OK. Here it goes. Are you ready?? OK...

Today, I actually had a GREAT time at the California DMV office in Fullerton.

WHOA!!!

I SAID IT!!! WHOA!!!

So here's the deal. I set up, via ON LINE an appointment for today to renew my license. The website was fairly easy to navigate, and it was easy to set up the actual appointment. My appointment assigned to me was 12:45pm today. Now--I had to leave work early today and take some personal time to take care of this and about 10 MILLION other things (thanks boss for letting me go!!! HE READS THIS BLOG FOR GOD'S SAKES!!!). Anyway--I go straight from work to the DMV office, get out of my car, and saunter over to the front door. I checked out the time I got into line, and it was 12:31. Cool. PLENTY of time. I noticed as the line moved moderately fast that the receptionist was NOT pleased with her job, not pleased with the clientle', and NOT pleased with the guy right in front of me that was the teen age equivalent of...well, no other way to put it...an IDIOT. Complete. And utter. I was mildly amused as I could tell the receptionist was condescendingly amused with the putz, but at the same time, just wanted him to leave her domain quickly. I came up to the desk. Now it was my turn. GULP!

"Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeext", just like you'd hear by some annoyed receptionist on TV.

"I'm here to renew my license."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes."

"Do you have your confirmation number?"

"Yes" as I handed it to her.

Glancing at it, and then looking up at my beamingly yet slightly chubby face, she smiled BIG time at me and said, "Those were the right answers." Handing me my ticket to move along, she said, "And you have a great day."

WOW!! So I quickly move over to a wall mounted desk type thing to fill out my DL-44 application. I had barely begun when the computer generated loud speaker husky female voice said, breathlessly, "Mr. Turner, please COME here." No no no...it said, "F305, please go to window 28." That was me. I had been standing there about 1 minute. DAMN THESE PEOPLE!!! They're fricken efficient.

So I walk up window 28 to find a very nice older Japanese man wearing a "Solidarity" shirt (something union related) sitting there, and I said, "Hey how ya' doin???" He looked up at me as any state worker would with a look of "Are you about to kill me?" to the realization that I was just a harmless goofball, and then the look of "Boy, you ARE an idiot." No, actually he smiled back and said "Cut the chit chat, what the hell do you want???" So I handed him my work, he mumbled something, and I said, "I'm sorry, I'm only 40 but my hearing really sucks in noisy environments (because in reality--it really does), what was that you said."

"T W E NNNNNNN TY SIX D O LLLLLLLLLLLLLL A R S P L E A S E ! ! ! ! "

Grrrr...come on. I said I was hard of hearing, not retarded. But he did it with a sly smile on his face, and I'm thinking to myself, "Ok, so I won't launch over this barrier between you and me and pound your head into the desk. You're being a smarty pants." Oh...HE WAS. He proved it later.

After money changed hands and the deal was set, he said, "Meet me at window 32 so I can see just how blind you are." LOL...hahahaha...very funny mother....sorry. Lost myself there for minute.

Now, the walk to window 32 was CONSIDERABLY longer than HIS walk to window 32. I think there's some kind of worm hole between his desk and window 32. I had to bob and weave my way around people and around a corner and then another corner, and BAM! There he was, looking all bored waiting for me. He really was a live one. He says...

"OK--with your glasses on, read line #3."

"I W X D E"

"Good, cover your right eye and read line #4."

"G B C D E"

"Alright, now cover your left eye and read line #5, lucky."

"U V C D R"

"GOOD JOB!!! Now cover your right eye again and read line #6."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh, there is no line #6."

"GOOOOOOOOOOD JOB!!! You passed the test. If you had said 'I don't SEE line #6', I would have failed your ass." Now I'm just ROLLING on the floor laughing my ass off. He was funny.

So I went back to his window, sealed the deal, went to the camera lady, got my picture taken, and then, walked out the door I came in....at 12:42.

12:42.

I was 2 minutes AHEAD of my scheduled appointment time.

So I humbly bow in the direction of the DMV and thank you for whatever efficiency classes you guys have been going to and appreciate the humor and good naturedness of the employees I dealt with. Because I know the DMV is where the dregs of society like to hang out. It's a non-glamourous job. But I had a great time.

No more blogging until Monday or Tuesday--I am OUT of here for a vacation to Tahoe! CIAO!!!

