Sousa!

Oh, John Philip Sousa, thank you for your many contributions.  Namely:

1. The Washington Post march
2. Stars and Stripes Forever.  So much fun to play, every time I play it, regardless of what instrument I'm playing it on and if I have the melody or tons of offbeats.  Great crowd-pleaser, great way to end a concert.
3. The Sousaphone.  It's so much fun to say, and even more fun to watch in action. You know what a Sousaphone is: it's a tuba that wraps around the musician's body, with the bell part flaring out above his/her head.  It must be heavy and it takes a certain kind of person to have the stamina and musicianship to pull it off.
4. The short story/novel The Fifth String.  Granted, I haven't actually read past the first few pages, but the mere fact that it exists-- that this composer not only wrote music but a work of prose-- really tickles me.  I don't think it's in print because I can only find it in an online/e-book format, and this has really been the main factor in my reluctance to keep reading it.  Someday, I promise, I'll get around to finishing it.  The title itself is fun; it's the equivalent of baseball narrative titled "The Tenth Inning".