Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Best Part of the Day


The Mass March

At the end of the festival, all the pipers and drummers are bused to the top of the mountain. Then they march down playing "Scotland the Brave" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". It'll knock your knees out, but what really gives you chills all over is when they get to the bottom: Every year, in honor of those that passed, one pipe band starts playing "Amazing Grace". After the first verse, all the rest join in, some years as many as 2,000 pipers and drummers. I have seen grown men, including some of the pipers themselves, reduced to tears. And this is why I go almost every August.

Oh PS: That's Joe leading the charge [of really tired, drunken musicians who have been competing all weekend]. He's been doing it for lots of years.

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