Pity the Fools
-or-
What Have These Guys Done to
Get Such a Cool Site?
(From left to right: Liz LaFrance, Brandon Root, Julie Kanago,
Jared Harward, Meghan McGarry, Aaron Vincent, and Chris Mims. Noticably
absent: coach George LeBret.)
Long, long ago, in a galaxy
far, far, away...
(Okay, not quite.)
It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times...
(No, that's not right, either.)
A long, long time ago, I
can still remember how the music used to make me cry...
(Forget this! I give up! No amazing intro!)
I need to find a way to use duct
tape to come up with a decent solution here...
<runs to her bookshelf>
Once upon a time, in a far-away
land known as Veradale,
WA, there was a group of students so strange that not even the outcasts
would associate with them. Musicians, drummers, trekkies, actors, authors,
poets, inventors... Surely there was a good use for such talent! And by
some miracle, they all ended up in room 9 after school one afternoon to
join the club known as "Odyssey of the Mind." These five weirdos, as well
as two other seven-member groups, became the elite twenty-one: O My Faire
Shakespeare, Over the Mountain, and EnvirOMental Challenge.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks became days, and before you knew
it, the Eastern WA Regional competition rolled around. Due to several illnesses
and technical difficulties, the vehicular problem was forced to drop out.
Due to a stroke of bad luck and poor scheduling, only half of the twelve
OM'ers were able to come to opening ceremonies: twenty-five miles away,
district solo & ensemble contest was in progress! Still, there were
a handful of members there to deliver the team cheer:
"With a hey-nonny-nonny
and a roll of duct tape!"
The Shakespeare went on to win in their division, beating GSL rival Gonzaga
Prep to earn the rights to a tip to Wenatchee.
The EnvirOMental Challenge team, being the only one in their district,
scared quite a few parents when they collected their award wearing their
costumes from long-term: grass skirts and full-body paint!
So now there remained approximately a month and a half until the next
go-round. Things went well; things that didn't quite work were fine-tuned,
spontaneous rounds were run, props were repaired, style elements were re-evaluated.
But then, disaster struck. On the Shakespeare team, one member came
down with laryngitis and an ear infection, another lost a family member,
and another had a previous commitment. An overall disagreeableness seemed
to cloud their teamwork, and the group disbanded less than a week before
State. The EnvirOMental group, consisting of only five team members, discovered
that two team members would need to be two hours away in the tri-cities
during spontaneous, and might not be back in time for the long-term performance!
What to do?
By a miracle, one member of the Shakespeare team (who had only been
informed of her group's breakup the night before via a note on her door)
was willing to sign on. Another student who was already coaching a state-bound
team of sixth-graders and had several years of OM experience (as well as
a reputation in the spontaneous room) joined as well.
Although schedules were a nightmare at state, spontaneous went well.
Only by a miracle (a one-hour delay after judges got behind) were the two
jazz cats able to make it for long-term. After a relatively problem-free
performance, the group went to the auditorium for the awards ceremony.
Last problem to be announced: "Division III, EnvirOMental
Challenge... Central Valley High School!"
So after a meeting to get details on world competition and a post-competion
pizza party, the group has reviewed its scores (realizing a minor but crucial
error in interpereting the rules which led to a 24-point deduction) and
now is working on improving their long-term before heading off to Knoxville.
This means building, writing, making press arrangements, and raising $7,000!
We're up to the challenge!
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