Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Not a Barbershopper!


My friend Rich loves barbershop harmony.
He's been singing it since he was 17 - almost forty years.
He loves being part of the Catoctones, 
a group that meets every week
and sings in regional competitions. 
Barbershop is a major part of his life.

Rich has been after me to visit his group. 
Last night was Guest Night, and I finally went.

Thirty men came, half of them guests. 
They ranged from 15 to 85, 
but most of them were in the 50-75 age range.

There was an undeniable camaraderie among them.
I was warmly welcomed with many introductions and handshakes.

The regulars wore embroidered powder-blue polo shirts and khaki pants. 
They wore lanyards with some kind of ID on them.

A 15-minute video was shown promoting the “barbershop movement”.
(Learn more at http://www.barbershop.org/ )

We listened to the large group singing together.
We listened to several quartets.
We all sang together and learned a song or two.

And I discovered that barbershop harmony is not my thing.

First, I cannot commit to one night a week.

Second, I am not a fan of My Wild Irish Rose 
and those sentimental love songs of the early 1900s. 
They sang You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You
a song whose message I hate,
and my cringe was probably obvious to all.

Third, it reminded me of Kiwanis with singing, 
and I don’t think I’m a Kiwanis kind of guy.

But thanks, Rich!
I’m glad you’ve found your niche,
and I love you, man…


No comments:

Post a Comment