Just follow the drums . . . Drumbeats have been echoing through my St. Paul neighborhood as I've spent time weeding my garden. Being a suburbanite for most of my life led me to think the drum beats were a marching band. They echoed night after night and weekends as well, even on the hot, muggy 90 degree days. "Wow!", I said to myself, "Whoever is doing all that marching must really be committed."
An appointment took me northwest on Como past Marion St. one afternoon. The drumbeats grew louder. Maybe I was going to find the source? Indeed a group was practicing in the ball park. I hoped they would be there at my appointment's end so I could get a closer look, but such was not the case.
Tonight, however, the drums beckoned again, calling with their persistent beat. We made the trek and were rewarded to find the rehearsal spot of the Half Pintz Drill Team. The Half Pintz were practicing for the Ronda Days Drill Team competition to be held at the St. Paul Central High School Griffin Field on Saturday, July 19, as part of the Rondo Days Festival. The watching parents of team members informed me that drill teams come from all over the nation to compete in the festival.
It impressed me to watch these young people as they practiced. Their coach accused them of being lazy after one run through! My opinion differed, but what do I know? The group had been practicing since 5:00 this evening and finally wrapped it up at 8:30! The youngest member is five years old and kept up with the teens remarkably well. My old creaky joints started to ache with sympathy pains as we watched deep knee bends with instantaneous rebounds, jumps and somersaults, bumps and grinds. There is no way my body could do those moves and live to tell about it the next day!
Comments