Gooooooooood GRIEF...it's overwhelming this thing called corps

You know...I'm just sitting here at my computer speechless. Really. SPEECHLESS. I guess when you get to my age (as I pop my false teeth in), you tend to get a little reminiscent of time that has gone by, and you remember things, you romanticize things, you embellish a little hear and a little there ("The fish was THIS big!"), you tend to forget (or want to forget) that bad things...well...here...just read the following text. This is a cut and paste job of something I put over in the member's only section of the Kingsmen Alumni Discussion Board--and since I'm the author of it...I can place it where I want!! :-) Anyway...describes the feelings this morning...

Just a quick word from "The Mouth"...uh, sorry, I mean..."The Voice"... A little birdy called me late last night and left a message for me on my cell. The message was simple, if not slightly cryptic...it went like this... "Hey Ryan, you won't believe who I sat next to at rehearsal tonight at Western HS. I'll give you a hint. Ready? We got something you're REALLY gonna like!! BYE!" Click.

That was it.

Now, some of you if not ALL of you are probably scratching your head wondering A)who the heck left such a weird message, and B) what the heck WAS that weird message? Trust me, when I heard that message, I audibly GASPED. So loudly in fact that my wife, who was in another room, called out, "Ryan are you OK?" I yelled back, "Oh yeah...I just had another drum corps moment." Something I have affectionately referred to in my 11 years of wedded bliss (COUGH!!!) when I just don't feel like explaining the back-story to something that The Warden wouldn't appreciate in the first place. Right? It's a "why bother" moment. Non-drum corps people just don't get some things that are important to us. But we do.

TURNER, GET TO THE DANG POINT!!!

Folks--if you don't know this, I was drum major of VK in 1986 and 1987. They were some of the best years of my life, especially 1987. The 1987 show lended itself to me more of a "fun" style for me to conduct, and when I say fun, I mean not standing ramrod straight and conducting with just my forearms, but rather, using lots of how I refer to as "body English" and getting the crowd involved and what not. As a matter of fact, if memory serves me correctly, I scared the crap out of the staff at semi finals by turning around to the crowd at Camp Randall as the baritone section started their soli section of "California Girls", and I did what an self-respecting VK drum major SHOULD have done...and that's get 40,000 people to clap....AND ON 2 AND 4 OF COURSE! Permission was granted for that to occur at finals--and I did it. But there's something important to know about my antics in 1987 as drum major.

Outside of the big influence that Greg Clarke had on me as a performer, there was another influence that few knew of. I kept this near and dear to me, and always regarded this person as truly an icon of what, at least in MY eyes, a drum major SHOULD be--commanding, enthusiastic, entertaining, and a musician. I found that person one day at a corps show way back in 1982. He was the drum major of the Freelancers at the time. And then, I saw him again in 1983, but this time, it was by accident. While attending "Boys State", an American Legion sponsored "political camp" at Cal State Sacramento, and being infinitely BORED to tears with the camp precedings, I ventured off to find the source of this GREAT music I was hearing. And lo and behold, it was the Freelancers rehearsing. And there was that same drum major I remembered from a year before. This time--he actually looked over at me and waved. You see--this person, without even knowing it, influenced me in ways that wouldn't see any results of for 4 more years, and I guess indirectly, everything since then in my participation in whatever way I've had in the world of band/corps/guard. And it's when a person like this who shows BY EXAMPLE to another of what CAN be done, and in turn, influences another to strive for something better, it's pretty special. And it stays with you a long time. A REALLY long time.

Well--the point of this is that that cryptic message above told me that none other than Carl Allison has joined the KAC. Carl Allison yelled the above "We've got something you're really going to like" at the crowd at 1983 finals during Freelancers' closer, "Even Now". Carl Allison, out of all the drum majors in 1982 and 1983 (and out of almost all the drum majors in drum corps SINCE then might I add) with the exception of Mike Zapanta from SCV, was very, very highly regarded. So unbelievable admired. Both by competitors...fans...and geeky band nerds like myself, who aspired to be what HE WAS some day. I never met the man except for the wave in 1983. But I was his fan. And he never knew what he did for me by just being HIM. And I don't know if there's a greater compliment that I can give.

