On Saturday, July 1, 2006 a crowd gathered on the grounds of the Santa Maria Fairpark. The crowd expected to hear an Air Force Band play patriotic tunes. Yet the crowd never heard that expected music. Instead the crowd enjoyed an evening of jazzy, titillating music.
What had happened to the Air Force Band? Why did a band representing the U.S. Air Force fail to provide the listeners with a note of patriotism? And how could the Air Force Band commit such a failure on that night, a night just three days before Independence Day?
Earlier that week the Air Force band had gone to a concert in Carmel, California. As the bus driver had steered his large vehicle over the California roads, the bus had caught fire. That fire destroyed many instruments and a good amount of sound equipment. Still, the Air Force did not want to renege on its promise to play for the people of Santa Maria.
Therefore, the Air Force had asked the Air Force Jazz ensemble to replace the Air Force Band. The 800 people who turned-up at the Santa Maria Fairpark on Saturday night did not leave the Fairpark with a look of disappointment. The large crowd, which spread out onto the concrete around the grassy field of the Fairpark, found the jazz so appealing that they all stayed for the fireworks.
Earlier that same day many of the city of Santa Maria 's citizens of had attended the 12th Annual Elks Car show. On every Saturday in the months of May through September, crowds would settle onto the seats at the Santa Maria Speedway. From those seats, the racing fans could watch cars wiz past them, circling repeatedly the clay oval track, where the races were all held.
No doubt the youth of Santa Maria like to attend the races at the Speedway. No doubt, such youth fail to appreciate how very lucky they are. Adults in the community arrange for the appearance of popular bands. Such band music can set the beat for an interesting summer evening. The Speedway also makes a great starting point for an evening of activities.
The city of Santa Maria provides its youth with many different ways to pass the time. Some of the youth participate in sports. Some of the youth work over the engine of cars, cars that will later be entered in the Elk's Car Show. Some of the youth spend many hours blowing into a trumpet, a French horn, an oboe or a saxophone, hoping to qualify for admission to the Air Force Band.
All of those pursuits keep the City's youth well out of trouble. All of those pursuits add variety to the benefits that are given to youth in the City of Santa Maria. A community that has many diverse avenues for the youth to explore is a community that will have well-adjusted youth.
The well-adjusted youth of Santa Maria mature into well-adjusted adults. Such well-adjusted adults do not complain when a scheduled performance by the Air Force Band is canceled, and a Jazz Ensemble takes the place of the Band members. The adults sit back and listen to the jazzy music. They tap their feet, and they enjoy the jazzy tunes that drift into the skies, the starry skies that rise above the City of Santa Maria.