TheBanyanTree: A memory

[Russ Doden]

Over the years I have written a lot of words, both here and to email
friends, about the fun and nonsense that I get to enjoy as a performer at
the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival.  I recently finished another season at
this event.  I've been reviewing these memories the last few days, trying to
put my thoughts down on . . I was going to say paper, but it isn't paper, it
is just a bunch of 0's and 1's . . .and one memory keeps coming back to me.
This memory isn't about the fun or nonsense or laughter that is so abundant
at OKRF which is ever present at this event.

You see, the last day of the festival this year (and most years) is Memorial
Day.  Now the last day of a Ren Faire tends to be a little "weird" around
the fringe if you know what to look for, with people pushing costumes just a
bit, but this isn't what this memory is about.  Every weekend during the run
of OKRF, at 12:30 we have a parade that winds all over the grounds.  It is a
way to promote everything to everyone.  Everyone just kind of lines up in
random order behind the carriages of the King and Queen and off we go,
smiling, waving and being a general noisy procession.  The Memorial Day
parade is different though.  In this parade, they put the flags of all 5
branches of the Armed Forces right behind the American flag right at the
front of the parade.  Then all of the vets that are part of the cast (at
this event, cast includes actors, performers, staff, and booth people) are
invited to fall in behind the flag of the branch of the military they were
in.  The rest of the cast get in line behind the carriages of the King and
Queen wherever they feel like.  We also invite all guests who were vets to
join us - and we put them in front of us vets that are on cast.  This year
we were lucky to have a young Marine home on boot camp leave visiting so he
carried the USMC flag.  It is something that is done every year.  (OK, it
gets to me every year too.)  When we are standing in line waiting for the
parade to start, there is a lot of friendly banter and harassment back and
forth between the lines.  Then the parade starts.  The friendly banter
disappears, and we head out.  Usually someone will start to call cadence and
we all get in step out of some deep seated training I guess.  Among the vets
there is no smiling and waving.  We are lost in our own thoughts.  Like
everyone else in the vet line, I hold up pretty well until a knot of
visitors here and there applauds as the vets walk by.  The applause is all
it takes, then I lose it - as do a lot of other vets.  We don't dare look
off to the side, for fear of showing that we are "leaking".  We bite our
lips and look at the neck of person in front of us.  We all have to do that
at some point.  I was just getting a grip again when we hit an area where
there were no visitors along the lane - it is a brief space that is yet to
be developed.  Then it hit me - all I heard was crunch, crunch, crunch - no
talk, no banter, no one calling cadence, just the sound of feet hitting
gravel - everyone in step, nobody was trying to be in step at that point,
but there we were.  We were all just lost in our own thoughts.  By the time
we got back to where visitors were lined up, there were a bunch of people
trying to get their game face back on.

Why is this the memory that keeps coming back to me today?  I don't expect
there to be any answers - it is just one of those things that happens.  One
wise person told me it is because we were hearing the echos of those who
have marched before us - we knew they were with us.  Maybe that is why there
were so many marching in that little area!

Russ



-- 
Take things one day at a time
If that is too much, go 1 hour at a time
If that is too much, go 1 minute at a time
Miracles come one minute at a time.