[color=black][b][u]The Beginning of a New Era[/u][/b][/color] Dark Wolf speaking. Though you usually find me running my castle that doubles as G-52 HQ, as well as welcoming the wonderful sounds of marching music into the large amounts of halls and passages, today felt a bit somber. This was because that while I wasn't really interested in the concepts of a big top circus, an idea of an era long gone, I, too, was a bit saddened to see the legendary Circus of the Superstars, or COTS, come to an end in 2020. I don't like seeing my friends out of work, but the reality is that because the major star performers and its trustworthy ringmaster, Rolf the Wolf, ended up getting superpowers when CNG decided to give it to them, they're not really out of work. They're just not doing what they had been doing all these years. The official reasons for the circus ending was due to lack of interest, weakening attendance from declining ticket sales, and the fact this is the era of digital technology and the internet. "There's a chance," Rolf told me, "that it still might have ended one way or the other, because our star stunt performer, Gerry Gurdetha, was getting to the point that he felt he was no longer physically able to bear doing such things. We'd be searching for a new performer, but it wouldn't be the same without him. Then CNG got to us, and it along with the freakout over COVID-19 decided we couldn't perform. We were lucky we were able to do the one final show in Washington, D.C." "Why did you pick the nation's capital?" I asked. "It was our last stop on this tour. It was also our way of hoping we could get the feds to stop bickering with one another, at least temporarily." "Well, they probably did go back to picking a fight after that show ended, but let's not discuss that." "No." I then went into some details with Rolf about how he and other specific icons of the circus were due to become G-52s once they cleared the "USA Waiting List;" the list was created because the beloved Cat of Steel (Super C) wanted to find a balance with more international diversity, while acknowledging that the biggest number of recruits still come from the United States of America, land of the free, home of the brave, and according to my judgment, land of the finest military marching bands and ensembles in the world. (The United Kingdom has some excellent ones as well, don't get me wrong, but last time I was there, even they were saying the United States does it best. This is not counting the Swiss group known as "Top Secret," because they're in a class of their own.) Once the boss decided the recruit would clear the list, he or she would then be asked to choose a codename and an appropriate battle uniform representing the superhero identity. The large amount of animals playing in the marching band and/or the drum and bugle corps associated with the circus (and they had both the "classic" and "modern" versions of a drum and bugle corps) would remain allies to the G-52s, since the only ones that were actual G-52s were either performers, or otherwise famous icons of the circus. Thus, the legendary percussionist that was, is, and forever will be Graham Gurdetha, is now serving the country as Rhythm Bear, but he's strictly a musician. The five-coyote clown troupe known as the Cackling Coyotes, and the strongman icons Tough Tom and Super Sam, were both performing acts in the circus, as well as musicians. That is, once their act was done, they'd go outside to the makeup tents to make themselves not look creepy anymore (because I think clowns are creepy), change clothes into the same drum major's uniforms worn by the other musicians, and return for the big finale. (The coyotes each play a snare drum for this reason, while Tough Tom and Super Sam each play a bass drum, though all seven animals are learning all the percussion instruments.) The parade we held inside my castle today was a solemn parade of mixed emotions, because while the animals felt sad they wouldn't be able to hold their circus anymore, at the same time they knew it was their duty to serve their country through the art of music, and by serving as G-52s or allies to the G-52s. It took the usual route, and as before, the SWAT Kat duo of Chance Furlong (T-Bone) and Jake Clawson (Razor) were pretending to be the escort drummers (meaning they marched in front alongside flag dwellers, banner holders, or other marchers whose purpose was to announce what was coming). Though they were both versed in all percussion instruments, as well as a few others to add to the variety, here they did their usual act of Chance beating time with his bass drum, and Jake stirring up the patriotism with his snare drum. The duo also had different uniforms for different occasions, influenced by the uniform collection Leo the Tiger (better known as the Marching Wonder, or the Majestic Marcher or Marching Miracle when needed) has when he does his little sessions with his friend Blue. But here, they wore the same orange and black uniforms with golden epaulettes and highlights that the rest of the circus musicians wore. And as always seemed to be the case, they marched barefoot. Though the bands and corps played a few tunes, the majority of the parade was nothing but drums beating and barefoot animals marching. "Drums and paws go together," I once said. "Just ask the Drumbums." To represent the positive and influential legacy that the circus was leaving, the first march played was "Entry of the Gladiators," and other marches such as "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite" followed. To represent the patriotic theme that the circus carried, because it made a priority of saluting our military, police officers, EMTs, firefighters, and other frontline workers, the bands transitioned into selections including "The Washington Post March," and the last march played was "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Non-musical performers such as Wheelie Wilma and the Amazing Jamie also marched in the parade, but in the case of the Cackling Coyotes, Tough Tom, and Super Sam, they marched in the bands with their instruments. Jamie juggled a few American flag-themed bowling pins to add to the theme of the parade. Upon finishing "The Stars and Stripes Forever," we found ourselves in my large band room at attention. We took a moment of silence to both catch our breaths and remember the fine legacies of the circus, and then, when the moment was appropriate, we stood at ease. The SWAT Kats took the front of the conductor's area and played one last drum cadence for show, and the musicians exchanged salutes. Then we performed "Hail to the Chief" (because we had not composed a proper fanfare yet) when Super C entered the room, dressed in his magnificent battle uniform of crimson and yellow, and showing the strength of 10,000 cats. "I know you are not the President of the United States, but I hadn't composed a proper fanfare for you yet," I said to Super C. "But I'm working on it." "I'm not worried if I don't have one," Super C replied, "but