From the CEO
June 2010: On The Road To West Virginia
Two more, Powers. Okay. Big one, Powers. Don't worry about it, Greg. I am focusing on the two million details that need to be handled once we safely have the drummers in West Virginia. Greg, my co-pilot, is focusing on the bugs that are hitting the van's windshield. Use the wiper stuff, Powers. Relax, Greg. Another one, Powers. I use the windshield wiper fluid and wiper blades. Greg is thrilled. Now I can't see the road through the smeared windows.
Can I clean the windows when we stop at the gas station? Sure, Greg. Unfortunately there are unforeseen complications. Greg is short for his twelve years. The full-sized van is tall. Greg attacks the bug spattered windows with precision and enthusiasm. I soon have very clear squares on both sides of my front and rear windows. The front squares now give the van the appearance of having eyes. I laugh. Greg laughs. Another drummer volunteers to help. Taller. Longer arms. Unfortunately he is a bit of an artist. Brush strokes do not a clear window make. I laugh again. The squares will do.
The other excitement at the gas station is a line of volunteer drummers to help fill the vans with gas. In New Jersey you are not allowed to pump your own gas. In the states we are traveling through - Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia - you are required to pump your own gas. Almost all of the boys want to pump gas. Feeling just a bit like Tom Sawyer and the white washed fence I allow each to pump exactly three gallons. Some want a second turn. Should I charge?
Greg and the rest of the drummers are really not that concerned about windshield bugs or pumping gas. What they are concerned about is having a good relationship with Powers and the other staff on the trip. The boys thoroughly enjoy traveling; the further away from Bonnie Brae the better. Building relationships is the cornerstone of our work. Traveling together, particularly to new and "exotic" locations, forces staff and drummers to bond, to rely upon each other for mutual assistance.
We have almost no behavior problems on these long trips. Whether to Washington D.C., Florida, West Virginia, or Canada the boys often compete to be the most helpful. Guys who on our main campus seem only to be interested in helping themselves, suddenly become group helpers. Sometimes the help is humorous. All of the guys clearing the table so that one guy can be alone at the table with "his girl." Sometimes the help is heart-breaking. The one boy whose father taught him to fish helping the other boys who have no fathers.
On the road together we become more like a large extended family. Squabbles between family members are left at home. We support each other. Anyone silly enough to "mess" with one of our younger guys immediately realizes that the younger one has many older brothers to back him up. The boys thoroughly enjoy this sense of being protected, of being safe, of traveling with family. We rattle on to West Virginia.