Our next job was at a facility
called ARC. It is a place where they try to help the developmentally
disabled. We knew that this was going to be a fairly large group so we
had one of the quartets (3D’s & W) join with us. Along with the
usual songs, we sang a few additional upbeat songs. We were really
amazed at how well behaved these people were and how much they enjoyed
the music. Some of them can’t talk but you could see it in their faces.
The director of the facility asked if they could take a few photos of
us and a bunch of the disabled came and got in the pictures. When we
were leaving, they wanted to shake hands with us and thanked us in
their own special way for singing for them. This is the type of
assignment that makes us feel really good about what we do.
Mark’s
wife is a teacher at Divine Child High School in Dearborn. We entered
the building just as the students were changing classes so we were
waiting to go to her classroom as they walked by and we got a lot of
really curious looks. One of the classrooms was directly across the
hall from the lobby and they were all congregating by the door and
asked what we were doing. We told them we were going to sing a couple
of romantic songs to one of the teachers. One of the girls asked if we
could give them a sample. So, being the gentlemen that we are, we sang
one for them. After we were done, I heard one of them say how “cute” we
were. It made our day.
Now it was time to go to Karen’s
classroom. We entered and lined up in front and started to sing. She
introduced us to them and told them that Mark was her husband. Again,
it’s amazing how our type of singing is enjoyed by even the younger
generation.
Now it was time to go sing for Tony’s wife. She
wasn’t home so we decided to go to lunch. As any of you have done
Singing Valentines know, when you walk into a restaurant, you really
draw a lot of attention. We ended up singing a few songs for the
waitresses and the customers.
Tony’s wife still wasn’t home
and we still had some time to kill so we stopped at another restaurant
for a cup of coffee. This time the owner bought our drinks for us after
we sang a few songs.
We finally got to Tony’s wife and sang for her (and their dog).
The
next stop was at the Livonia City Hall where we had the other sextet
join us. We go there every year. The ceiling of their lobby area goes
all the way to the 5th floor and is open to each floor with a balcony.
The acoustics are great.