There's not much else to say but thank you Carl. And it will be a understatement of the century to say that I will be honored to stand in the same baritone line with you, much less in the same ROOM with you. I don't even know if he reads this board...but anyway--just had to get that off my chest.

The KAC keeps rocking...unbelievable what this venture has done. And I sincerely mean what I say...you have a legend in your midst.

There you have it. Just an incredible time in my life. Full circles and all that.

One more thing about this Madison trip...

I just realized...and far be it from me to COMPLAIN about this because I'm not...I'm just stating something for the record. But after this trip and all the costs associated with said trip, including but not limited to, airfare, car rental, mandatory dinner for friend in Milwaukee, mandatory OCFA shirt as gift to friend in Milwaukee, mandatory dinner (or at least a diet Coke for AT LEAST John Donovan, Jeff Ream, Cozy Chops, Fran "THE EAST COAST ANSWER TO THE WEST COAST VOICE" Haring, and I'm sure thousands of others), tickets, food, housing, food, program, food, maybe a shirt or a hat or 300, more food, and.....uh....food, well...it's finally starting to dawn on me.

I'M GOING TO BE POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!!!!!

Ahhhhhhh...I grew up poor...had a bit of success in the early 90's...got married...been poor ever since. What's new?

AT LEAST I GET TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did I mention I'm about as excited about a trip as I've been in a long time? I haven't? Well...just a reminder...

I'M JAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZED...becoming poor or not.

For crimeny sakes...can it get much better?

What planets are lining up NOW in my life?

My trip to Madison just got exponentially better.

CRIMENY!!!

(Side note--my dad used to say "Crimeny" all the time when I was a little kid. Now that I'm thinking about it, my parents used to say some very strange things. I'm wondering...were they REALLY human?? Like my dad...when he'd get mad, like, REALLY mad, he'd yell "JUDAS PRIEST!!!!" Dad...I'm 40 now...and look back and wonder what exactly were you meaning? And my mom...she used to call me "Rydeeboo", "Cutey Patootey Pie Pot Pumpkin Kid". But the creme' de la creme' of "WTF DID YOU JUST SAY?" sayings she used to spew out in times of great stress: "Oh for crying out loud in the night!!!" Mom--I know you've been gone since 1994, but really...WTF???)

Anyway--what was I saying? Yeah...Madison. If you all haven't been to this website, go there now. This one. No...THIS ONE. It's Drum Corps Planet. And the publisher/owner John Donovan...well...I'll just say he's a great guy, and he's taken it upon himself to make Ryan H. Turner's homecoming to Madison just a whole lot better than it was. And it was already stellar. Now if I can get his son a job at OCFA, I'll be REALLY cool!!! :-)

Speaking of OCFA, we're hiring...go HERE to see if you really want a chance to WORK FOR ME.

Now...I have some bad news. Actually, not bad news as much as extremely disappointing. Maybe disappointing isn't accurate. I'll go for infuriating. I ate at Pick Up Stix today with my boss. We were sitting have a nice discussion over hot steaming plates of Kung Pao Chicken the joys and challenges of being a supervisor/manager, when we noticed a mom and her 2 kids, about 4 and 2 get up from their table. She was busy yapping on a cell phone, because as you are well aware, it's a citizenship requirement of females in Orange County to have a cell phone mushed in their ear talking at the top of their lungs for at least 35% of their time out in public. While she was yapping on her cell, she'd yell out various commands and admonitions to her kids, like, "STOP!!!" or "STOP!!!" or a really interesting one..."HEY!! STOP!!!!!!!!" After a few...oh I don't know...THOUSAND times of hearing that, she and her brood were ready to take a hike. THANK GOD!!! But what was disappointing beyond the fact that she was clueless in general...

It was the mess she left. And dang if I didn't bring my cell phone, or I would have taken a picture of the ABSOLUTE mess that was left behind. Rice all over the floor and table, sauces everywhere, all three plates left, floor COVERED with napkins...wait, make that USED napkins...I mean...truly. It was UNBELIEVABLE. And there she goes, waltzing out of the Pick Up Stix, two kids in tow, CONTINUING to yap on the phone, COMPLETELY oblivious to what was going on around her. As I watched her leave, I looked at those two cute kids, and gave them about until they turned 5 or 6 before they would stop being cute, and turn into the holy TERRORS that their IDIOTIC mother was turning them into.

