Other Places: #10Hymns: Advent Hymns

Over at The Beautiful Music Challenge, I am continuing my #10Hymns Series with another two hymns for Advent (with an extra bonus hymn thrown in for fun!)

Of course, as a choir director, I have to say, I've been practicing Christmas Carols since October and I've been listening to them all year. That's just how it works when you direct a choir.

In my opinion, it is never the "wrong" time to meditate on the Incarnation of Jesus or to anticipate his coming again in glory. But I could be wrong...

During Advent, we meditate upon the three ways that Jesus comes to us:
In History (in His Birth at Bethlehem)
In Mystery (in the Sacraments)
In Majesty (at the Final Judgment)

This week we're going to talk about all three...

This week we're covering "O Savior Rend the Heavens Wide," "Behold a Virgin Bearing Him" and "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence". Find out where these hymns came from and learn how to sing them here.

Immortality and Other Second Chances

"Look toward Him and be radiant and your faces may not blush for shame.
This poor one cried out and the LORD heard and from all his distress He saved him."
Psalm 34: 6-7

This past week I received a diagnosis that I was sort of expecting. After extensive testing my doctors have discovered two nodules on my thyroid gland. We already knew it was big, but now there are nodules on it and it has to come out. The further threat is that these nodules might be cancerous. The blood work looks good, but there are other biomarkers that don't look so good.

Usually, people with overactive thyroids are given radioactive iodine to kill the thyroid and then they are monitored for new lumps and bumps over the rest of their lifetime. But not so with me. In the course of my testing, we discovered that I am very allergic to the iodine. So surgery is the only option for me.

So, out it comes!

The thyroid gland sits at the base of the throat and surrounds the windpipe. Just behind the thyroid are the vocal nerves. In order to get at the gland, they will have to cut an incision in my neck and move all the muscles aside so that they can see what they're doing. Everything is so tightly packed in there, that they don't do laparoscopic surgery. This means that for the first several weeks of recovery, my speaking voice will be hoarse. My singing voice will be out of commission for about three to four months. If it is not damaged by the surgery (and there is no cancer - please, Lord, no cancer!) I should be able to sing again by the summer.

I'm worried.
Okay, I'm terrified.

There have been times, in the depths of my depression that I have wished for some deadly disease to take me quietly. Something that I wouldn't have to explain to God. I have hated my life - and that is a very sad thing. There is so much joy in my life, but all I could see was the suffering.

And that's the dark part. But that's not the end of the story.

This is old hat, but here goes: You never appreciate what you have until you might lose it. 

I have always appreciated my voice. Maybe I've appreciated it too much, in fact. While I have been off chasing my muse, everyone else has had to stand by and wait for me. My husband put college aside for me. My children have done without me for large expanses of time. My faith is intimately connected to my voice and my ability to sing for Mass.  It is an exercise in humility for me to NOT sing (and to ignore those who sing poorly) during Mass.

So many, many times I have bristled with the idea that I could do something so much better than someone who already had the job. I have harmed friendships and careers with my ambition. And where has that left me? Busy to the point of a breakdown. Lonely, though I have many friends. And frightened that the thing on which I have built my life, (and in many respects, my faith,) is going to be taken away.

But, there is hope. There is always hope - because we have a Savior. And he is so good to us.

For me, that hope came to me while singing for the funeral of a woman who was just a little bit older than me. As I sang the familiar parts of the Requiem Mass and listened to the readings I had heard a thousand times over I was reminded of God's great generosity.

The first reading was Isaiah 25:6-7, 9:

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said: "Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"

I know that I need to trust that God has a plan for my life. I have no idea what that plan is. Maybe that's why things have rolled out the way they have over the past several weeks. There have been many new doors opened to me - and some closed, too.

I may have years left or I may die tomorrow. There is no way for me to know when I will be called. The best I can do is to live for God in the time I have - however long that time may be.

