"Good to see you! I thought you were dead."

I know I know, its been awhile. This past week and a bit has been absolutely brutal but I'm glad to be back behind a keyboard.

Did you read the title and get confused? Did you think it related to the Leaf's chances of a Stanley Cup this year?

Actually it's a greeting/statement I hear a lot.

I know I'm 24 and fondness of double doubles, and single malts aside, I'm in good health. Its just that I travel a lot with this guy, and for some reason everyone thinks he's dead.

As some folks know, P/M Wes and I are constantly traveling. Planes, trains, and automobiles zip us around to clinics and contests etc. It just always seems when we bump into someone Wes hasn't seen in a few years, they thought he was dead.

Can't really blame them, for awhile there Gauger wasn't in particularly good health. The medical system prevailed though and thanks to a built-in defibrillator (I used spell check) he's right as rain. Or was.

Last week I got a call from the big guy saying he was in the hospital again. So I raced down there to find a large and cranky Pipe Major ready to hang some poor resident doctor.

Don't worry, it's nothing to serious, but we've been back and forth all week with doctors and I'm happy to say he should be right as rain shortly. I just thought that before it got around that Wes' dropped a drone reed and left the circle that I'd let everyone know he's doing quite well and should be back barking orders at the drum corp asap (great news....).

If there is a single good side to this whole experience it is that Wes proved his "system". He's always going on about the system, and how the band can run like clockwork no matter who's there as long as we stick to the system. Well surprise, surprise, he was right.

Now I'm only saying that because I know his current surroundings in the hospital have zero web access, and he's to busy hiding his cell phone from his angry nurse to bother looking for a computer to read my blog. So serves him rights, he missed it.

Tuesday last week, Paul Mundt was running the show in the piping room. Pipe Sergeant Cam Ballantyne was away with hunting season and Paul stepped into the role nicely. New tunes came out and the pipe corp plugged away.

Thursday was a great turnout and new P/M Mark Jorgensen actually had the pipe corp on noise makers. They even ran the tuning process with all new members, and Alex Peiden handling the chanter setup. I know the drummers were really impressed and a little peeved I haven't gotten them their drums.

All in all things ran like clock work. I could tell when I reported to Wes after each rehearsal that he appreciated the fact that we missed his company but the band didn't miss a single beat. That has been his goal from day one.

So to re-cap. Wes is alive, I haven't been up to see him today so I'm not sure about his doctor, or that nurse, but regardless of where our fearless leader tends to be, the beat goes on.

Remember children... W hat W ould W es D o ??

Then just D o W hat S ean D oes.

Cheers,

Sean