Maxville Part Deux

I guess the storm began about 2:30 PM. It's difficult to convey the full violence of the typhoon that bore down on us. This thing meant business. You could feel the thunder reverberate in your chest. Lightning, which came way too close to us, hissed and snapped across the sky. You had to lean into the wind to avoid being shoved around and even under the tent rain pelted us. And so, faced with an extreme and potentially life-threatening situation, the band elected to do what we do best: we partied.
What else could we do really? The band donned rain capes and dug in. Maybe it was the energy in the air from the storm, or the fact that we imbibed so heartily, believing that every sip might be our last, but whatever the reason, things got a little crazy. Everyone huddled in the middle of the tent to shield the snack table and share body heat. Out in the gale, games spectators ran for their cars and their lives, zig-zagging to avoid the lightning strikes. As one shirtless young man ran past the tent, Jennifer Munro, well on her way from a mix of LaBatts and muscle-relaxers, shouted for him to "take it off!" Clearly sensing he had nothing to lose, and without breaking his stride, the guy promptly dropped his shorts to oblige Jenn's request. It was then that I knew there would be no turning back for this party train.

The wind blew so hard that it nearly lifted our tent off the ground. I felt sure the tent would rip apart, leaving our entire encampment exposed and at the mercy of the downpour. But with our help to anchor it in place, the tent withstood Mother Nature's pummeling. In hindsight, it may not have been a great idea for us all to stand around in a lightning storm holding on to metal poles, but it seemed necessary at the time.

Remarkably, while all this was happening, the pipe band contest had not yet been officially postponed. We didn't know for sure if we were supposed to be tuning up to play in the final round of the Grade 4 contest. Our scheduled time to play fell right at the peak of the heavy weather. As the storm finally began to subside, a few us slogged off to go find out if and when the competition would resume.

- JSS

Note on the text: Thanks to various band members and friends from whom I steal all the pictures that accompany these entries. Primarily MJK and RSF.