So, in the midst of all this Sturm und Drang, I found a prayer today while beta testing an app that I thought fit the bill pretty well:

Prayer Against Depression

by St. Ignatius of Loyola

O Christ Jesus

When all is darkness

And we feel our weakness and helplessness,

Give us the sense of Your Presence,

Your Love and Your Strength.

Help us to have perfect trust

In Your protecting love

And strengthening power,

So that nothing may frighten or worry us,

For, living close to You,

We shall see Your Hand,

Your Purpose, Your Will through all things.

(via Catholic Short Prayers App - http://shortprayers.valent.co/)

A Toaster, a Piano and a Pipe Organ

The organ at our church is a rather old Rodgers electronic organ, that we affectionately call "The Toaster". The organist, the substitute organist, and I dislike the Toaster and have been hoping for its demise so we could replace it with a real organ, a pipe organ. You may ask, "Why? Isn't it the same as an organ?" Well, no, it isn't.

The main problem with an electronic organ, (in my opinion,) is that the sound is uni-dimensional. The sound of an electronic organ is produced by a reaction of transistors and capacitors and not by the vibration of air common to all musical instruments. Furthermore, all the sound comes from one set of speakers, instead of several different pipes. In a pipe organ, each individual sound is created by an individual pipe (unless it's a mixture in which case it's a couple/few pipes at a time, but I digress). Because the sound of an electronic organ is uni-dimensional, it's very "in-your-face". There's also a very "buzzy" quality about the sound. It's really very hard to sing with. So, the Toaster was not my favorite instrument, but our pastor warned us not to hope for its death too soon. You know the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for". We could end up with a dead Toaster and nothing to replace it with.

Over the Christmas Holiday, our pastor located and purchased for us, a real pipe organ: a Schantz two manual, five rank pipe organ. The organist and I were ecstatic! Early last week the pastor and a friend of the parish went to Knoxville, TN to retrieve it, and on Tuesday, a work crew started setting it up in the back of the church. Things are moving along quite well, but it will take some time before the organ is really ready to go. It needs to be tuned. Some modifications need to be made to it to make it work in the space we have for it. It needs to be made a bit louder. I was expecting to maybe have it in use by Easter.

So, Saturday I was working with a group of girls who are training to be cantors at our parish, and they were doing a mighty fine job, indeed. I was very pleased with the progress they were making on learning the type of chant tones that we use at my parish and decided to introduce them to another type, as well. That way, if they ever saw something that was set out and metered, they'd know what to do with it. In order to do that, I needed to use the Toaster. I was sitting on the bench working with the girls when, completely out of the blue, it made a sound like a book was dropped on the manuals (that's what the keyboards are called) and the whole thing shut off. Of course, the girls screamed (it was loud) and then dissolved into giggles. Obviously, this was not going to do for Mass.

After the workshop Father and I tried re-creating the effect. Which we successfully did two more times and then decided that perhaps we would have to use the piano this weekend.

On the surface, the piano may sound like a pretty good idea, but you know it is really remarkable how different the sound is from an organ (even from the Toaster) and how much less sure the congregational singing is. The piano was easier to sing with in many respects. Because it is a real instrument, it has dimension to its sound, which makes it easier to match pitch with. I didn't feel like I was straining as hard and it sounded like the choir was having an easier time, too. However, I don't think the congregation could hear the piano. I wasn't hearing much singing from them.

Additionally, much of the music that we use for Mass was simply not written with a piano in mind. On an organ, when you are holding a key, it is making a sound until you stop holding the key. It stays the same volume throughout. On a piano, because it is a struck string, there is an attack and decay. Eventually, the note stops sounding, even if you hold onto the key. Some of the music we do, requires that you hold a chord to support the singing for an extended period of time. Pianos do not excel in this area.

So, it was determined that the piano would do for Mass on a very temporary basis. But, we are kicking the pipe organ project into high gear. The goal is to have the new pipe organ somewhat serviceable for next weekend and then make improvements as we go.

