Saturday afternoon, we ran into more traffic than we anticipated on the way to the football game. We ended up parking in a garage across campus from the stadium. In my mind, this was the best of all possible scenarios because we got to walk through the campus and see what it looked like. University of Washington has a mix of classic, gothic academic buildings and modern structures.
We met Jenny just outside the field house as the band was getting ready to go inside to get the crowd stirred up for the game. She looked so comfortable and impressive in her band uniform. I didn’t know she was the section leader for the Baritones! It was fun to see the band perform. Not only did they play beautifully, they also had these moves that were funny. At one point, different sections of the band came out around the crowd. Jenny gathered us quickly and the next thing I know, we are surrounded by baritones playing just for us. Afterward, we individually were “baritoned”. A picture is worth 1,000 words. Here is my sister being baritoned. Mary being Baritoned
Since she is a senior, it was Jenny’s last home game. Her name and major were displayed on the HuskyTron, but, to be honest, I was so concerned about snapping a picture of the HuskyTron at the moment that it displayed her name, that I didn’t really see it. I would share a picture of it, but I ended up snapping a picture a little too late.
The game was fun, but the Huskies lost. The best part was the band. They made such interesting patterns on the field and played quite well. I was so amazed. It was fun trying to find Jenny as she marched around the field. But keeping track of her individually, I lost track of the pattern as a whole. My sister had to tell me that they had made a train. Once I readjusted to look at the train, I had lost the pretty blonde Baritone.
We were way up in the upper deck. Third level. It shook as the crowd stomped their feet and yelled. Cory was frightened. “To begin with,” he explained “I am afraid of heights. Next, it shakes. I wish I hadn’t come.” He seemed mollified when I offered to walk around with him after half time. But I started thinking about all 72,000 or so of us in this stadium and how awful it would be if the upper deck did, in fact, collapse. What if there were a fire or other emergency in the few rows above us near the top? After the game, it took a long time to file out of the stands.
After the game, Jenny took us around the campus a bit. I wanted to see the physics building where she studies. She showed us where the physics library and offices are and the building containing the physics lecture halls. She told us how little she liked chemistry as a freshman, but she’s taking it again now as a senior and it is much better. She explained some of the challenges as a freshman and I thought it’s no wonder the drop out rate from college is so high. Jenny is extremely bright and has tremendous tenacity. What must it be like for others?