I do thank you for the kind gesture." He turned to the large group facing him and said, "Do note the concept of a circus wasn't really up my alley either, but I do extend my sympathy to you on the loss of your jobs. Yet, that loss is the world's gain, for today is the day I am clearing the ones that are to specifically become G-52s off the list. I hope you have a good solid ground of the rules and regulations, and what is to be expected of you otherwise, in both doing your duty and any necessary disciplinary actions taken in the forms of demerits of fines should such an occasion arise. But let's not think about that now. Let's instead focus on the task at hand here." I now had my red drum major's uniform on, and my own rope-tensioned snare drum equipped, and so I joined the other drummers in beating a drum roll on the snare drums (sans Graham because he was taking the oath), and all the performers raised their hands to take the oath. In case you're not familiar with the oath, this is how it goes. ------------------- [quote][i]I, [State your name], am a G-52. My codename is [State your codename]. I am a superhero. I am a fighter. I bleed red, white, and blue. As the newest inductee, I pledge myself to my community, My country, my soldiers, my civilians, And my flag. So help me if any obedience to my commanding officers Causes me to get in trouble with the law. So help me if any wrongs of my doings Force me to take on excommunication from this organization. Just as those before me, I will not run away from trouble. I will vow to fight for truth, justice, and the American way of life. For I am, [State your codename again], a G-52, tried and true. And as always, I pledge allegiance to the flag Of the United States of America And to the republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, Indivisible, With liberty and justice for all![/i][/quote] ------------- A few notes about the oath is that the Pledge of Allegiance wasn't originally included in the oath. When Leo the Patriotic Lion was inducted, he ad-libbed the Pledge himself and insisted it be included. Super C agreed, and everyone (starting with Tom the Patriotic Tiger) upon induction has said it since. G-52s who do not live in the United States do not have to say the oath. Those who are strictly allies can substitute their regular names in for a codename. ---------- Super C doesn't normally have music involved when he does this, but he went ahead and incorporated here because of the ones he was inducting. He also said to the SWAT Kats, "This does not apply to you two because you've already taken the oath, but go ahead and add to the musical proceedings if you wish." "Yes, sir; we shall do that," said Chance with a salute. "The circus liked having us beat our drums to announce them, similar to when a town crier in the olden days would shout, 'Hear ye, hear ye!'" -------------- Upon the oath's conclusion, some animals crashed their cymbals to end the drum roll. The new G-52s all exchanged salutes with Super C, since he abandoned using handshakes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where keeping yourself at least six feet apart and wearing a mask has become the new normal, and I wouldn't be surprised that if remains the new normal until the end of time. When the salutes had finished, Super C handed each one a certified document stating they were now G-52s. "I don't use documents for those of you just serving as allies," he said, "but you are all in my records." A small round of applause commenced after Rolf and his ex-performers all turned around and took a bow, and then I had the honor of beating another drum roll, commanding the rest of the animals to join in, and this drum roll led to the playing of our national anthem. Super C then left to update some of his records and do some other chores, and I took the conductor's stand as the SWAT Kats temporarily set their drums down so they could pass out some new sheet music. What followed was a few run-throughs of my favorite British military marches, since they have some unique ones of their own. These include "The British Grenadiers," "Col. Bogey March," "Excelsior," and "Liliburlero," just to name a few. I also asked some others what their favorite marches were, and we played those. Chance chose a march entitled "Comrades of the Legion," while Jake, because he likes marches with a drum solo, chose "Semper Fidelis." Rolf commented that we had already played his favorite ("Entry of the Gladiators"), and so he requested "Jack Tar," showing that while there were many march composers out there, everybody seemed to have a bias in picking selections by John Philip Sousa. Graham reinforced this by asking us to play "Bullets and Bayonets." ------------- We spent that night and the next few days recording ourselves playing our instruments by ourselves, and editing ourselves into one of those virtual play-along videos that became popular in the era of COVID-19, and this also included me and the SWAT Kats. Rolf played the trumpet, so he did that. To maintain a balance of percussion, though, some animals switched to other instruments that worked for them, so Chance was actually drumming on timpani on this play-along, even Jake still played a snare drum. Tough Tom was trying his luck on the chimes, while Super Sam had a go at glockenspiel, and both proved to be quite well at adapting to it. Our finished result, our playing of "The Gridiron Club March," went viral within almost 12 hours of being on YouTube, and racked up (literally) 80 billion views in those 12 hours. I couldn't help but wonder if that was because people genuinely enjoyed it, or if they were just clicking on the wrong video by accident, but either way, when you click on a video, YouTube registers 1 count on the viewing numbers (as far as I know). We were happy to do it even if only 1 view ever registered on the total count and stayed there, but it was over 80 billion. I think it's up to 120 billion now. --------------- We do not know what the future holds for us, but we do know we have some new faces to help us endure its challenges. We also take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those on the front lines, and in this day and age, that's not just military, police, firefighters, etc. (although the police are getting a bad rap right now because of all those stupid protests wanting them to be defunded). This now includes people working in essential businesses, so we can include factory workers, grocery store and fast food employees, and people of that nature. These are all people I've seen other people look down on because they felt those jobs were beneath them, but they are legit jobs, and someone has to do them, so stop thinking you're better than them (those of you guilty of that), because you're not. ------------------ That's my news update and story for you today, folks. Thanks for your time, and remember, a world without music isn't a world at all. Keep yourselves safe now. Good night. ----------------- [color=red][b]THE END[/b][/color]