Before A&M

Richard Hay

Madison Maverick '89

So there I was, a senior at James Madison High School off Stahl Road in Northeast San Antonio. Leading an innocent, unassuming life, and wondering what the future would hold. Well, I was deciding which college I wanted to attend, and the folks had me applying to every school that sent me literature (a lot). In addition, they made it clear that they had the money to send me to city college, but not a major school with the expenses involved. Anyway, in the midst of this, I meet with Steve Hare to discuss what life would be like if I went to Texas A&M. He was so enthusiastic that, in spite of his warnings that it wouldn't be easy, I caught the vision of what kind of life would await me in my upperclass years as an aggie. And he talked about what a cool experience being in the Aggie Band was. Well, I had been in high school marching band, and had enjoyed it, but had no idea how it would be in the Aggie Band. I asked him if I could get into the band assuming I was admitted to Texas A&M. He said that with a single year of high school marching band experience I could get in. So I decided to check it out....

April, 1989...I visit Texas A&M to "Spend the Night with the Corps". I chose to sleep over with B-Company, Infantry Band. Or I ended up with them anyway. I was placed in a room with "fish Torres" and "fish Nogueras". They were unassuming and acted terrified of the upperclassmen. But would they ever lock it up when the upperclassmen came around. I was impressed. And they imparted some knowledge to me before I left. If I was going to join the band, not to join B-Co. It was too hard. The toughest outfit in the band. Well, that was all I needed to make a stupid move. You guessed it. When I returned for the fall semester as an incoming freshman, I choose to become a B-Company Streetfighter....

And so the story begins. The tales of my experiences in the Aggie Band started with these events. And the stories on this and the other pages connected to it are those of my experiences. I record them here to share what it was like to live as an Aggie in the Corps of Cadets. Read on if you so desire....