I met someone in the bathroorm on Sunday afternoon at camp. A Southwind staff member, in the locker room, where the toilets were not in stalls, but were simply wide open. He talked about how this happened to him a few times during his drum corps career, while I relieved myself next to him. What a pleasant story! But the truth of the matter is, this is a pretty standard meeting place.
A standard comment about drum corps is that it takes away some of your modesty, and you become very comfortable around people. All of that is true, of course, but there is something to be said for necessity. ^Honestly, in a 135-member drum corps, a single member just does not get to know every single person on a very personal basis. Yet you end up feeling as comfortable around them in the shower as you do at any other time. ^But the drum corps lifestyle revolves around two basic matters: Necessity and trust.
You will have to shower, eat, sleep, and do all of the other things that come with maintaining your hygiene and health. But in any other situation, who is to say that someone won't steal your wallet while you are sleeping? And who is to say someone won't try to ambush your water jug so that you are on the brink of dehydration and heat exhaustion during everydays? The trust level in drum corps is a strange one. It sits way up there on the trust scale where you trust that no one will truly hurt you, but you know that sometimes you can get caught in a joke. Quick news about my status at Southwind: I was offered a position on Southwind's snare line this weekend, and I am excited for this upcoming season. Seems like there are an endless amount of dedicated people involved with the corps, and all of them are ready to take this to a new level.