6/19/2011 Austin Symphonic Band

I changed my airline ticket 3 times for this trip. First, I was going from Albuquerque directly to Austin to "visit KMO at her new house" because she was going to be moved by mid-May. Then I was flying from Albuquerque straight home and skipping Austin because KMO's plans were so uncertain. Then this arrangement came up where I would fly from Albuquerque to Greenville, SC and help with the move. On plan #1, my return flight was going to be on June 18. Then, KMO found out that the Austin Symphonic Band was giving a concert in the park on June 19 and I knew when Plan #3 came up, that I would have to leave after the concert and not before. Why? Because the director of the Austin Symphonic Band for the past 26 years is none other than the amazing Mr. Richard Floyd, our band director at Pearce High School in Richardson back in the 1970's. So tonight was the icing on my cake--the fabulous treat on top of all the fun.

Apparently, these concerts are usually packed and you have to get to the park extra early to get a seat (though, on their Web site, they request you not come more than 90 minutes early). But with the heat the way it's been, I believe their audience was a bit smaller than usual. We were not, however, going to let a little heat (okay, a lot of heat) deter us. It turned out though, that it was quite breezy and we were up on the hill, so it was pretty bearable. The program included a lot of patriotic songs as well as classics like Gershwyn and songs associated with Bob Hope (my favorite was the Texas medley, Spirit of Texas).

Not very long after we sat down, I went to get paper copies of the program and right after I sat down, someone came up behind me and said, "Hi Theresa!" It was SB, daughter of L O N G time Girl Scout friend, Cathy. Then she pointed up the hill to where her parents were sitting. Months ago when we contacted her when plan #1 was in place she said we would miss getting to see her because she was going to be out of town. But it turns out, she got home a day early (2 hours prior to the concert in fact) and they made the last minute decision to attend the concert. So obviously we had no idea she would be there. How fun is that that we run into one of the only people I know in Austin at a concert in the park? Cathy knows KMO as well. Our Girl Scout memories are much intertwined. We were last all together in Washington DC for the Girl Scout Singalong on the Mall in honor of Girl Scouts' 90th birthday. And we'll all be together again next year for the 100th birthday celebration.

After the concert, we hovered near the podium and finally got our turn to say, "Hello!" to Mr. Floyd. It was great. He was most gracious and even let us take a photo to capture the memory of the noteworthy occasion. He always was a gentleman.