This could have been a lot worse. We could have had nothing to replace the Toaster with. But one parishioner commented that maybe the Toaster was jealous and that's why it died. The new organ is awfully pretty.

A Day of Repose

I wish it was summer for a little longer this year. Only in the last couple of weeks have I actually gotten to do any real resting from my ultra-insane year. But, in just two weeks, Kinderchor begins practice again. I can't believe it's already almost Fall!

Over the summer, we all decided that I needed one full day off of all work per week. This is a good thing. All winter I was working 7 days a week. The decision was made to make Saturday my "day off". I must say that I am quite relieved to have it. I think I was really burning out.

As a result of taking this day off, my youth choir at the parish, who previously practiced on Saturdays, is going to have to have their practice bumped to another night during the week. This is going to make for 3 evening practices with three totally different choirs per week.

The biggest issue facing me with this schedule adjustment is prep time. The choirs are all working on completely different material (one is a German choir, one is an adult church choir and the third is a bi-lingual Spanish/English children's choir). Research and practice time are not easy to come by as it is.

It is truly a matter of good organization and good planning, though. I really need to get my practice space and times organized a little better so that I am not wasting time clearing music off of my piano to practice and searching for all my materials every time I go to practice or prep practice plans for them. Everything is a huge mess. Which means that I need to spend a couple of uninterrupted days cleaning and organizing. And because I am working Monday through Friday, that probably means a Saturday work day.

For right now, though, I am being very jealous about my Saturday day of rest. I am being very particular about how I spend it. I have to fight the urge to work on music or schedule meetings for planning committees. Actually, I am trying not to spend it cleaning either. I don't want to be like the proverbial Grasshopper and say there's plenty of time to do it later, but I just need that break in the action right now.

In music, the rests between notes are as important at the sounds. They create dimension and color for the piece. Rest is just as vital in life as it is in music. So, I am hoping I to keep that day clear for as long as I can.


BTW - the graphic above can be purchased as a button through CafePress, here. I think every choir director in the world should own at least one.

AGO Convention - Detroit, MI

This past week I went on a trip to Detroit for the Region V Convention of the American Guild of Organists. It was technically a business trip, but I really love business trips, so it was kind of a joy for me. Everyone at the office was too busy with the Skinner restoration that we're working on to go, so they sent me. I traveled with a friend, a real organist, and while I am but a lowly choir director, I still got a lot out of the trip. (And, yes, I still did my job!)



We stayed at the Marriott Renaissance Center right on the Detroit River. We were on the 52nd floor overlooking the city, the river, Lake St. Claire and Windsor, ON. The view was amazing, day or night.

I really enjoyed all the concerts on organ and carillon. I can't even describe the feeling that you get when someone who knows what they're doing plays pieces that you've heard many times before. The energy is amazing! It is electrifying! It left me feeling uplifted and very inferior at the same time. The churches and the organs themselves were breathtaking, too.


It was great to meet new people and enjoy their company. My thanks to Dr. Joseph D. Daniel and his committee for such an amazing week. I think that they were putting in 18-20 hour days to make sure that everything ran smoothly.

In two years it will be in Lexington, KY. I really hope that everyone is too busy to go in 2011, so they have to send me again.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Working in a parish where the preponderance of the people are Latino, we have a huge celebration for Our Lady of Guadalupe on the Sunday closest to her feast. I decided to share some pictures that my brother took of Our Lady's procession from last year. Though it was drizzly and nasty outside, there was still quite a crowd for the procession.

Along the route of the procession last year, the group stopped to pay their respects a at makeshift monument to 10 people who died in a fire: all parishioners. Sadly, we are faced with a similar tragedy this year, having lost 5 people in a fire last weekend.

Upon reaching the church the crowd was overflowing into the staircases and hallways. Though this crowd is a little larger than the usual Sunday crowd, it is not that much bigger and we have standing room only crowds even at regular Sunday Masses. We are currently trying to raise the money to improve our church space and give people more room to sit. But, I suspect that the room will fill to capacity very soon, anyway.


