Aloha!
When we last left our sweater-vested heroes, they were
eating lunch at a rest stop south of Council Bluffs. I wanted to get this picture of Sam
delivering his daily report in the blog but I was having issues with the
connection and couldn’t get it uploaded.
It’s incredible to think it’s already his fourth tour.
Time flies.
We took a rest period after lunch like we typically do. We have continued a new deal that we started
last year by allowing the boys to have MP3 players during rest period. It’s worked pretty awesomely for us and we
intend to continue it indefinitely. The
boys also seem to really appreciate the option.
The old adage does apply though:
If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk. They enjoy
pushing the limits the best they can, but then again, they are boys.
We made some good distance up today, about 340 miles. (360+ is expected Saturday). When the boys woke-up from rest period, I
threw an A&E Biography about Davy Crockett on the TV’s. With the Alamo coming-up soon, I figured we
need to get them up to speed as much as possible. Davy was a pretty cool dude. I foresee the boys buying several coonskin
caps while we are there.
The bus started creeping up towards that 80 degree mark for
the drive with the external temps in the mid 90’s. There is really no way around it – it’s going
to be a little warm on the bus in sunlight and temperatures like this.
We made it to Kansas City a few minutes early and that was
good, because it took us those extra 12 minutes to figure-out how to get into
the parking lot of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed church we were singing
in. It was very unique and wonderful
church. There were very few straight
walls in the building and the ceilings were very low. It sort of looked like an adobe structure,
crossed with something you might find on an episode of “The Flintstones”. It was very cool and they boys enjoyed
singing in the space.
Our hosts for the evening were none other than The Kansas
City Boys Choir under the direction of Ah-li Robinson. They sure know how to host a choir! In addition to the space they provided for us
to sing in, they provided a full spread of Kansas City BBQ for the boys to
enjoy. It was great and the boys kept
eating and eating and eating. I don’t
think there was a single boy that didn’t have at least a full plate, if not
more. Pretty sure most of the boys had
another plates worth on their face by the end of the meal. See Arteom (Exhibit A).
Following warm-ups, we shared the concert with the KSBC. They sang about six spirited pieces to open
the concert. They are a bit older than
us, with largely TTB arrangements and a little more movement in their pieces. It was very good and more importantly, it was
great for our boys to experience another boy choir that doesn’t do things like
we do. The brotherhood of boys choirs is
a great group and we are happy to have made another connection today. There is a very good chance they will come
our way October, so I hope we can reciprocate their kindness with a full spread
of lutefisk and lefse.
We also said our goodbyes to Taylor who was ending his tour
with us here in Kansas City due to commitments with his other job. It’s been great to watch him grow into this
program and take on the expanded roles.
I couldn’t imagine a better fit with an incoming director than we have
found with both he (and Corrine) over the past 18 months. He is great with the boys, a wonderful
addition to the artistic staff, and a genuinely great person to bring into the
fold. The tour will have a small hole in it tomorrow when he is not on the bus
with us, but the tour goes on.
Since our hotel was only 4 blocks away from the church, I
brought those 8 boys with me to the Office Depot right by our motel so we could
buy some replacement ink for the printer.
Boys are weird. I think these
boys had as much fun going through this Office Depot as they will at some of
the actual planned attractions later on the tour. While we waited for the bus to arrive with
our luggage, we hung-out in the parking lot and watched the lightening bugs
play around. I didn’t teach them how to
rip their tails off and become a giant glow-worm, but the thought did cross my
mind.
Once the bus arrived, they brought their luggage up to their
rooms and I ran to the convenience store to pick-up some Chaco Tacos to finish
the night off right. They hit the hay by
about 10:15 and here I sit, writing to you all.
It was another great day.
Tomorrow is off to Oklahoma City and the AAA Baseball game with all the
boys in the motel. Pretty sure there is
a swimming pool, so I better make sure Stewart gets some good rest.
Until tomorrow,
-P.J.
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