"76 trombones led the big parade..."

I'm going to tell you a little story, but before I do, I'm going to give you a little background. This picture is of my aunt Beth. Beth is a fun gal. She has two tattoos, can cuss like a sailor, and is most usually adorned in various Harley Davidson attire. She is definately a product of the 80's. Though her hair and jeans have recently taken a giant step towards the year 2000, she still enjoys the vocal stylings of ACDC, Jon Bon Jovi and the like. Heck, her daughter named her first 4-H calf "Aerosmith". The reason I'm telling you this, is not to poke fun at Beth. In fact, I wouldn't want her any other way. She is my aunt by marriage, but she couldn't be more of a Petersen if she tried (sorry, Beth). But maybe by understanding more about her, you can imagine my surprise when I learned that her favorite thing in this entire world is the annual "North Iowa Band Festival". She has told me of her love for the parade numerous times, but to tell you the truth, I thought it was somewhat of an act. I decided to go this year to find out what the excitement is all about. We got there early (2 hours, in fact) so we could be assured a good spot (Beth's idea). We sat about a block away from the very end of the parade route. This parade was very much like any other parade, only this is where the movie "The Music Man" was based out of, so the first band to come through is the Mason City High School Band playing "76 Trombones". This is when I knew for sure that Beth's love for the parade was not an act. The Mason City band stopped right in front of us and played the famous song. I looked over at Beth and she had goosebumps running up and down her arms and legs. She looked over at me and said "It's like they're playing it just for me!!" I tried to get a picture, but I was using Beth's camera, so I didn't really know how to work it properly. Plus, I was laughing so it's a little blurry. But, nonetheless, here is a little window into my world that day.