I have to say that I have tremendous respect for the Latinos in our parish. They work hard, pray hard, and play hard. The colorful culture and music is so refreshing, vibrant and lovely, and their expression of faith is so genuine and unforced. Their devotion to Our Lady is so strong. It makes me question whether the "good Catholic Education" I received really did me all that much good. I wish I had the relationship with Mary that these folks do. They inspire me with their faith. It must be very hard to leave everything that you know and can count on to come to a new place. I can only imagine.

Still, they bring their wonderful cultural thumbprints to our American Melting Pot, and their families, like the rest of us former immigrant families, learn to be "American". And, in the process share some of their culture with us, to enrich us.

After the Mass we all enjoyed some delicious fresh food (TAMALES!!! YUM!!!), and great Mariachi music and folk dancing. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to this year's celebration on Sunday!

Pictures by Joseph Harris (December 2007)

Liturgical Music and the Mass

Monday night I went to a party and during the course of the evening, one of the discussions I had was with a liturgical musician, a cantor, from another parish. We were talking about music and its place at Mass, specifically as pertains to hymns.

In her parish, the hymns are used as "traveling music". It covers the action of the Mass. Verses to hymns are only sung for as long as it takes Father to get from the back of the Church to the front and to get into place. That's how her Pastor prefers it. In my parish, we sing all the verses to the hymns, as we consider a hymn to be a complete prayer and, as such, it should not be truncated. Recently, my friend had an experience at her parish that brings into sharp focus the issue with Music for the Liturgy as opposed to Music at the Liturgy.

A younger organist was playing for Mass and insisted that they do all the verses of all the hymns; to the point that he actually kept playing when Father was ready to begin Mass. This action not only brought attention to himself as a musician, but also made all the people in attendance uncomfortable (especially the cantor, who was stuck between a rock and a hard place).

I understand the organist's dilemma: I feel uncomfortable not finishing a hymn to the Holy Trinity having only sung the two verses talking about the Father and the Son (the heck with the Holy Spirit, I guess...). But, the fact of the matter is, as a Liturgical Musician, you must do what Father asks you to do as long as it is not morally reprehensible and I don't think not finishing the hymn falls into that category. Annoying and uninformed (in my humble opinion), but not a sin, by any stretch.

Her retelling of this story opened the discussion about what the place of music in the Liturgy is.

Music for the Mass is supposed to expand the Mass; to bring it to a new level; to enrich the prayer of the people gathered in the church. It is not supposed to draw attention to itself (for its own sake) but, instead, to turn your thoughts and heart toward God and what he has done and is doing for us. It is a physical manifestation of your interior prayer life.

"He who sings, prays twice"is a quote by St. Augustine and I believe this is true. When one sings, one is not only using the words of prayer, but also the "inexpressible groaning of the spirit". There is no way to express some things but by music. Setting these prayers to music and then singing them speaks to the trinitarian nature of our being: Body, Mind and Spirit. This is a way to more fully reflect the mystery of the Trinity in our worship. Our goal as liturgical musicians is to assist the faithful in their prayers. The job of the liturgical musician, then, is to place a premium on the music being well-done and the hymns being well-chosen to consort with the prayers of the Mass and the Readings.

So this now brings me back to Music for the Mass as opposed to Music at the Mass. It is my belief that if a composer took the time to write 6 verses, he had a thought in mind for where he wanted the prayer to go. To cut off verses, simply because Father has reached the altar or he sat down or whatever, defeats the purpose of the hymn. The hymn itself is a prayer, and when prayed with heart and mind and voice, it assists in the prayerful attitude of the Mass as a whole. It involves our whole being in the worship of God. That is what I mean by Music for the Mass. Typically, each verse of a hymn is about 30-45 seconds long. If you are cutting off 4 verses, you are only saving yourself about two minutes.

