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mrdreamjeansMy three-week layoff is coming to an end. To celebrate returning to the road, I’ve been treating myself to visits with my closest friends in the area. I drove to Houston last night for a birthday party for my friend Ann who turns 66 on Monday and then today I drove to Navasota, Texas (about 21 miles from my folks’ home) and took my best friend from college to lunch.
C.H. (for Clarence Henry) is a busy man. He’s a small town doctor; one of the rare breed who still returns phone calls, make the occasional house call and takes the time necessary to really listen to and help his patients. In the past two years, C.H. has become our family doctor. My sister, niece, parents and I all see him now in a professional capacity. I’ve been friends with C.H.’s wife for 25 years and I’ve watched his three daughters grow up via annual Christmas picture cards. My niece Cait’s college room mate is their middle daughter Haley. The friendship between our family thus continues into another generation.
The two of us go back 32 years. We met through C.H.’s older sister Dinah and I convinced him to join me when I became a member of The Singing Cadets of Texas A&M University. C.H. and I stood in the center of the back row of the group for four years, anchors for the Second Tenors. We were always in trouble as neither of us could stand still when we were performing:) The joy in singing just had to get out somehow. *grin*
As old friends do, we have shorthand. A Singing Cadets Reunion is coming up on October 15. I’ll be with “Evita” in Costa Mesa, California, but I wish I could attend. The reunion is always in association with a football game. In this case, it’s Texas A&M vs Oklahoma State. At half-time this year, The Singing Cadets will be performing with the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. It’s a very rare occurrence that the band shares the half-time. It’s only happened once before... and you guessed it, it was 1976 and C.H. and I were in the group. There’s an upside and a downside to tradition....waiting 29 years to repeat the pairing of A&M’ s most famous music groups, is a downside.
But to the shorthand.... At lunch, we were discussing the half-time show. I said to C.H., “Remember what happened to me on the way to that game?” He replied, “Rockets Red Glare?” I said, “Yep.” We both then began to chuckle. Enough said... Shorthand. Perfect understanding. Few words.
But the long version is....
I shared a trailer in the country with my sister during my senior year at A&M. It was nice, quiet, away from campus and Colleen and I were able to have our horses at school with us. On the day of the football game where the Singing Cadets were going to share half-time, I was heading to the game, singing with gusto in the car. As I came up to a stop sign just before I hit the main road, I slowed down, looked both ways and kept going even though I noticed a police car sitting right across from the sign. His lights began to flash and I pulled over. He came up to the car and asked for my driver’s license. He said, “I know you saw me sitting there, but you still didn’t make a complete stop. You want to tell me why.”
I took a deep breath and started talking a mile a minute. I told him. “ I’m a Singing Cadet and I’m hurrying to get to the game...I can’t be late...isn’t it exciting that the Cadets are singing at a football game”... “ I was dreaming of performing at the game and I was imagining that I was singing a solo...the National Anthem... and isn’t it a tough song to sing?”
Just before I ran out of breath, I added, “When I saw you, I was singing “The Star Spangled Banner” and just as I came up to the stop sign, I got to the part, ‘And the rockets red glare...’ and my mouth was open really wide and I was hitting the high note..and isn’t that exciting?
I stopped abruptly when I saw the look on his face and finished meekly, tailing off I asked him, “Could you have stopped on “rockets red glare”?
He just looked at me, exhausted by my tale and said, ‘This whole thing is just too ridiculous not to be true. Next time make sure you make a complete stop.” He gave me my license back and headed back to his squad car all the time shaking his head; just before he got out of earshot I heard him chuckle and saw his shoulders begin to shake with laughter.
It’s a true story. C.H. remembered every detail without prompting after 29 years. Now, that’s an old and dear friend.
In my defense, I ask you, “Could you have stopped on “rockets red glare”? Betcha not! *wink*
C.H. (for Clarence Henry) is a busy man. He’s a small town doctor; one of the rare breed who still returns phone calls, make the occasional house call and takes the time necessary to really listen to and help his patients. In the past two years, C.H. has become our family doctor. My sister, niece, parents and I all see him now in a professional capacity. I’ve been friends with C.H.’s wife for 25 years and I’ve watched his three daughters grow up via annual Christmas picture cards. My niece Cait’s college room mate is their middle daughter Haley. The friendship between our family thus continues into another generation.
The two of us go back 32 years. We met through C.H.’s older sister Dinah and I convinced him to join me when I became a member of The Singing Cadets of Texas A&M University. C.H. and I stood in the center of the back row of the group for four years, anchors for the Second Tenors. We were always in trouble as neither of us could stand still when we were performing:) The joy in singing just had to get out somehow. *grin*
As old friends do, we have shorthand. A Singing Cadets Reunion is coming up on October 15. I’ll be with “Evita” in Costa Mesa, California, but I wish I could attend. The reunion is always in association with a football game. In this case, it’s Texas A&M vs Oklahoma State. At half-time this year, The Singing Cadets will be performing with the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. It’s a very rare occurrence that the band shares the half-time. It’s only happened once before... and you guessed it, it was 1976 and C.H. and I were in the group. There’s an upside and a downside to tradition....waiting 29 years to repeat the pairing of A&M’ s most famous music groups, is a downside.
But to the shorthand.... At lunch, we were discussing the half-time show. I said to C.H., “Remember what happened to me on the way to that game?” He replied, “Rockets Red Glare?” I said, “Yep.” We both then began to chuckle. Enough said... Shorthand. Perfect understanding. Few words.
But the long version is....
I shared a trailer in the country with my sister during my senior year at A&M. It was nice, quiet, away from campus and Colleen and I were able to have our horses at school with us. On the day of the football game where the Singing Cadets were going to share half-time, I was heading to the game, singing with gusto in the car. As I came up to a stop sign just before I hit the main road, I slowed down, looked both ways and kept going even though I noticed a police car sitting right across from the sign. His lights began to flash and I pulled over. He came up to the car and asked for my driver’s license. He said, “I know you saw me sitting there, but you still didn’t make a complete stop. You want to tell me why.”
I took a deep breath and started talking a mile a minute. I told him. “ I’m a Singing Cadet and I’m hurrying to get to the game...I can’t be late...isn’t it exciting that the Cadets are singing at a football game”... “ I was dreaming of performing at the game and I was imagining that I was singing a solo...the National Anthem... and isn’t it a tough song to sing?”
Just before I ran out of breath, I added, “When I saw you, I was singing “The Star Spangled Banner” and just as I came up to the stop sign, I got to the part, ‘And the rockets red glare...’ and my mouth was open really wide and I was hitting the high note..and isn’t that exciting?
I stopped abruptly when I saw the look on his face and finished meekly, tailing off I asked him, “Could you have stopped on “rockets red glare”?
He just looked at me, exhausted by my tale and said, ‘This whole thing is just too ridiculous not to be true. Next time make sure you make a complete stop.” He gave me my license back and headed back to his squad car all the time shaking his head; just before he got out of earshot I heard him chuckle and saw his shoulders begin to shake with laughter.
It’s a true story. C.H. remembered every detail without prompting after 29 years. Now, that’s an old and dear friend.
In my defense, I ask you, “Could you have stopped on “rockets red glare”? Betcha not! *wink*
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