September ia a month that contains everything that I really like: football, fall, kids going back to school, fall colors, rain (at least in the east and midwest), and the beginning of a change of seasons. The main holiday is Labor Day, which used to signal a return to school. Now most schools are already started by Labor Day. And this particular September marks the first anniversary of this web site. An exciting event, if only to me personally.
Labor Day, when I was young, meant picnics, baseball (our back yard had a decent sized baseball diamond and out field when it wasn’t a cornfield), outdoor games like croquet and badminton, basketball, horseshoes, and water sports with hoses, squirt guns and water balloons, and just being barefoot and running through the lawn sprinklers. My deep tan and sun-bleached hair lasted all through September.
In Junior High and High School, my interests returned to music which centered on marching band and wearing a heavy uniform in the stifling heat (just like the football players). This was offset by the new music and drills we had to learn and the sheer energy it took to accomplish all of this. Usually it started to turn cooler at some point in the month. Something else to look forward to in the heat.
After college I began to write arrangements for marching bands like Ohio University, University of Oklahoma, Miami University (Ohio), University of Kentucky, Morehead State, Bowling Green, and a lot of high schools in and around Ohio. This was always meant a series of tight deadlines. Some of the writing was individual arrangements, and some was for full half-time shows. The most satisfying at that time were the ones that were televised. Remember when the networks used to televise the bands during the half-time? I still miss this event. All of this could get very stressful when I was teaching high school and directing the marching band, writing arrangements, AND working night clubs six nights a week from 9:00 to 2 in the morning. There is something to be said about being young and having boundless energy (and a type A personality).
September was definitely the month of beginnings, and everything coming together at once. Lots of music, lots of stress, but VERY exciting! Nice to look back on, but once is enough. Now I am content to enjoy the thought of fall and its relaxing colors, and my own September Songs.