Tuesday: A Long Day...A Good Day

Making a difference in the lives of our youth. I am teaching them to love the waffles. To be clear, I did NOT teach them to put whipped cream on a waffle. Gross.

Our first concert was at the armed forces retirement home. This adjacent to the Lincoln Cottage, which I believe was the site of the first veterans' home (citation neeeded...I could be wrong about this).

Our primary soloist for one of the songs had lost her voice. We weren't sure if she was going to be able to sing the solo or not, but we decided she should give it a try, which she did. And following about two notes, her voice cracked, and she said, "Nope!" and went back to the choir.

To be clear, she's been rocking this solo with all the power an attitude it needs to be amazing, but when you've lost your voice, well, you've lost your voice. So she got back in line, and the choir started looking at each other...when Grace just started singing the solo. She did a great job of it.

I told the choir that at our best, this is what a choir is: we have each other's backs. We take up the slack when needed. I was super proud of and impressed by Grace for doing what needed to be done!

We visited after, of course.

My contact at the AFRH was Marla, and I noticed her standing at the piano. I went over to talk to her, and she said, "We have groups come in here and sing, but nobody does this. This is great. It's amazing. And they're so good at it." I've heard comments like that before, and it brings me joy every time. I tell the youth all the time that what we are doing is important, and that visiting is important. And I believe that. But the occasional reminder is helpful. thanks for being the voice of God for me, Marla.

I offered to let Trots-a-Lot conduct, but he declined.

Our next stop was Covenant House, which is a national organization (I've interacted with the Atlanta Covenant House a few different times). It provides shelter and resources for youth experiencing homelessness.

We were singing during lunch time, which is typically very busy, but on this particular day for whatever reason not many folks showed up. We sang for maybe 4 people...but we also sang for the staff who were working there...and they were very appreciative of our presence. Honestly at first, I was deeply uneasy about it. They were so kind. Once upon a time, when we sang at a place for very few folks, I told the chaperones there had been a mistake, and we were sent to the wrong place. She said, "No, John. We were right where we were supposed to be." We were then, and we were at the Covenant House as well.

Photo contest! Where's Waldo? Each picture in the photo contest features youth hiding. How many can you find?

And the winner is...  (How many do you see? Answer in the comments.)

After lunch we went to Arlington National Cemetery.

We took something of a self-guided tour based on the time we had. We selected just a very small few markers. I told the youth that every person buried here is the same now. What matters most is what we do when we are above the ground.

We attended the final guard change of the day. That's not true. We attended the final public guard change of the day. This sentinel passed his inspection and took his post. I've seen this many times before, and it's always profoundly moving to me. It's a level of respect and reverence we rarely encounter these days.

The guard will of course remain throughout the night. I was struck by this as we made our way out of the cemetery. I looked back up the hill, and there was the sentinel we had just seen take his post. He stands guard over those who cannot guard themselves. An advocate and protector.

Aw, the Kershes!

After the cemetery we had our second chaperone dinner.

Famous Dave's! That's famous Michael with his room.

A couple of final contributions to the photo contest taken around dinner time. They didn't win, but they aren't bad. Certainly worth an honorable mention.

"Hello."

"Hello."

"Do you like my hat?"

"I do! I do like that party hat!"

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Piggy back ride in piggie hats.

After dinner we returned to the hotel and began writing our thank you notes. If you supported music in mission at any point during the past year, you can expect to receive one of these. The youth are genuinely grateful for all of you who have made this trip possible. I try to make it a point to make sure they tell you they are grateful too!

I guess that's about it. I'm sorry it's taking me longer to get these things posted each day. Something about my morning routine hasn't allowed me to write them during breakfast like I have in the past, so I've had to write them when I have time after that. We are, as I type, on the way to Raleigh-Durham. Technology is weird. 

Things are going well. We are doing what we set out to do, both in our concerts and in our free time. You should be proud of your youth choir. I know I am.

Monday: Museums and Memorials

Strong start to the day with the breakfast of champions. It's not really reasonable for me to enjoy the waffles this much. I would note that the waffles at this particular location seem to be coming out a little rubbery lately. Not sure why that is.

No concerts on Monday. It's nearly impossible to schedule a concert on Memorial Day because most facilities don't have the staff needed to have an extra group in. Fortunately the Smithsonian and other museums are open, so we took the day to do museums. I kicked everyone out of the bus at the mall and sent them on their way (with chaperones) to explore on their own.

The photo contest for today was "monumental photo." The rules said no digital manipulation. They came in throughout the day, so instead of grouping them together, I'll just include them as we go. I told Luke we needed to leave the Washington Monument here, so he put it back before we left for the day.

You'll notice a whiffle ball and bat here. These guys whiffled balled all around. My understanding is that the plastic bat did not clear security at the Air and Space museum, but also to my knowledge the bat survived that ordeal and is still with us.

When everyone went their separate ways, Rachel and I headed to the Spy museum to exchange some tickets and buy a couple of extras. I was worried it might be difficult to locate because it seems like you'd want to keep the Spy thing something of a secret. Turns out the Super Secret Spy Museum is the easiest building in DC to identify.

I would have thought the Spy Museum would be in some random door on an alley with a little slit in it that a guy name Gunther will slide open to get the password or shoot you if you don't have the right password. A door like, I don't know, this one:

Trots-a-lot is enjoying his time here, I think. I'm going to see if I can get him to write something for the blog in the next couple of days.

Instead of museums, in the morning one group decided to go geocaching. They found this one in a drain!

Monumental photo contest. I don't see any signs, but I feel confident this street is Abby Road.

Obviously he needs a little assistance with his navigation? Another monumental photo.

There's sword swallowing, and there's this...

But the winner of the photo contest for the day was this one. Nice job, Seth!

Meanwhile, Carter and Luke (and whoever else was with them, not pictured) encountered another Carter who was in town for one of the bands for Memorial Day. I was asked to include Carter^2 on the blog, so here you go. Carter, if you read this, I expect a comment of some kind...

After museums in the afternoon, we ate dinner and then went to 3 memorials. The first was the Korean, which is my favorite.

I talked to the youth about the memorials we were seeing. They are my favorite because they call to mind those who sacrificed so much rather than aggrandizing the conflict or the cause. They are, in short, truly memorials.

From the Korean memorial we walked across the mall past the Lincoln memorial to the Vietnam memorial. It was extra meaningful because many made the pilgrimage to remember their friends and loved ones, and the base of the wall was covered with individual tributes and stories. In some way, reading these stories was like our visits with our audiences...coming to know and appreciate the stories of others.

The coins that are left have special meaning. A quarter means the person who left it was present when the soldier was killed in action. I don't think I've ever seen 25 cents mean so much.

The Washington Monument as night began to fall. We'll come back to it on Wednesday for a closer look, but it was stunning against a cloudy night sky.

We made our way to the Iwo Jima memorial. I reminded the choir that my favorite memorials are the ones that remind us of the people who sacrificed, and this is another good example, situated in Arlington National Cemetery among the graves of so many. Individual sacrifices for a communal good. Which reminded me of another sacrifice...an individual sacrifice for the communal good. And so, there in front of this memorial, we celebrated another. My friend Jonathan was on hand to celebrate communion with us.

When he got to the "pour out your holy spirit" part, well, God obliged because a steady rain started. Maybe a little less pouring, God. But still a profound moment for us. A moment of remembrance. And then we headed back to the hotel.

Headed up to our rooms. Check in. Tape. A good visit with another friend (a friend who helped me do checkin just like he did when we worked together years ago!). Pick out some pictures for the blog...and to bed. Much to do tomorrow...2 concerts before lunch!

Until tomorrow...farewell.