By using Music as a "traveling music" or "incidental music" it becomes ancillary to the Mass; a cover for movement; a convenience. It does not serve to extend the prayer to the mind, soul and body through active particiaption. It merely gives the congregation "something to do" while they wait. That is Music at Mass. And that is not the job of the Liturgical Musician. That's what Theatre Organists do.

Are you going to go to hell if you don't do all 7 verses of "Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above"? Nope. Will your Mass be a richer experience if you do? I think so.

If Jesus hung on the cross for 3 hours for your sins, the least you can do is give him two more minutes of sustained prayer that involves your whole being. This is Music for the Mass.

If you want peace...

There is a bumper sticker that has been around for years: "If you want peace, work for justice." I have always hated that bumper sticker. It always rang false to me, and now I know why. Working for justice will almost always bring about a war. And whose justice are we working fo, anyway? Justice as we understand it is different for each person and is completely subjective.

No, if you want peace, you need to work for mercy. It's a much harder fight, but well worth it.

Raising a choir: Part 1

One of the things I run into often with conducting choirs is building and rebuilding. Building a choir is almost easier that rebuilding one. Rebuilding a choir is like getting your stick shift car up to 4th gear and then having to stop at a stop light, so you have to start all over again in 1st gear.

One thing remains the same between the two, however. You must strike the balance between too difficult and too easy. As a musician, I have done quite a lot of choral work. I have a large repertoire to work with, but most of it is too difficult to spring on a "seedling choir". It's like watering seedlings in the heat of the day. If you water them at 4 in the afternoon, all that water is going to boil the leaves as it evaporates. You water in the morning and the evening, when the sun won't make them in to boiled greens. So it is with a choir.

Start with the basics: good vocal exercises and practices. Teach them to breathe and then teach them how to hold their mouths. They will always be better off for this. Always remember to reference exercises that you did during the rehearsal to reinforce that those exercises are important to their skill building.

Move slowly toward parts singing. Even if you only have two or three people, you can sing in parts. If they have never sung in parts before, teach them to sing a round, first. A really good resource for sacred and secular rounds (in a few different languages) is 'The Kemp Family Collection of Rounds, Canons and Songs". There are varying degrees of difficulty within this collection to keep you happy for a while. Also, another valuable resource for sacred musicians are the collections from Taize. These, again, are varied in their degree of difficulty and get people into the habit of hearing their own part.

Be careful not to move too slowly or too quickly. It is not advisable to go from a rousing rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" to "April is in My Mistress' Face". Unless your choir is full of prodigies, there will be a few years of separation between these pieces. But, you don't want to be doing "Frere Jacques" the second year of your choir, either. Progress. Let them grow.

There's nothing like planning ahead....

I have a friend who once told me "There's nothing like planning ahead, and this is nothing like it." I imagine that he was quoting or paraphrasing someone else, but, Oh, was he right!

When I sing for an event or conduct a choir for an event or for a mass, I like to know ahead of time what's going on. I like to have a plan laid out and presented to me (or have planned things myself and present them to the presider, as the case may be). It eases the worry and nerves I feel when I am working. Honestly, I don't know a soul who prefers to always be flying by the seat of their pants. Yet, so often, that is what happens you are in charge of music for the mass. You are subject to the priest's whims, the cantor's whims, the unexpected can always happen....
But, somehow, when there is a good solid plan, those things don't seem to be so bad to handle.

When I go to Mass and I am singing or conducting, I have found that the better prepared I am to meet the Mass (in terms of the nuts and bolts of my work), the better I can pray the Mass, and hopefully, not distract the faithful in the process. If I am not prepared, then I am jumpy and unfocused and prayer falls out of the focus of the mass for me. At that point, I am not best able to assist others with their prayers (which is my job). It seems so simple to me to lay out all of the details of your Liturgy Planning in a sheet that encompasses 5 or 6 weeks and then everything is all set weeks in advance.

