Whum-bump

I woke this morning to the sound of thunder (how far off, I sat and wondered.)

No, not thunder… the sound of my pulse beating in my ears:

Whum-bump, whum-bump, whum-bump.

What I couldn’t explain was:

1. Why was my pulse racing so?

2. Where were the cymbals coming from?

I realized that the answers to my questions lay not in my head, nor in my bed, but once again, outside my window.

There, in Parque Central, in an impressively multicolored and sonorous display, a parade of high-school marching bands. Which, evidently, had already neared its completion.

Now, I ask you… just how tired do you have to be to sleep through marching bands performing outside your window???