I'm no saint, and I may not be the best father in the world. But I will BE DAMNED if my kids EVER leave a mess like that, or worse...MUCH WORSE...I leave a mess like that and by my actions PROVE to them that yeah, it's ok to be a f----- pig and leave it for the "hired help" to pick up. And you WONDER WHY WE'RE APAF---INGTHETIC about our illegal immigration issues.

If it wasn't for my roots and my loyalty to the OCFA, I would leave this state behind me in the biggest damn dust cloud I could produce as I burned rubber to get the HELL OUT.

That's it...a nice post that just turned ugly...well, what the hell did you expect? ROSES?!!

Now get outta here until next time...

F------ California.

And Mel Gibson--can I make a suggestion, while I've got "California Dreamin' " on my mind? Just a little one. My wife does NOT watch the news, nor does she listen to the radio (although she used to be a fan of Bill Handel, and rightly so, to stay married to me), so, outside of the tidbits of crap she gets from AOL News (I can't believe I just combined the terms AOL and NEWS together--what a farce!), she's probably not aware of EVERYTHING that's transpired in your life over the last couple of days. And it's a good thing. She adores you. She thinks that perhaps if you were to walk on water, she'd give up that whole Mormon thing and come running to your feet. But you...well, from one man to another...can I make some suggestions?

1. SHUT THE HELL UP!!! No one CARES about your apology, and it's insincere anyway. JUST SHUT UP. No...REALLY. SHUT UP!

2. When you're married, have 7 kids, are a major proponet of the Catholic faith, and make one of the highest grossing movies that disgustingly shows the brutality of the Crucifixion and claim to do this because it's a way to express your faith...you may want to think twice about being in a bar/nightclub place, having your picture taking while obviously hammered (by facial expression alone, not to mention the fact that I could smell the booze coming THROUGH THE INTERNET off of you through those pictures), and being in the company of several different younger women. Regardless of your purity in the matter when it comes to being uhhhh...how do I say...TRULY adulterous, you may want to consider the whole "I think I may be making a bad impression" aspect of this. I know a long time ago I didn't think that way--and something "innocent" has hounded me to this very DAY. So...I speak from experience (shut up Jon!).

3. When I notice the credits for movies today scrolling by, I notice lots and lots and lots of Jewish names. It's a well-known fact--Jews are BIG in Hollywood. And there's not a thing in the world wrong with that. As a matter of fact, I'd venture to guess a Jew or two helped YOU make some money in your life time, and I bet you returned the favor to them. So--here's suggestion #3. Read suggestion #1, and then insert the words "....about Jews" after it. Just SHUT THE HELL UP!!!

4. True REPENTANCE does NOT mean write a press release and apologizing for your psychological issues, which you basically said you had to go "search" out. Again, read #1, and then realize that repentance takes ACTION, and if there's EVER a religious group on the face of the earth that EXPECTS ACTION...it would be the very people you were bad mouthing. Read #1, and then, I would suggest converting. That's about all you can do right now to make it even seem like you're seriously sorry. Throwing words around will only tell the normal everyday Jew...that you're full of shit.

5. For the LOVE OF GOD, get your shit together or my wife will become catatonic and our family will fail. Please.

That's all on this expanded version of this post...now GET OUTTA HERE!!! :-)

And he's off!!!!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to officially announce that as of yesterday morning (Sunday), I am alllllllllllllllllll set to go.

Go?

Go where?

WHY, MADISON, WISCONSIN OF COURSE!!!

That's right. I will be joining a large contingent of VIP's from Drum Corps Planet in their "section" at quarters, semis and finals. If you are going to Madison, please make sure you say hi to the guy in the bright ass Hawaiian shirt. THAT WILL BE ME!!! I'm committed to wearing colors that will make Cozy Chops from down south seem tame, and Sam Signornelli blush in embarrassment. I would like to tip my official DCP baseball cap towards the owner and publisher of DCP John Donovan for making this trip a reality for me. What started as a half-baked "you wanna go?" question in a recent I.M. session with me went from a "oh come on, I can't afford that" to "well, maybe this would work" to "hang on, let me check with my mom...uh, I mean wife" to "HOLY CRAP!!!! I GET TO GO!!!!" Pretty interesting what life is like--I just hope WWIII and fricken wait until AFTER finals. Of course, I was hoping WWIII would wait until after Revenge of the Sith came out, too...so I'm hitting a home run in the "Holding Off WWWIII" department.

