With an age average of only 17 years, the Crossman places 14^th on the World class drum and bugle corps world competition championship.

This year is my 4^th year of experiencing this dynamic art form that combines precision marching and highly developed musicianship. And this was also my 4^th time to experience a quality and fiber of character that has truly inspired me as an individual in many aspects of my person.

Attempting to make justice to the complexity of values, struggles, heroism, and passion that I experienced through accompanying the Crossman on the road for four summers is a challenge that I seriously doubt I will be able to do fairly.

There are so many facets to the whole of a corps and more precisely the Crossman, that in order to make justice to it all many aspects and insights need to be presented, explored, and recognized.

I must first of all thank my son Juzeh for choosing the Crossman experience because without his passion, dedication, and determination, I would have been robed from one of my most emotionally intense and inspiring experiences in my life.

I feel that the first lesson from this experience starts at home as a parent. While more often it is assumed that children learn from the parent and their values -- kind a scary when we see where we are apparently heading on -- I am inclined to believe that children are the opportunity given to the world to create a better place for tomorrow and therefore we should be learning from them in a loving partnership not a one sided dictoreal format still so common these days.

First, we have our love and desire to see our kids do well, prompting us to do better and become less selfish and more generous. Second, we have the opportunity to experience a new life without prejudice, limitations, or infection from biased thinking. Third, we have the opportunity to learn to listen, care, and LEARN from our children how to have a better insight into ourselves.

This three aspects were very important in the learning opportunity that my children gave to me. Today I am very happy to say that I have matured (assuming I actually have done so) and learned much (did I, really?)  by becoming a parent and some of my best aspects of who I am becoming result from the partnership between the members of my family on the journey of life.  While wandering about my maturity and learning curve, I have no questions in my mind about knowing that the main influence of the best aspects of whom, I have become, stem from the influence of my children and their pure wisdom.

Like a diamond that keeps changing as we look at it from different angles, the Crossman experience has a multitude of perspectives from which it can be observed. All of them just as powerful, rich of meaning, and all equally powerful enough to change your understanding of life in general.

What the Crossman appear to be from the outside looking in is a form of entertainment designed for large crowds that enjoy excellent music, visual stimuli, and showmanship in large scale. At a little closer scrutiny when seen in relation to other corps, the Crossman make their mark by a form of spontaneous passion for what they do in a way that makes you respond to them without consciously knowing exactly why. However, it becomes apparent after a while that it is the emotional caliber with which they display their passion for the art of music that gives them their unique signature.  This impression becomes even more clear when contrasted against other corps who hold an age averages of 20 and have the time/experience advantage in the technical area.  They are all great but often lack that emotional fiber of which the Crossman are so rich. This tends to  balance the score in many ways from the audience point of view.

Iy would be really interesting if we were to find the perfect leadership that could merge into this asset of the Crossman -- their passionate love for the music and the show -- and let them loose.  I have seen glimpses mow and then of what they can do when these kids are fed properly in their hearts, there is simply no stopping them when that happens.  I have actually witnessed the whole group go from looking tired and overworked to being ready for any challenge in lust minutes, with the simple but all-inspiring event of the arrival of Al Chez to their camp!!  In the day that Crossman magic is played to effectively, the Crossman will be among the most successful corps in the competitive score department .

As we progress from rudimental drums and wooden wind instruments into brass and complex drumming instruments, we experience the development designed to motivate, excite, and direct an audience into some of the most meaningful actions one can endure: battle -- killing or being killed --

Today looking back the existence of the drum and bugle corps is as old as humanity itself. What still is a military tool in certain instances to motivate soldiers to charge in spite of the risk of loosing their lives, for an ideal that often they do not fully understand if at all, is mostly used for entertainment and inspiration.

When we consider all of the above; cadence, music, precision marching, commitment, and passion, and attach this art to its original purpose, we can sense the deepest roots of humanity through time connecting us to the darkest moments of our history and the blood that has been sacrificed in the name of our ideals.

The uniform of the Crossman and its symbolism is -- of all the corps in the world I have been made aware -- the purest. Therefore, the one holding to the most powerful, arcane, and true essence of what the Drum and Bugle Corps is all about.

The Crossman wares black with a blood rich red accent and a Maltese cross over the heart. Their core is “Bones” At the end of each practice or performance they gather in a circle and call the word “bones” not in a scream of aggression, but one of the deepest tone that represents their deep sense of corpsmanship.

While commonly the symbol of bones may be interpreted as both an Halloween scary fantasy or death, the Crossman understand that bones is not the end of life but rather the very covenant of life itself. It is from the very core of the bone that blood is created -- bone marrow -- therefore the Crossman speaks of Alpha to Omega meaning of life in its most pure and powerful manner. The Black of their uniform is again not representative of darkness but instead the very beginning of creation where even light had nor been created.

It is also worth of consideration that black is the only condition where light of all colors is equally absorbed indiscriminately. White, on the other hand, is the only condition in which all colors are equally rejected.

When all of this is brought together into one single representation -- the Crossman and their black uniform and the blood-red Maltese cross, we have one of the most ancient icons of human essence which encompasses universality. The equal length cross represents once again equality in any direction and dates well before any of the modern religions ever came to pass.

For this reason, I believe, the Crossman has survived, and when the right leadership who can understand the latent power of the Crossman’s symbolism surfaces, the Crossman finally will immerge to its proper position of glory.

The people -- kids, parents, volunteers, field staff, and alumni are ready for it to happen, now it is only up to the upper management to awaken to a diamond that so far they have failed to recognize.

The following is a modest visual account of the bravery and heroism I was privileged to experience by the kids who marched the Crossman. Just typing this last phrase has made the hairs on my neck and arms stand and a chill moved through my spine. To march the Crossman is to be part of an elite that stands at the top of the honors of any corps.

I speak these words as a veteran who volunteer as a combat photographer in the US army after serving in the Portuguese Air Force. I salute you Crossman and hold my four year journey with them as my highest form of service to a human cause.

On a footnote I must say that my respect and love for all corps is deep and sincere. However, the Crossman for me and for the reasons stated above is the one who fully captured my heart . I intend not to devaluate anyone, only to ascend the Crossman.