mike and ruth

We were happy to find that the concerts we presented were successful and that it was now time to return home to our families. We are grateful to the people behind the scenes that made it possible for us to present our message to the many thousands for whom we sang. The stage crew including those who set up and took down the risers, the organ, the sound system, moved in and out all of the wardrobe cabinets, moved luggage in and out, and all of the myriad tasks that need to be taken care of to make it possible for such a series of concerts to take place. Some of our colleagues are still on their way home and won’t get here for a few more days, driving the trucks with all of the equipment back home. We salute you for your hard work! Thank you for the opportunity of sharing with others the joy in music we feel as we share our love of God, of music, and of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. And thank you to our families who also allow up to participate and be away from them while we pursue the endeavors of sharing this with others in person at other places.

Breakfast at the hotel in panoramic view.

This morning we left very early on a long day of traveling towards Minnesota where the last concert will be held Thursday night. On the way we stopped at Black River Falls, a small town near the Black River where the location near the river and supply of white pine made it possible for the supply of lumber to be cut and moved to the water to be floated down towards the Mississippi, where it would be routed to Nauvoo for the construction of the Nauvoo Temple.

City of Black River Falls

Here I am standing behind the monument to the loggers.

We were able to sleep in a little later today and get some rest before traveling to Milwaukee. This wasn’t a long trip, only about 2 hours but we went directly to the venue and had a rehearsal without getting into hotel rooms first.

Dinner at the Hilton

Four MTC tenors: Mike, Randy, Brad, and David.

I am told that Grandma is doing very well. Thanks to Richard and Yvonne for coming out to visit over the weekend and for their very kind help and assistance. Mom is staying with her tonight (and did so also last night). When I called they were watching a movie together so Grandma could get to sleep. I don’t think it will help. The movie is the North Avenue Irregulars. Too funny to go to sleep during that one!

The story of the night last night was the weather. Things went really well for the concert but the weather forecasters showed a major storm moving east from Texas that went clear up to the Canadian border.

Output of weather radar reports. We were at the location of the blue dot just above Chicago.

We had a very nice day today beginning with Sacrament meeting this morning. Elder and Sister Cardon spoke about the importance of faith and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost in our lives. The Italian speaking members were invited to sing a hymn in Italian as a special number, which we really enjoyed. I took a nap this afternoon and did some reading, as well as listening to some BYU Devotionals from many years ago.

This was our nice dinner!

It is hard to believe but my time in the choir is actually coming to an end. We are doing a recording with Bryn Terfel in May for Deutsche Gramophone Records and the retirees have been invited to ‘stay on’ and participate in this event. Some have also been asked to participate in the Central States Tour of the choir. I was not asked to be a participant in the tour at first but was pleased to be asked later on when they had a cancellation. This means that I will also be going with the choir to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan in June. My last day of participation in Music and the Spoken Word will be June 23rd. It has been a wonderful treat to associate with the choice people who comprise the members of the choir and orchestra. They have always been very kind and helpful, among the best people I know. They are, as it is said, ‘the salt of the earth’ and come from many backgrounds. Although I know many people in the Orchestra we seldom get a chance to even say hello to them except for the few minutes between the run-through Sunday morning and the live broadcast itself. Even then we are all trying to take a quick break and get ready so there isn’t time for really any fraternizing then. I will post a few photos from the tour after this post. It has been a great experience participating with my choir friends and I will miss them!!