Letter from Holland

Here's an email I received from Olaf (Alf), easily the Colts biggest fan -- if height is what counts. For the uninitiated, Olaf Nahon is a Colt former marching member from Holland who came over from the Netherlands last summer to travel with the Colts and help out on the cooktruck. Olaf is joining tour again in Dallas this year, to stay with the corps through finals. Irina is his wife. Below is the letter just as I recieved it today. He loves drum corps with every inch of his amazing height, and he loves the Colts more than he loves drum corps.

enjoy,
david


Hi guys,

Finally I got my chance to sniff the new Drumcorps season.
Yes I know you’ve been busy last months, but being so far away on the other side of the lake, called Atlantic Ocean, I could only read on the internet about all the developments.
Getting very jumpy about all the good news, show program and best of all seeing all you guys working your buds off to get and keep the show going. Only 24 days and counting before my plain leaves for Dallas.

But I can say I have seen something you haven’t seen yet. The new show of the Blue Devils.
The are visiting Europe so I couldn’t let this chance go bye, so I jumped in my car and drove for only 1,5 hour to see BD performing almost in my backyard.
21 corps from England, Belgium, France en Holland were there and I only got to see 3 off them. Due to obligations I could only make it to see last 4 shows and I saw BD warm-up.

But the best thing of it all I could show Irina (my wife) what Drumcorps is in the states.
I am not sure if that was the right thing to do because all she did was being very cold, the weather cooled off yesterday after a few days in 90s. How do you explain Drumcorps to someone who has no idea what it is like? The answer ….. not!!!
She saw 2 Dutch corps and BD, she is a good annalist by the way, and liked only 1 show.
Guess what …………………….. it wasn’t BD’s show.

She loved the guard (being a dancer herself) and found the members very skilled in the Horn-line. (sorry guys she doesn’t understand percussion, her quote: "they must be weirdo, repeating the same rithem for minute after minute after hour …., can’t they just play some thing nice?" I did try to explain the necessity of warming up etc. but I couldn’t convince her.)
Her analyzing was actually spot on, she like BD tricks on their horns and drums.
"Definitely high quality, superb sound but I can’t make head nor tail from their show" was her honest comment, which put my enthusiasm and boosting down the drain.
I have to admit that despite the excellent talent they display I couldn’t be intrigued by their show either. I love what they did last year with the train theme, but what are they doing this year ….?!?! To be honest on paper Colts show sounds much more entertaining.

So all in all I finally showed American Drumcorps to my girl and I could not impress her to much. There goes my pride … sniff. But I have to say seeing BD made me longing for you guys at Colts. So after an evening of surrogate I am really looking forward for the real thing ..
Cooking for my Corps the one and only Colts from Dubuque Iowa.

By the way while showing of my corps jacket a member of Jubal came up to me and started to talk about my cool outfit, he told me he marched Colts in ‘96. Made me proud to say that I marched in ‘88 and cooked in ’04.
Fun to meet an unknown family member in the middle of nowhere.
Fun are also the response you get from Drumcorps Fans. Several Dutch people marched with Blue Devils, Star of Indiana, Madison Scouts, Cavaliers, you can tell by their corps jackets, but they really start looking when you walk by in you Colts jacket … stays something special.

So after a day of Drumcorps drug I am feeling high with a lot of energy. I can’t wait to meet up with you guys for the real thing. See you all later after July 20th.

Olaf "Alf" Nahon