(First draft of this got deleted...>.<)
So I figured I probably should tell you guys why I'm going to Hawaii in 18 days.
I've told you that I'm a part of my high school's marching band which, over the past five years, has built up a pretty extensive reputation. So we get invited to a lot of different places to perform. One of which was the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA.
One of which is the 70th Anniversary Memorial of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu.
We're kind of a big deal.
While we're down there we get to do all the fun stuff you're supposed to do while you're in Hawaii: explore the beaches, luaus (complete with fire-breathers), touring the Dole Pineapple Plantation.
Not to mention visiting the USS Arizona memorial.
This is a very emotionally charged trip. Our hometown has a pretty big naval base that is the source of a lot of jobs in the area. Plenty of kids, past and present, in the band have parents who work there. Kids' grandparents worked there in the past. There are also a few students who had relatives in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. While we're down there, we're scheduled to give a performance on/near (I'm not sure yet) the USS Missouri, an aircraft carrier that was stationed at our navy base for a really long time. it was also the ship on which the peace treaty between the United States and Japan was signed, ending the war between the two countries.
I (and the rest of the seniors in the band) feel lucky to get another "big trip" during high school, my first being the Rose Parade my sophomore year. Our director only likes to do big trips every three years, so everyone get a chance at a big trip. But this was something we felt we couldn't pass up. This isn't the Rose Parade which (with the exception of two or three out of 123) pretty much happens every year. This doesn't happen every year. This is an important day in my nation's history, to the people who willingly put their lives on the forefront to protect the freedoms we've been blessed with. Performing for them doesn't seem to be a big enough 'thank you' to them.
Aloha for now.
Days 'til Hawaii: 18
Days 'til Christmas: 41 ( I know yesterday said 41, but today is actually 41)
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