NASHVILLE
2004
Our trip to Nashville was was exciting...in a variety of ways!
Like the plot of a bad Disney movie, there were a lot of twists and turns...ending in victory!
But what a trip it was!
| Our 11 members and 13 supporters left Northeast Ohio over several days' time--some went down a few days early, some of us formed a caravan of 5 cars early Thursday morning, one carload had to start out Thursday night so as not to miss the first day of school(!), and others of us flew to Nashville the night before the contest. It was NOT an easy beginning...but, thankfully, we all arrived safely in Nashville...with ALL of our equipment...and MOST of the remnants of our sanity. (Traffic was...er..."interesting"... "80???!!!" |
| This is what can happen to hair when one rides in the back of the "Kia Pet" with the top down...(uh, the CAR's top, not the RIDER'S...!! Oh...never mind...!!!) |
| This shot captures Jenny, Stepho, Andi, and Fred (1/2 of "Fred & Ethel")--all looking their best after several hours on the road... |  |
The Convention was being held at the Opry Land Convention Center, so it was necessary that we all schlep down there on Friday afternoon to register for the competition. The GOOD news was that Opry Land was BEAUTIFUL, and far exceeded our expectations of "typical Nashville"... The BAD news, however, was that Opry Land is HUGE. Let's just say that it was a LONG afternoon of trying to find parking...and each other! (Note to the Opry Land folks: Some indoor signs designating directions to parking areas--and, perhaps, a paging system--would be most helpful....!! 'Nuff said...!)
The group leaders' meeting with the judges was, as always, unique. This year, we ended up with three different answers to the same question (i.e., "Is there, or is there NOT, a sound system this year?"). There was also some good-natured kidding about the intelligence of some of the groups competing... ("The entry gate code is #2222." "Um...could you repeat that, please?" "One more time...?" Somehow, the fact that our group hailed from near the Parma area was mentioned, and things went downhill from there... "Uh, when we leave the area, is the gate code reversed?" OK--so people who devote a lot of their time to marching are OBVIOUSLY not the brightest bulbs in the pack...!)
| Friday night found us polishing our gear, ironing our flags and uniforms, picking up our final arrivals from the airport, and somehow wedging in some fun, dancing in the hotel hallway. |
| (That was a nice touch, Cindi P., bringing the dance mixes. What a great way to lighten up this typically stress-filled evening prior to competition! Of course, Lois' collection of "airline beverage samples" didn't hurt either...) |  |
An early bedtime was necessary since we were to rise at, as Stepho is fond of saying, "the butt-crack of dawn" for inspection and competition. (Kudos to Opry Land for their HUGE bathrooms/dressing rooms!!) Our groomers/supporters did their usual outstanding job: The inspection judge was unable to find a single stray hair, twisted button, traveling piece of lint, etc. to gig us on! (He had to settle for a not-quite-perfectly-matched pair of heels on his quest to find an imperfection in our lineup... And, as I understand it, he later quite enjoyed our post-inspection/pre-competition, whispered performance of, "The Sheik of Arabee"...) 
Thankfully, we managed to get a microphone hooked up in front of the cd player we hauled (don't EVER forget to bring an extension cord!)...but the technician didn't switch it on in time for us to hear the beginning of the song. The judges were merciful and didn't penalize us for that, and allowed us to begin the music again.
Here, the "thundering herd" that is the Spirit of 469 shakes the ground...or perhaps we're so nervous that we're all shaking this badly...?
We flew through that 5+ minutes in what seemed about 30 seconds. 
Unfortunately, not our best performance. Not bad, but not our best.
Yes, we were worried about our score. (Why, oh WHY, don't the MEN'S guards cry after they screw up???)
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But having to be 2nd on the line for competition DOES have its advantages...like getting the hard work over with quickly, and being able to "relax" for a few hours until the awards ceremony. |
| Some of us shopped, some wept, others wrung hands...a few of us finally woke UP!! We even found time to play with a roving photographer from the National News by creating for him living sculptures on the WONDERFUL 4-person divans scattered throughout the convention center. And we snacked a little bit...but most of us were far too nervous to eat much, or even watch the guards who followed us in competition! |  |
Finally, the moment came when all the guards were to assemble for the awards ceremony.
 | A most touching tribute was read in memory of Darlene Mertes Priester, a judge and long-time marching friend who died this past October. She has been...and will continue to be...missed. |
| The contest results? Last year's 2nd-place Open guard came in fourth. We somehow sneaked by the only other all-women's color guard to compete (they had 88.15). The scores this year were CLOSE! |  |
Our name was read in second place (with 88.7), losing to the Golden Legionnaires.
Some of us were sad; others were relieved and glad to have gotten as high as 2nd place.
 | One nice thing is that we DID earn the Auxiliary plaque for having earned the highest point total of the women's guards competing, so that was some consolation. |
| One really cool thing about the Spirit of 469: No matter WHAT our place in competition, NO ONE has a better time together as a guard! When the other groups were clearing the floor, we still managed to beam and pose for group photos before heading back to the hotel for lunch and naps. |  |
 | And, despite first going to the WRONG place for dinner (right restaurant...wrong location!), we had an incredible time at dinner that night at our "near victory" celebration. |
 | Naturally, we sported our "finest eveningwear" to go out to dinner. Even our newest member, Jenny, got into the spirit and wore a tiara just like a prom queen. (Unfortunately, with our various "get-ups", some locals mistook us for a poor man's traveling brothel! Well, at least this year, the Mardi Gras mask and the feather boa stayed home...!) |
Cowgirl Spice, Belly Dancer Spice, Urban Spice, Frenchie Spice, Prom Queen Spice, Posh Spice, and Sporty Spice
(Our thanks to the great folks at Logan's Roadhouse in Gallatin for not only putting up with our rowdiness, but for ENCOURAGING it!
