The band marched at almost every home and away football game.

In my jr and sr years I was in the stage band and we played big band jazz music. I loved it and still love that style of music and sound.

I described elsewhere in this narrative how my sloth kept me from being a band officer in my senior year.

During my senior year in the early spring, Pat Sullivan and I visited Charlie Helpinstill (google Ezra Charles for more on Charlie) at Rice. During the visit we sat with the Owl Band at a basketball game and I heard Nelson Hatt play for the first time. Nelson was an extraordinarily gifted player - the best I had ever heard. He had a big influence on my life.

My freshman year at Rice I was in the Marching Owl Band and in the same trumpet section as Nelson. He and I became good friends. Kinda shows his heart that he could befriend an average player despite his virtuosity. The band met in the band hall in the basement of the Rice Memorial Center and practiced our marching routines in an open field across the street. This field is now occupied by academic buildings.