A brilliant friend of mine (a music director at a big parish here in town) always uses a Liturgy planning sheet. These sheets detail everything that gets done with music (or that COULD get done with music) in the mass. That way, she and Father can go over the minute details of the mass music before she ever starts rehearsing her choir, weeks in advance. Then everyone knows the plan. If something happens, rather than having stress added onto stress, you just have to handle the situation and get back to the plan.

I just came from a mass where it seemed that no one was in charge. I was told that everything was planned, all I had to do was show up and direct. Not so! The priest hadn't been told what to expect. I hadn't been told what to expect. There was no reader for the Psalm, but I hadn't been asked to sing it. And furthermore, had no way to get the words to do it. So, after the first reading, we all sat there for several silent moments of "reflection", while Father and I (over the the entire length of the church and 2 flights of stairs) tried to telepathically decide what to do. Finally, he got up and read the Psalm. This was all completely unnecessary! All that was required was a liturgy plan and then everyone would have known what was going on before we ever sounded the first chord of the opening hymn.

So here's the final analysis:
Planning= Good

Church Musician or Not?

You know, when I started this blog, I thought I would be writing more about my music and what I do with it, but I quickly realized that this was just a catch-all for all my reflections on life in general and that music was just one part of that, but...

I recently had a friend over to my house who told me that I could not label myself a Catholic Musician. That to imagine myself "above it all, looking at the back of people's heads and baby faces" was ridiculous. That being a Catholic Musician was just one part of what I do and it certainly was not the largest part of what I do. And, that the music program that I am helping with (I am NOT in charge of it) wasn't ever going to be a program I could hang my hat on or base my reputation on. After I could breathe again (because I was so angry, I lost my breath), I began to think about what my friend had to say.

First of all, I am not imagining myself "above it all". In fact, I imagine myself very much a part of the congregation from the choir loft. It is wonderful that all our focus, every person's, is on the true meaning of the Mass, The Eucharist.

It is true, that this program will never be the Catherdal's program. It doesn't have to be. Being a Catholic Musician, by definition, means using the tools that God has provided you with the bring forth the BEST worship that the congregation can offer. In fact, the documents of Vatican II tell us that the faithful have a RIGHT to a Mass presented with dignity and reverence and to have it presented to the best abilities of the parish.

That's being a Catholic Musician. Taking the resources you have and bringing them to the height of their abilities, whatever those abilities are. So, if your choir is only capable of singing in unison, then you sing in unison, and do it the very best that you can. If they can do Palestrina, then do Palestrina. Your job is to gauge what the abilities of your choir are and how you can best present them to give the Mass dignity and beauty. It's all about the Mass...it's not really about the music.

Am I a Catholic Musician? Yes. I think so. Am I a good Catholic musician? Yes. I think so. Can I hang my hat on the music progam of my parish? Yes. And I am proud to, because our music program is an honest Catholic music program. We may not be the splashiest. We may not be the most skilled, but we are honest in our worship of God. Are we in a choir loft? No. But every week, we stand facing the Blessed Sacrament. There is a peacefulness in being able to sing directly to the object of your adoration. In the final analysis, it is a prayer. Have we prayed when we leave Mass? Has our music helped the congregation pray? If so, then we have done our job. Remember: It's all about the Mass!

So, yes, I am a Catholic Musician. It is all I want to be. It consumes me. I constantly search for music for the choir. I constantly strive to better myself and to help the others expand their knowledge, as well. I consistently point and re-point the choir back to the Blessed Sacrament; the focus of the Mass. I try to bring their best out, and they continually humble me and forgive my foibles.

Oh, yes, my friend! That is WHO I AM!
I AM A CATHOLIC MUSICIAN!

From the choir loft

I was in a choir loft again today. Most of the time, I spend my Masses in the front of the church right next to the sanctuary. It is very distracting to me to be "on display" to the entire congregation. I think that's what I like most about choir lofts. You are facing the Sanctuary, and you are a part of the congregation, but yet, you are not performing or on display to them and you are still able to lead them.