I'm VERY excited to be going. Now for those of you that are not familiar with my history, for the 3 years I marched in drum corps (85, 86, and 87), World Championships were at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. I'm pretty familiar with the Madison area, and it's pretty important to me. Also, I went back in 1992 to finals for vacation with my buddies and co-workers at the time Phil Mortensen and Pete Perez. We stayed at the dorms just across the street from the stadium. Pretty ghetto, but we didn't care. Anyway--it's going to be very cool that I get to go. As a matter of fact (small world moment here), I'm getting free housing back there. I write drill for Hesperia HS up in, well....that would be Hesperia. Gee, thanks Turner--that was profound. The director there is Shane Sherrodd. Shane is the younger brother of Sean. I used to be Sean's boss at Knott's Berry Farm in the Security Department, and we used to carpool for the graveyard shift. I'd go pick him up at his house in Fullerton at 11pm, we'd start our shift at 1130, and then leave at 7:00am the next day. We were pretty good friends, but as in life, sometimes things get in the way. I quit Knott's and moved on to the OCFA, got married. Sean got married, stayed at KBF for a short time, but then moved on to Disney and started getting into hotel security operations. Anyway, here we are 12 years later, and he's the head of security for Hilton Hotels in Wisconsin, and I'm...well, I'm still a putz. But he's letting me crash at his house. VERY VERY cool. And we talked on the phone the other day, first time in 10 years, and it was like no time had passed between us. Like I said, it was very very cool.

Soooooooooooooooooo...I'm flying back on Wednesday to Chicago, driving to Milwaukee, setting up shop, going out and partying with my bud on Wednesday, and then...it's THREE STRAIGHT DAYS OF CORPS!!!!

Now--some bad news.

1. I'm going to miss my wife and kids. My son is particularly in a cute phase of his life. So--sigh...the things you have to give up for CORPS!!!!

2. I've got lots of drill design stuff to do this season--and I'm doubting I'll be wanting to write drill in Milwaukee. So--I'm going to be behind the curve so to speak. BUT--upside is that I will be able to see first hand AWESOME drill (Rosander, Gaines, Billings, Sylvester, Weber--goooooooooood GOD I'll be in drill design 7th Heaven!!!), and either one of two things will happen. One, I'll be inspired to new heights of what can be done and what I can do myself, or, two, I'll become despondent and catatonic because I'll see that I'm nowhere NEAR as talented as these guys and I'll jump off the pressbox at the conclusion of finals.

3. I pressed the "purchase tickets" button WAY too quickly when I was booking my flight with United, and what turned out to be a great price was negated by the fact that the RETURN flight I booked was FAR TOO FREAKIN' EARLY IN THE MORNING! Hence, I was charged $100 to "change" my flight. WTF is that all about United???? You rat bastards. You better fly that plane straight, smooth and freakin' FAST. That's all I'ze gotz to say.

4. I don't get to go with my partner, my brother, my friend and inspiration Carl W. Nelson. He's got scheduling conflicts plus he's moving into a mansion somewhere so he has no time available to go. So, when I would be sitting with him and his family at a cool comfortable Irvine Spectrum Theater to watch quarter finals...I'll be sitting in the stadium. He said he'll be looking for me. He won't be able to miss me (center section, on the 50, 30 rows up from the side line...fat guy in Hawaiian shirt...therrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre's Turner!!!!!!!!!)

Well...that's it. I'm fricken jazzed. I think I might have to do my very first ever Finals Review...hmmmmm...we'll see if I actually want to work on Saturday night or not.

That's it for the blog today--hope you had a great time and hey, let me tell you one more thing...

GET OUTTA HERE!! :-) Love ya...mean it...

Kingsmen Alumni Corps Debut

Well, since I'm not quite sure WHO exactly is accessing my blog anymore, I thought I'd put this video on my board. This will show anyone from my high school and college days that may have stumbled on this site that I truly am still a "band geek"...and for those that are hip to what I do anyway, this is a recording of one of the VERY best nights of my life when I was able to announce for the official debut of the Kingsmen Alumni Corps. This short 2 1/2 minute clip is their warm up they did at the Walnut Field Show back in the begining of July...it was an HONOR to announce for them.