Blogs » Flotsam and Jetsam » The Worst Dad in the World

Subscribe


 
The Worst Dad in the World
By Riverboat in Flotsam and Jetsam
January 4, 2010

Me.

My son is a member of the St. Joseph HS Marching Band which was invited to march in the parade and halftime show for the Cotton Bowl this year. The missus asked if I wanted to go. An answer in the affirmative would have required a layout of several hundred dollars, plus giving up three mornings of my Christmas vacation - oops! I mean, Winter Break - without an alarm. Besides, having spent three New Year's Days with the University of Houston Cougar Band in Dallas, including the Ice Bowl (it was out of bounds!) during our run of SWC championships, I've had my fill of frigid days on that tundra. I dithered long enough to miss the deadline. Alas!

Since I escaped that trip and had to stay home, my one and only duty was to watch and videotape the parade and the halftime show. Well, the network executives pretty much took the Cotton Bowl parade out of my hands. The Rose Bowl parade, on the other hand, was on six or seven channels. Networks halftime shows rarely show much of a halftime show, so I wasn't all that concerned about popping in a video cassette to record it, as if I'd know how to operate the damned thing anyway.

After sitting through the first two quarters of a dull game, I sat in anticipation of the halftime show. It's been my observation that the Kilgore Rangerettes always get good coverage.

And then the camera closed in on my son as he was pounding away on the tenor drum. It wasn't a quick glance, either. A good steady focus. My one and only chance to redeem myself for all the screwups I've ever committed as a husband and father slipped right through my fingers.

So, I come to y'all with hat in hand. If ANYONE can provide a video/DVD copy of the Cotton Bowl halftime show, I'm willing to pay for it. Shipping and handling. Please respond soon. It's dark and cold in this doghouse!

Comments