[Note for next time: Do NOT send this group to a place that serves peanuts by the bucket for shelling onto the floor... Projectile chaos ensues!]
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Special thanks to our wait staff, led by "Puddin'" [aka Travis], who was a real cutie and a terrific sport. We're not sure which of us had the better time!) |  |
 | In this photo, "newbie" member Jenny "falls" for "Puddin". (Best wishes with your college studies and football, Travis! We'll be rootin' for ya!) |
Some of us experienced some post-dinner excitement on the drive home... ("Funny bumping into you!" "Well, lookee there! We have the same insurance company...!")...but all worked out well.
Dinner was followed by some pool and hot tub activity. We hereby deny any allegations of complete swimsuits not being worn at any point in the evening...
 | There is usually "hair stuff" going on at our away gatherings (see some of our photo pages for pics of the year EVERYONE [even our husbands] dyed our hair before the State parade in Toledo). This trip was no different. Here are some shots of Andi's luxurious, wavy hair getting thinned. (We WANTED to put the cut hair on her pillow while she slept, so she'd wake up and think her hair was falling out...! ...but, 'cause we're nice people, we didn't...) |  |
| Sunday morning allowed us to sleep in, go to church, hang out at the hotel, go shopping at nearby outlet malls, or walk the streets of Nashville looking for souvenirs and beer. By 2 p.m., we were back at the hotel, getting dressed for the mandatory 4 p.m. parade. |
Here, Elvis enjoys a visit by Jenny and Stepho. |  |
 | This wonderful friend and supporter is Lexy. She'd love to march with us...but health issues don't allow it. So she does EVERYTHING she can for our group, including making beautiful American flag afghans to raffle off on our behalf. She makes also makes "pretties" for our hair, which we wore, instead of our uniform hats, in the Nashville parade on that hot Sunday. She is one great person to know and, naturally, we love her "T*H*I*S" much!!! |
As we assembled on the parade grounds at 3 p.m., it was: "Oh, wait! What's that? We don't step off until 5:45??? OK then, let's go to Jillian's for some cold drinks and desserts!"
Upon returning to the parking lot where the parade was to begin, we were informed by a member of the Golden Legionnaires that there had been a mathematical error in tabulating the score sheets from the previous day's competition...and that the Spirit of 469 had earned FIRST PLACE in Open Class! (Didn't we warn you that this trip was like a bad Disney movie?) Once again, we wept. (We ARE a watery group, aren't we?) Well, we marched that parade with even more pride than usual. (It was a good thing that we were told about the tabluation error BEFORE the parade began, because a contest representative told us again of the news JUST before we reached the reviewing stand! Can you imagine our reaction if we had found out THEN for the first time? Crowds in the stands would have been asking, "WHY are those women CRYING??" It's hot out today...but it's not THAT hot...!)
| During color guard competitions, we spend time in beautiful cities...without ever getting much chance to actually ENJOY them! So, following the rapid pace of the last few months and, specifically, the last two days, some of us decided to linger after Sunday's parade and actually ENJOY the delights offered by the Opryland Hotel. This picture is of Jenny, Stepho and dad (Tim) after enjoying a LOVELY seafood lunch in the atrium. |  |
| Here, Jenny and Stepho sport "flower hats" in Opyrland's beautiful atrium. (It's a beautiful place, complete with a waterfall and boat ride--INDOORS!! So DO check out the Opryland Hotel & Convention Center if you're ever in Nashville...but make sure you don't get separated from your party...!!!! The place is the size of a small city...!) |
| After hearing the good news at the parade about our first-palce win, naturally, we had to celebrate...AGAIN! |  |  |
This time, it was poolside at our hotel. It took a lot of courage for the Golden Legionnaires to personally hand over the 1st place trophy and banner the way they did. (Unfortunately, the scoring error knocked them from 1st place into third--only .05 behind the other women's color guard!) We can only imagine how disappointing this must have been to them, and we respect the class they showed in their handling of the situation. We look forward to seeing--and competing against--them in the future.
 | Cathy and Lexy, while you were partying poolside, THESE are the culprits responsible for T.P.'ing your room...! |
In addition to all the neat stuff we received from the American Legion for winning first place (parade banner, loving cup, and Auxiliary plaque), we came home to at least THREE congratulatory get-togethers where we were awarded: "geniune, 100%, imitation gold, plastic 'WINNER' medals" from our Post Commander (and husband of our captain), Ron Readinger, and commendations/proclamations from Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell. (See our "Awards" page.) Have we mentioned that our supporters (who make sure all this stuff happens) really ROCK!!!?? We love you guys and gals!
So you can see that Color Guard is NOT for the faint of heart. But it IS for those who want to find out how much they can achieve.
It's a LOT of work...and one heck of a lot of fun...!
It was another great year for the Spirit of 469. Our thanks to the judges and everyone else who works to make this competition available. Unfortunately, the 2005 convention in Hawaii was just a bit far away (i.e., "costly") for us to attend...but if anyone reading this would like to SPONSOR this group to attend Nationals in the future, we'll be glad to hear from you:
