This grove is outside Columbus along the Colorado River Bridge. The bamboo grows on the east side of the Northbound lane on the HWY 71 Bypass. You can see my place from there. I haven't been there in a while because of the mosquitos, but will go again soon and re-cut my paths through the grove. I keep the openings kind of hidden, but once you step inside and find them, you can follow them like hallways. I have two large rocks set up like a chair just outside the grove and under the bridge to sit on in the late evenings when the weather is cooler. Another bridge over the Colorado on I-10 driving toward Houston, on the right side of the road under a huge tree(Cottonwood, I think) is a stand of the much smaller native bamboo. It grows very dense and straight. Outside Schulenburg, headed back toward Weimar, is a very large grove of Phyllostachys aurea on the left, before you get to I-10. Most of it is on private property, but you can see it. There are dozens of groves around Weimar, La Grange(and In La Grange city limits) and Flatonia, all appear to be Phyllostachys aurea. If you travel to Dubina, turn by the church and go over Piano Bridge. A short drive past it will reveal two groves. One is right along the road on the right, but is small, but the other, which you will come across first, is huge. After you take a right turn on the gravel road just passed the bridge, look back over your left shoulder as you drive, and you will see it go off around the bend and out of sight. Swiss Alps has some growing along the road. If you travel through Rock Island, and want some clumping bamboo, there is some growing along the roadside in the ditch. I got some here on two different occassions. Mine gets much larger than the one growing there in the ditch. Take the main road south through Rock Island. It's the one directly across from a road, the only road on the opposite side of the HWY 90. Coming from Hallettsville, and going toward Eagle Lake, you will be taking a right. Now, take this road all the way through town, straight. As you leave town, the road starts to curve to the left, but you want to go straight, to the Stop Sign. Make a right, and just a short distance down the road, you will see it growing in the ditch in front of a remodeled old house on the left. I think it is Bambusa multiplex. That's three kinds of bamboo that I know of around here. In College Station, there are also several groves, if you ever go that direction, but they are also Phyllostachys aurea and native Arundinaria gigantea or either tecta. In Weimar, there is a house on St Charles Street that has a yard full of several different kinds of bamboo, and well worth the trip to go see. Good Luck, I'm not very good at giving directions so let me know if you need better instructions. Kt

You should thank Pebbles for giving you another view because there may be some parents you haven't heard from as yet who don't feel the way you do. It's important to understand that if you are to be effective in changing this situation. It may flatter your ego that you've been ask to "take it to the streets" as you say. I wouldn't go about it that way. I'd take a quiet, methodical approach and attempt to build a consensus with a specific alternative plan of how this *should* work -- a plan which is reasonable, will not sound like you are trying to take over the school and dictate how they should be running things (not your responsibility after all though you can certainly take your kids out of the band), and a plan that has a prayer of being adopted. You can make this into a diva vs diva situation, polarize the community, get everybody screaming, upset a lot of the kids even more and end up in a fight that goes on and on with everyone dug in. Because that's how these things usually go. Or you could quietly call someone who knows municipal and public law, an accountant, a travel agent, a child psychologist, a couple of other parents (maybe one a teacher) who know how to keep their mouths more shut than not, and produce something concrete. Figure out how to get your plan out there to be legally and logically considered, a plan that will benefit everyone and be reasonable. But I will bet that if you are emotional about this and go on about it and turn it into a crusade it will be less effective than it might be. We have a lot of that where I live. Somebody's always screaming about something and even when it's worthy you just tune them out. The bottom line for me -- and I say this as someone who has no children in the school system so I don't know what this sort of thing should/would cost -- it sounds very much like the school board members in our city who were having "meetings" in fancy hotels around the country and traveling there to meet with various educators on other issues and it was a complete reprehensible boondoggle -- free vacations. Or the school superindentant who ordered a $3000 leather couch for her office. In our community the tabloids get hold of the $3000 couches or the $125 catered lunches and people don't stay in those jobs very long because after 1 or 2 front pages and public humiliation and photos that make them look like they're taking the perp walk, there's pressure on the mayor and the school board to act. Public education in this country is a disgrace in many states. And while band is certainly an excellent and creative activity and a great experience I'm sure, I'd rather see that kind of money go into books, facilities, enrichment programs, special education. I'm sure many parents feel the same way (and of course some won't). But if it's not done in the right way the principal and band director are going to marshall their forces and roll right over you and the other parents without even looking back. Then it's your kids who will suffer.

That bridge brings back memories when my kids were teens. There was a bridge almost exactly like that the kids called the "Troll" bridge. One year at Hallowe'en they all loaded up in my car and had me drive them to the bridge. Just as I was starting across the bridge something fell in front of me. Scared the begebbers out of me. I slammed on the brakes throwing everyone off their seats. Screamed loudly. It was a dummy the kids had made to look like a person dangling from a rope. They sure pulled a good one on me. Shortly after that the bridge was torn down. The kids were sad about losing it.

What band would you love to see in concert, even though you know it will never happen? I did see their final tour, but wish I'd had another chance to see Pink Floyd (best show ever!) Fleetwood Mac would be the other. What band would you love to see even though they broke up and will never get back together? Genesis What female artist would you love to see in concert? Reba What male artist would you love to see in concert? Billy Joel & Elton John (can't decide between the two) What musician would you have like to have seen perform but they are now deceased? Rosemary Clooney or Stevie Ray Vaughn What musician would you like to meet in person? Garth Brooks (he's been part of many extremely significant moments of my life) Put together a band...who would be your drummer, guitar player, piano player..etc. This is tough, I like Mary's band. Bonham or Geddy Lee on drums Stevie Ray Vaughn and Carlos Santana on guitars Billy Joel on Piano, and vocals I get kinda stuck after that