Story time...

Most imbarrasing moment 1999:

Ok, so it was one of those cold October mornings in Show Low. The kind of cold day when you dread waking up and facing the cold...ESPECIALLY if it is 6 o'clock in the morning and you have to go to the football field for Marching Band Practice. (Yes, I was in marching band freshman year...don't be jealous!) Anyway, after many early morning practices, afternoon practices, practices during class and what not, we were ready to preform in the Half-Time Show. (Show??? Are you kidding me....ummm maybe a better word would be "off-note presentation".)
For those of you who didn't know of this hidden talent, I was a clarinet artist. More than half the time I didn't have a decent reed. The other half of the time the bell on the bottom of my clarinet was busted off. (Broke it during a Marching Band practice while I was trying to jazz up my routine with a clarinet flip...kind of like what you would do with a batton...but I wasn't successful. I think I was making fun of the Flag Girls at the time...I loved the flag girls, they had such talent. *cough, cough, wink.)
Anyway, so ya, I wasn't the best clarinestest out there, but I got to go on ALL the football trips and I got to get out of school early. Not bad, not bad. Speaking of football trips...this is what brings me to my story...
One bus was loaded with the trumpets, trambones, tubas, oboes, flutes, drums, and of course, their players. THE OTHER BUS (and this is the important part) was loaded with the VARSITY FOOTBALL PLAYERS. Me + clarinet= band nerd, They+ good looks= popular jocks....you do the math...I was not so cool.
Was I on the bus? Um no, I was in my English class, just sitting there, probably talking to Doug or something...we're probably just laughin it up, having a good time. THEN, I look at the clock. WHAT THE ???....Does it really say 11:15? The bus was supposed to leave at 11. So I jump up, tell the teacher I've got to jet, run to my cool band locker, fiddle with the stupid lock, FINALLY get it open, grab my clarinet case and start running for the buses. (Picture me running with my heavy backpack, clarinet case, my big froey hair wiping in the wind, and some heavy Doc Martin sandles clunking along....yep, I'm cool.)
I see the buses in the distance...on the OTHER side of the chain link fence. As I'm running I ponder the thought, "Should I go all the way around the fence? OR just jump over it like a super star?" Over the years I have jumped over many fences and have never had any sort of problem...so in a rash decision I chose to JUMP. I threw my clarinet case over the fence and brace myself for the jump. Ok, 1...2...3...leg up....WHOA, WHOA....arm slipped and I was face diving towards the pavement. Luckily my pants caught me and rrrrrrrrrrrip...they got caught on that stupid triangle thing. Sadily they weren't strong enough to withstand the eminse pressure they were under. I go crashing to the ground, with my backpack flug over my head, my hair going everywhere, a rip in my pants, and then WHAM land right on my clarinet.
SILENCE...for like point 2 seconds....then uncontrolled laughter. I get up, go instantly red, smile, do an "I'm an idiot wave" and then get on the bus. I still remember to this day one girl said, "Only Tara would be able to pull that off and not make a complete idiot out of herself...."
Anyway, luckily I was cool enough to just laugh and go on. But deep down I was SO SO imbarressed.
Alright....welp that's all for today.