Day 6: Thursday, 6/6/224

Thursday was our final day of concerts. It's a long way from Shreveport to Atlanta, so we won't have a concert on Friday. We started out singing at our second Project Transformation site. We don't usually sing in churches, but since a lot of PT sites are hosted at churches, that's where we sang.

It's super fun to visit with the kids after we sing. I'll admit, though, that much of our concert program didn't resonate with them. When we planned out program back in January, we were thinking mostly about a predominantly older crowd. There were really only about 2 songs that had the kind of energy that would engage a crowd of kids. At the same time, I was a little uncomfortable with the message in this context. The PT concerts were great, but in my mind they just didn't land right. I've had a couple of conversations since to start working through this, and I have some very exciting ideas to flesh out ahead of our next trip. I'm thinking about ways to program specifically for kids that will engage them better. So...tune in on our next music mission to see about that!

We headed out of Dallas toward Shreveport to sing at Holy Angels. We made a quick stop for lunch, but due to a couple of issues, we were running about 15 minutes late nevertheless. The folks at Holy Angels were very understanding, though!

The mission of Holy Angels is To provide individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities a path to self-fulfillment through education, empowerment, spirituality, independence, and work. They have about 185 fulltime residents 18 and over as well as a PreK-12 school. They employ some of the residents on site, but they also support their employment at local businesses. They also create art and other things like ice cream on site and sell it in gift shops. The profit from those ventures is used to raise the level of care residents receive by supplementing medicaid. The result is, well...it's just what they say they are trying to do: empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to reach their maximum level of independence.

It was also easily the most vocally appreciative audience we've sung for. Such a delight. And visiting after was also such a treat. You'll notice in the pictures the venue was the chapel, which is lovely. It has been redone because of some structural issues it had suffered. We sounded great in there, and it was a solid final concert.

After Holy Angels, we drove by a couple of John-important spots. We passed the first apartment Lisa and I lived in after we were married (not pictured). We past the first Methodist Church where I attended a service with Lisa when we were in school. We drove by Cheng's Garden Chinese restaurant, which is a buffet of mostly not very good food, but there's plenty of it and the ice cream is free (which is why to this day when I eat Chinese food I want ice cream after).

Then we stopped at my college: Centenary College of Louisiana. We did a mostly walking tour of all the important places: the place Lisa and I buried her fish when it died (in the Centenary Rose Garden). Saw the buildings, and took a moment to sing in the Hargrove Shell.

I played many concerts in that shell. And I saw some good ones too. The Count Basie Band came once! They were incredible. But none more enjoyable than the one song we sang there.

We checked into the hotel and headed to Senior Night Dinner. We ate at a place called Ralph and Kackoo's. We used to eat there when we were in college, although we didn't eat there super frequently because we were in college and couldn't afford it (in addition to serving free ice cream, Cheng's was super cheap and much closer to campus).

I didn't get everyone in the pictures because some of them were doing the various activities around the room. Next year I'll do a better job of this. But here are some pictures of the eating.

This night is about celebrating being together as a choir and especially celebrating our graduating seniors. We hand out attendance awards (excellent attendance, eye-popping attendance, perfect attendance, best attendance) and also tour-based awards (chaperone; rookie of the year; fresh, radiant, and sincere; and director awards). Here are the recipients of the Fresh, Radiant, and Sincere award (terms from my college choir days). Seen here being moldy, dull, and artificial. I've literally never seen their faces look like this...

And I asked them to sign a tour tshirt that I will hang up in my office.

They also wrote notes to the seniors on papers that I added to the senior notebooks. These books contain a note from me, the notes from the choir, a program from every tour the seniors have been on, 4 postcards from every tour, and 4 pictures from every year they were in the choir. If you flip back, they grow up before your very eyes!

We had a lot of food, too. Like...a LOT of food.

Sir Trots-a-Lot was dressed to celebrate the seniors as well.

You may have seen in my email signature a quote from Maya Angelou: People will forget what you said, and people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. I told each senior how they made me feel (and...how I *think* they make others feel!).

Luke makes me feel valued. He values my opinion. He values our relationship and our friendship. He's eager to help and cares how I'm doing.

Carter makes me feel important. She focuses on me when she is talking to me or interacting with me, and she is always kind and considerate.

Brooke makes me feel joyful. She is always positive and uplifting. She's an encourager who is funny and energetic...and if she's ever been angry I've not seen it.

I'm proud of these guys, and I'm going to miss them in the choir next year. But hey...two of them are staying close, so maybe I can convince them to come to Chancel Choir. This is the time--every year--when I wonder how we will have choir without these people. They've been a core part of it for so long. I know from experience that next year new leaders will step forward. We will continue to grow and become just like they will. But we will never be the same again as they move on to what is next for them.

Nobody touches the bus microphone except for me, the driver, or specific designees. On senior night, the seniors are allowed to take the mic and say...whatever they want to say. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's profound. It's always meaningful, though. It gives them a chance to say what is on their heart. Many of them say they've been thinking about what they will say on senior night for years as they've watched people talking. Some of them admit to coming up with it at the last minute or even spontaneously (not recommended!).

We got back to the hotel and went inside to finish up our thankyou notes and get to bed as we face a slightly earlier morning on Friday heading all the way back to Decatur. I will say that room checks on the last night usually take longer for one reason or another.

And also, the girls' traditional photo:

I'll be writing a wrap-up in the final blog post tomorrow, so be sure to catch that one. Until then...

Peace and love,

John

PS. COLE JONES, this line is to satisfy my contractual obligation vis-a-vis a blog shout out.