Busy as a B

I took Brandon to the mall the other day after school to get some dress clothes; a shirt, tie and some black Dockers.  Most of the time, you see, my boy is clad in those big athletic shorts and a sports team t-shirt.  But when you are going to be honored for your brains and passion for history by a huge national organization,  a trip for fresh duds is a must.  

It has been a busy week for the boy. He started it off when he played his trumpet in the  spring concert at the middle school.   He has also been practicing with the marching band so that he can toot the trumpet in the Junior Rose Parade next month.  It has been fun watching him gain confidence this year and I am soooo glad that someone in the family will continue the music gene forward.  

Friday he stayed after school to video record his campaign speech, he's running for next years  student body council.  Today is election day! It isn't a lark, he really wants to be involved in the middle school scene during his last year there.  But he's running against someone with much more name familiarity, her dad was recently the mayor of our town, but I still think he has a good shot at it.  The posters he stayed up late painting last week each had a square with a big red check mark in them.

Brandon is a two sport man, and I mean two at the same time!  A few months ago I wrote about his basketball playing over the winter and he had so much fun with that he joined a spring league which plays 2 games at "The Hoop" every Sunday.  He's been able to play power forward, which he prefers to the post position he had most of the regular season.  Forwards get to take more jump shots I think.

Of course his main thing right now, other than school, is playing baseball.  He as emerged as the main stopper in the pitching rotation and has a wonderful strikeout to walk ratio.  He does very well despite throwing almost all fastballs.  He's a bigger kid for his age and unless the smaller boys he's throwing to can hit the "1" ball he feels there is no need to go to the junk.  

So yesterday the back of the Exploder was filled with baseball gear, lawn chairs, coolers, and our dress clothes hanging over the side windows.  We (well really just he) was multi-tasking big time.  We had  to be in Canby for an 8 a.m. game and afterwards change into the ties and buttoned shirts using  a nearby warehouse parking lot-- which was quiet on a Saturday.  We got to the hotel in Kaiser where the Daughters of the American Revolution were holding their annual state-wide meeting.  Brandon was on the agenda as being the Oregon winner of the history essay contest. 

His essay was about the Gettysburg address.  He entered the contest because we had just gotten back from a family east coast history trip which included two days in Gettysburg and four days in Washington, DC.  Gettysburg was his favorite part of the entire two weeks and so the inspiration was all bottled up.  The timing was good too.  He wrote it after Obama had been elected but had not taken office and so was able to use the national mall setting as the back drop for the story.  He ended the report with Lincoln sitting in his chair watching the inauguration from his memorial.  

They announced during the meeting that he was also the regional winner (northwest states) and his work would be entered into the national contest with a possible return trip to Washington DC.   He did a fine job of being receptive and polite while being surrounded by the throngs of old ladies at the luncheon.  It was a fairly formal event, at least by our standards, and he handled himself well.  

I had mixed feelings about the DAR when we were done.  Their promotion of history is wonderful and I had no idea that many of their fundraisers and energies are spent filling in the holes in school budgets.  But I also couldn't help noticing that the only minorities in our large meeting room were the hotel wait staff.  The very nature of the organization makes it very exclusionary, to be become a member is quite a process with particular documents required and only certain lineage qualify , there was a palatable overtone of elitism amongst the white glove wearing "pages" and the southern drawl speakers.  But I digress...

We left the luncheon and Brandon changed back into his baseball uniform in time for the evening game back in Canby.  I kept watching him in the mirror during the drive as he admired his medal, frequently placing it in the palm of his hand to judge it's unexpected weight.  

His team won all three games over the weekend, earning first place and he received his second medal in as many days.  He was very overwhelmed by everything that had happened and I could tell during the last game that he was tired.  

His new burgundy shirt is hanging up in his closet now, practically lost in the sea of sweatshirts and replica jerseys, and his shiny gray tie is draped around it's collar.  But it will be there for him if he needs it later.  Who knows when this busy boy will need to go the closet to find it.