A couple of years ago I found myself burnt out and wanting a change: wanting to be in the spotlight, so to speak. I was tired of being in the choir loft and only seeing the backs of peoples heads and baby faces. I wanted people to know what I could do as a musician. So I quit church music. But, you know, I am so chicken that I couldn't do it. I have to my credit, one solo on an album that I will never allow anyone to listen to if I can help it. It's so awful.

Now, I am longing for the anonymity of the choir loft. It really calls to me; strongly. I feel incomplete without singing at church. But, I still feel a bit incomplete even singing for church, when I am up front. Being in the choir loft, brings a totally new dimension to my music. In the choir loft, you can tune all the fussy kids and shuffling people out and really concentrate on Mass. I feel like I am not really praying at Mass unless I am singing from a choir loft. It has been a real challenge to learn to pray without being in the loft.

There is a point at which my music, which is a part of me, becomes my prayer. Not just in the words, but also the sounds that I make and the breaths that I take. The gift that I give to God is the entirety of my being. And that gift helps to inspire others to give their entirety.

I still want to do something splashy with my music someday, but honestly, it is going to have to be in God's time. It is God's gift. I may never do anything splashier than sing from a choir loft or sing on a CD that I will never let anyone hear. Maybe or maybe not.

A day of Orchids and Cherry Cobbler

Well, yesterday was my birthday. I am 39 now. The music director that I am currently working for brought me a plant for my birthday. They are the most beautiful orchids! They are a deep lavender and are high up on a long stem that falls over to one side. They are so graceful and lovely. They absolutely took my breath away. I cannot get enough of looking at them. I hope I don't kill them. I have a black thumb.

At lunch I had the owners of my company take me to lunch. Technically, we do not celebrate birthdays at the company I work for. Evidently the birthday celebrations were getting too jovial (and maybe the pranks were being carried a bit too far), but in any case, no one is allowed to celebrate a birthday. I don't have a problem with this. I just celebrate their name days. Hah!! I think the real problem is that our president doesn't wish to celebrate his birthday, so no one celebrates anything. Ah, Vanity, thy name is Phil.

Anyway, Phil and Bob took me to lunch anyway, after I informed Phil that I believed that I could celebrate my birthday anytime I was off the clock, including lunchtime! So, off we went to Bob Evans (where else?). I had a largely forgettable meal, except for the cherry cobbler, which was delicious.

Birthdays are like Orchids and Cherry Cobbler. Orchids are a reminder of the beautiful gift of life wer are given by our parents at birth. All the grace and beauty is there for all to see. Cherry cobbler is a reminder of the sweet and sour nature of the rest of life. But the sour part just makes that sweet part that much more tasty.

Thanks for the presents, guys!

What does this mean?

I am a Catholic church musician. I always threatened to write a book about my life story, and this is the venue that presented itself.

The backs of people's heads and baby faces are virtually all you see from a choir loft. I can keep myself entertained for hours watching all the babies and trying to figure out who is attached to the front of that head.

One day, while I was doing a particularly long stint at mass, I spotted my nephew below me. He was an exceptionally cute baby. He was laying across his mom's lap looking up at the ceiling (or whatever) and caught sight of me. In true "auntly" fashion I commenced to making faces at the baby who obliged with giggles and smiles. My friend, an inveterate baby lover, joined in, too.

I guess it never occurred to me that while all I can see are the backs of people's heads, Father can see all the fronts (including ours). I guess we were quite a distraction. Needless to say, we heard about it.

Another thing about standing above and in back, is that you can observe "mob" characteristics among the faithful. Not like pitchforks and "tar and feathers" or anything...no, more like evertime a child gets fussy, you can tell who the Mommies are. They rock gently back and forth, whether they are holding a child or not. Another thing you can observe is how good the homily is. Watch for the nodding, drooping heads. If a missionary strikes a chord you will know by the speed at which every woman reaches for her purse for the collection. Usually, they have that check filled out before the end of the Homily.

I suppose you are wondering what this blog is going to be about, ultimately. Well...I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see what comes up for me to write about. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the ride!