An Aside

Before the concert last night, I was mingling around in the commons area chatting with this mom and that one. One asked me how Tony got into the choir, how he liked it and how far he'd gotten. I related how, less than a week after he started we went to the international choir concert in a nearby community. This is what I wrote about one part of that concert,

"One boy - about 13, shook Tony's hand and then sang looking at my son. The boy had a big smile on his face as he saw Tony's choir jacket. Tony is so new to the choir that members of the prep, national and international choirs haven't met him yet. Tony's smile was so big as this kind singer sang to him that I couldn't tell where the smile began and ended, it was wrapped all the way around his head!

Since then I have figured out who that boy was. As I shared the story, I mentioned this boy's name, trying to remember how to pronounce his last name. A man standing nearby heard my attempts and asked if it was pronounced this way. It was and it turns out that this man was the boy's father. He wanted to hear in detail the kind deed his son had done to Tony. I mentioned to Mr. Singer Boy's Dad that that simple act of shaking Tony's hand and singing to him had elevated the international choir to a pedestal "this high" as I held my hand high over my head. My son is determined to one day make it into the international choir.

"I don't think Tony has had a chance to meet your son yet; but is planning on meeting him at the Christmas party on Tuesday," I told the dad.

The dad told me that his son, A., has chosen to leave the international group at the end of this year so he can sing for his high school next fall. A. is graduating from eighth grade this spring. The dad also mentioned he appreciated hearing what A had done and how kind he was to Tony.

On a different note, another mother whose son is in the local choir and I became acquainted Thursday evening. He son, E. has had several major medical hurtles to overcome including eleven months of chemotherepy. We talked about his desire to overcome these setbacks and move on.

She asked about Tony and I mentioned how desperately he wanted to get out of training. Yesterday when we spotted each other, she asked if Tony had made it into the local choir. I assured her he had. She gave a courteous sigh of relief and told me she had said a prayer for Tony. It was touching and I sincerely thanked her.