When signing up to volunteer for photographing an elementary school marching band, little did I know I would I would end up with a headache that felt like a construction worker jackhammering in my head for days.

Volunteering was always something I loved to do. When my phone read two missed calls from the same number, and a third call in progress, I knew someone important was trying to get a hold of me. “Hello?” I croaked...no answer. “Hello?” I repeated. “Hi this is Mark, would you mind taking pictures of the band?” “Sure” I rebutted, my lack of enthusiasm obvious.

My arrival went un-noticed as I walked into the bandroom. Children reeked of out of tuned instruments and misplaced fingers on the necessary chords.

I could tell it was going to be a long day so I made sure to stalk up on Mountain Dew, Redbull, and coffee.
Soon after the crisis of the buses coming an hour late, we all migrated on to the bus and took roll. Once we had departed, the darkness was illuminated with thousands of florescent lights beaming off of trucks, floats and bodies.

After descending from the bus, students began to practice the same song they would be marching to for eyons.
Nerves seemed to settle as the marching began. Consequently being on my toes trying to avoid being trampled by the prepubescent Michael Angelo’s .

The symphony of repetitive music had stopped, and although I could not hear others, I could hear the pounding in my head begin.

The tangibility of the students taking 2nd place at the electric light parade made my impaired hearing more tolerable.

Despite having digital copies of that day, those students will hold onto those memories for a lifetime whether or not the camera had been rolling!