Aloha!
I have a few minutes here for a little midday update. The boys are resting in the First United
Methodist Church here in Boerne (pronounced like “bur nee”) after a very successful
morning. Our first stop was at the
Catholic Mass in Seguin where we have been staying the past two nights. The host parents were all very happy with the
boys behavior and the staff heard many compliments about them. The boys had a good time from the sounds of
it as well. Two of the boys got up early
this morning to feed the sheep at the ranch they were staying at. I asked them how it was and they said “not
too baaaaaa-d”.
During the service, one of our tweets was retweeted on
Twitter. Nick Hoffman, a former Choirboy
that is now in the country band “The Farm” retweeted a picture we posted
yesterday. The napkins read “Home Sweet
Home”, which is also the name of the song they first released about a year
ago. They are touring the country right
now. When Nick retweeted the photo, it
went out to more than 35,000 people in an instant. If you are not following us on Twitter, you
can do so by searching for us at @thechoirboys.
The church service went very well and the congregation couldn't
have been more generous to the boys. In
addition to providing four meals for the boys, they also hosted for two days
and contributed to one of the more generous freewill offerings of the tour. They also asked Aaron to speak during the
service to the congregation on the subject of “commitment”, using the
boys/parents dedication as an example. As if that wasn't enough, the Priest asked the
congregation to take-up a special offertory during Mass this morning to support
our efforts bringing in almost $850 very unexpected, but appreciated dollars.
This was a fantastic stop on our journey!
The weather was much milder this morning as the clouds moved
in overnight and stayed throughout the service.
We saw our first measurable rain of the tour as the first service was
just finishing-up. (Sidenote: Ben C. is snoring underneath a table next to
me as I write this. I think he was
tired.) Rodney had just washed all the
rims by hand and put the new hub cab covers/lug nut covers on the tires before
the rain came and muddied them up. He
sure works hard to make sure the boys are riding in style wherever they
go. He cares a lot for the safety and experience
these boys get and it really shows. We
are very lucky to have him.
Once the rain was almost at its heaviest, it was naturally
the exact time Mass was being let-out.
The boys did a little running through the rain and made it to the bus as
dry as they could. We didn't have much
time however. Our second service of the
morning was at the United Methodist Church in Boerne, about an hour’s drive
from where we were at. We knew it would
be a rush, but when two places want you to sing at the same time, you do
whatever you can to help them out.
Especially when they are both hosting you. The bus rolled-out of the parking lot and we
began our trip in the rain which really helped to keep the bus
comfortable. I saw the “6” flicker on
the thermostat in the left-hand column.
I thought that was broken at the last 2 weeks…
With our next service starting at 11:00am, we made it to the
church by 10:40. We didn't need to
warm-up or anything, but we did need to use the restroom. By 10:55, the boys were in their seats
directly behind the altar, ready to go.
They sounded very good in this space.
(AGAIN, a beautiful space to sing in. I should have pictures later
tonight)
Immediately after service the boys had a pulled-pork sandwich
lunch with this very good creamed corn recipe that I hope I can get to share
with you all. The boys enjoyed it. I took the opportunity to have a little “wake-up”
chat with all of the boys that will be returning next season (the
non-graduates). I pulled just those boys
to the side and had them form a circle around me. This was our chance to physically show them
the leadership opportunities that lie in front of them by showing them what the
core of their choir will look like next year.
It’s going to be a young choir, but we find ourselves saying that almost
every year. A lot of good young guys
will have great opportunities to lead in only two months time.
I am thankful they have had some good mentors this year in
our graduates that are moving-on.
Hopefully, we can get most of them to stay in the Men’s Chorus this
Fall. At this point, it is looking like
that is going to happen. There is a very
real chance the Men’s Chorus will be 25 strong by September and 30 or more by
Christmas. The program is building now
and it is the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of dedicated individuals over
the past few seasons. This is fun!
Following lunch, the boys started some of their tour
jobs. With the concert being in the afternoon
today, we were able to take it easy after a busy morning. They are sounding very good now, so rest is
the main ingredient in ensuring the concerts are as good as they can be. Aaron and Lisa have them pretty much where
they need them by now, so it’s all about putting the polish on the program and
a little spit to make it shine.
I have one final thing to pass along from a few days
ago. We have never done this before, but
I think it is good to mention. The staff
held its discussion about the boy we would like to present with the Most
Improved Award. This is a very special
and important award for us, as we believe it rewards boys that are working
towards self-improvement. ALL of these
nominees this year are deserving. It was
very difficult to select just one and in all of the years I have been behind
the decision for this award it was the most difficult. The nominees for Most Improved were Sam
Strub, Joel Zimmerman, Dillon Nagel & Aaron Otten. The boys themselves don’t even know that list
yet, but if you would like to congratulate them on their achievement, please
feel free to. We intend to let those
four boys know very soon.
That is it. You are
pretty much updated. I am going to
throw a question on our Facebook Page to help stir-up some social conversation
on there. The question will be something
like “Do you have any questions for the boys about touring? “Things have died
down in the “likes” and “shares” department so I want to build that back up
again. If you would like to participate
but don’t have Facebook, you can send an email to mail@lolcb.org and I will include it on the
conversation.
Later ya’ll!
-P.J.
No comments:
Post a Comment