Those Chaperones May Have Crossed Some Lines

When I was in high school, our marching band was invited to perform at a college football bowl game and parade before New Year’s. In addition to the parade, we were also involved in the bowl game’s pregame and halftime shows, so we had to be in town early so we could practice with the other bands who were performing at the game.

We were in town for close to a week. The band director and chaperones were frankly not sure what to do with approximately sixty fourteen- to eighteen-year-olds during our free time.

Then, someone had the bright idea of taking us over the Texas border into Mexico. (There were very few border restrictions back in the 1970s.) So, we took the bus to a dog track. Most if not all of us had some spending money for the trip, and many of us placed wagers on the dogs. I had $10 on me, and a $2 bet per race netted me at the end of the day about $20.

I don’t know if it was legal in Mexico for us to bet during that time. But for some reason, it was suggested that we not tell our parents about this “field trip”.