America Turns 250!!!!!

 Several events have been planned to celebrate this special year, and I'm proud to be a part of two of them!

Summer On Main 7/26-Cancelled, due to rain, but rescheduled for 7/3.  Unfortunately, I have to work that day, but am hoping I can either a) swap shifts with someone or b) my boss lets me take a very late lunch???  We take the stage at 8:15; I could easily clock out at 8; slide into my place; sing; be back by 9!

Celebration Singers at Lincoln Ampitheatre 6/27:

This is an open-sided venue, so the show goes on, rain or no rain!  We sloshed our way to Jasper, pouring rain the entire time, and ran into flooded roads near Ft. Branch. They very nicely delayed the performance an hour, to give the rain time to move along.

They set us up strangely. Sopranos were to the left; altos on the right. I was scheduled to sit, but all the seats were taken, and rather snottily informed the vacant seats were 'spoken for',  I got myself a chair from the back of the stage and put it in a vacant spot in the 2nd row....next to the snotty lady.

There were two stools to my left, which were soon occupied. The lady on the end asked me if I'd taken her folder; I had not. She found it soon after, then asked me again if I'd moved it. I explained patiently that my spot had been vacant. A few moments later, she asked if she could switch with me. I said no, that she and the other lady were Soprano 1, while I was a Soprano 2.  The other lady swapped spots.

The program is about to start; the sun came out. Nagging Lady Now Beside Me whispers the sun is interfering with her ability to see her music and would I PLEASE swap places?

To keep the peace, I agreed.......then spent an uncomfortable hour with no back support; my left leg went to sleep, and I was now sandwiched between two ladies taking the high notes!  Thank god Precious Rhea was behind me and in my ear; I followed her!  I couldn't even hear the two ladies on either side.

We did stay for Act 1 of Pioneer Song, and I was very impressed with one of the child actors.  She knew her lines and was good at 'emoting' when not in the spotlight!

It still drives me nuts when people INSIST on texting and driving......and using their GPS when they KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING!!!!!   I don't CARE if someone needs the code to a house ASAP....you're DRIVING!!!  AND WE'RE LATE......

End rant.  Nuff said.

Friday July 3rd:

Show went off with just a few glitches.  I was able to leave at 7:30 and when Nanette and I arrived, I realized I'd forgotten my music!  Then the piano was too loud...too soft....just right....then too loud again!  Neil Gordon livestreamed it for me; said the connection cut out a few times.

Went to the Hamilton Sing-A-Long, and was disappointed:  I thought they'd have the closed captioning up on the screen, but no.  Left after the 1st song.  Rain was also in the forecast.

Saturday July 4th:

My town received some sad news this afternoon:  Our fireworks were postponed due to the unexpected death of the organizer, who was killed in a freak accident while testing one of the rockets. It malfunctioned and exploded in his face, causing shrapnel to penetrate his brain, killing him instantly.

I'd bought some special Red, White, and Blue sparklers earlier, so we lit them. Will had bought a Magic Mushroom Fountain and some idiot decided to drive down our street while it was going off, WITH his window rolled down.  *eye roll*  Also, the neighbors had a nice display we could see from the porch.

Sunday July 5th:

Sang at the 10:30 service at Westminster Presbyterian in Washington, In with 9 others, and we were complimented. We sang My Country Tis Of Thee and Thank You For The Blessings.  Joyce had also sent us an email with the following message:

"Kim McConnell, the leaders of the Pepper Choplin commission, told him about our performances.  He wrote, Please say, "hello" to Joyce and all the good people in Vincennes. I so enjoyed my time there. Please also tell them that I'm working on singing trip to Greece in October, 2027 and perhaps a concert in the redesigned Lincoln Center, also in 2027.   Cathy Briles is traveling to Croatia this fall to sing with Pepper.  Time to start thinking about trips in 2027!"

While Greece is off the table for me, I would like to return to NYC!