He Took'em with Him, Mr. Bartlett. I'll never forget the day we lost him. It was a beautiful Friday. Everyone was so excited to escape from school for the weekend. It was the first Friday of the school year. But first let me tell you the story of the summer....It will make alot of sense. I was lucky to be able to enter the marching band the summer that I had become 12. I was the youngest marcher in the band. There were two other seventh graders, Brett and Kevin, but they both played drums. Since they played chimes and barrel drums and symbols, they did not have a top march, just play. I loved that summer. Mr. Bartlett, the band director, was an awesome teacher. I learned so much within 2 weeks before I even started to learn the music! It would have been probably been the best one of my life. But the band is like a very large family...and many people know how it is to lose a family member. That Friday was a good day. That night would be the first football game the marching band would ever perform at that year, and my very first performance. I was very excited. The moment I got home, I threw my books on the floor, and headed to the couch with the new book I had borrowed from my teacher, Juniper. All I could do now was wait. The phone rang, but I paid no attention. Mom often got phone calls on Friday from her friends at the school. She was a secretary. I continued reading, not caring about anything except for my book and my bag of chips. Mom put down the phone. "Goob?" Goob is my nickname. My parents call me that name all the time. "Goob, I know you love to read, but can you please drop the book a moment?" "Alright....." Reluctantly, I placed the book on the coffee table beside the bed. "Goober, there was a car wreck. They believe it was Dustin and Shane Ellis." My eyes opened wide. Dustin Ellis was a quad player (quad player being a type of drum).and Shane played a set of symbols. The night before, we were practicing the Star Spangeled Banner, and Shane was assigned to the symbols. We all laughed teasingly, because his hands were so small he had to wrap the cloth handles around his hands. "Shane's side of the car was T-boned. He's in the ER. Dusin is OK. But Shane...." I sat there, stunned..Shane? In the ER? Impossible. They must have gotten him mixed up with someone. Shane was a tough, and multi-talented! Not only did he play the drums, but he was an amazing piano player. I had had the privilege of listening to him play once. He also was a great baseball player. Shane couldn't be sick! But it was true. When mom and I arrived at school, I headed straight to the band room. We all knew it was bad. Many people just sat there, glum. Mostly guys. Nearly all of the girls were crying. I walked in the group of girls and cried with them. That night, a senior named Phil played the symbols. The next few days, Shane's condition fell and rose, until finally the only thing keeping him alive was a machine...They shut it off. The Southmont Royal Marching Band went to the funeral together. We sat through the funeral, guietly. I could handle it...I would....and I did....until they played "Music of My Heart". Myself and a few other girls lost it right there. When we went out to the burial ground, the band played the show that had won us 3rd place in 4 competitions and 7th in State Competition. A few things felt....empty. Mr. Bartlett presented Shane's uniform to his parents. We'd all miss Shane. That Friday, we all prepared to play at another football game. I finished getting dressed early and walked back to the band room. I saw the symbols by the other drums. "They're cracked!" I cried out in surprise. Mr. Bartlett nodded from across the room. "Yeah, they cracked the Friday.....Dustin and Shane got in the crash." "He took them with him...." I murmured. "What?" asked Mr. Bartlett. "He took them with him, Mr Bartlett. Shane can still play these symbols. He took them with him." Ashley C. Nichols Thanks Ashley for your story.......I love you. Shane's Mom |