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Of Phrases and Cut-Off's

7/15/2019

Musicians appreciate musicianship. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to conduct the congregational singing at Church. I was a last minute substitute for my friend who had suddenly gotten very sick. So, I reported early for Church, put the hymn numbers up on the board, spoke briefly to the organist to discuss tempo and conducting matters, then looked in the program and noticed that the first talk and the musical number were unchanged from two weeks before. I next spoke to the Bishop about maybe changing the musical number to an intermediate hymn by the congregation and adding a very short closing hymn. (I also mentioned that the kid who was listed in th program as the first speaker might need an explanation and a reprieve.) From there, the meeting proceeded as I would have thought was routine and appropriate.

After the meeting, I got many interesting comments from passers-by in the halls. One famous and celebrated vocalist who happens to be a member of our congregation forcefully grabbed my hand in his and said, "You directed phrases with feeling! It was remarkable! Your tempos were perfect." Another fine flautist in our midst caught up with me to say that he enjoyed watching because I indicated breathing and cut-off's. Another singer said, "It was so enjoyable to follow you through the many fermatas, because we could!" An alto friend said, "It was wonderful to watch you conduct because I knew your every move had a purpose." The organist found me later and said that he had a new title for me, "You are the Tempo Queen." He explained that he could very easily follow me through these hymns that were long, had contrasting sections and many fermatas, and that the tempos we felt together were spot on. Other people also gave me the normal compliments such as, "Oh, you had such lovely hand movements" or "Your smile made me want to sing." (But these comments were not from musicians, just nice people in the congregation.)

Later in the day, I conducted a newly formed choir of young Church Service Missionaries. We were gathered at a Devotional meeting where a famous artist who specializes in painting scenes from Christ's Life and Mission would be the Guest Speaker. Our "choir" which was very small, just nine people, was making its debut performance. (I decided to stack the deck a bit by asking my son and daughter and her husband to help fill in our ranks. So, we actually had 12 singers for the performance.) We sang "Come We that Love the Lord" as the Opening Hymn and "Lead Kindly Light" just before the talk. I had arranged these hymns so that they could be sung in just 2-parts or more parts depending on the numbers and abilities of our participants (who I had not met until the few rehearsals prior to the performance).

Once again, I got some interesting comments. One young new Church Service Missionary ran up to me as I was gathering the choir folders after the meeting. He said, "This choir is not going to sing again unless you let me be in it!" (I actually knew him, and we laughed and I said that of course I really needed him to sing with us.) Another young Sister Missionary also begged me for information on how she could join the choir. Other comments were from people who said how much they enjoyed the choir's singing or how beautiful the songs were. But the musicians' comments were much more specific. "I could tell you had to do pretty simple music with this group, but you made it sound elegant!" "I knew that you must be singing along because you had fewer females than males, but I could only hear a blended sound." "I think the choir members felt your confidence in them because I never saw you actually look down at the music. You drew the performance out of them." "Boy, I wish our choir director could be as clear with phrasing and cut-off's as you were! Here you took these few kids that had never sung together before and had them looking and sounding so professional. Well done!"

Clearly, paying attention to phrasing and precise cut-off's make a huge difference in the sound and confidence of the group. I confess, it was validating to get such compliments from my peers!

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Lost and Found: Like Mother, Like Daughter

7/6/2019

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Avery is nearly two years old, thinks she has words (but no one understands them), and is lightning fast.  Because she has no words yet, she does not answer when she is called.  Not even a peep.  Avery sneaks up the stairs to Grandma’s room and empties out all of the file drawers or dumps out all of the sewing notions.  She has learned to open door knobs and even the locks.  Her favorite thing is to escape out the front door to go exploring in the neighbors’ yards or take a little walk in the street.  Usually, we keep the front door deadlock bolted and the side gates securely closed. But sometimes we forget.

Yesterday, while Mommy Katelyn and Grandma Betsy were busy in the kitchen getting ready for an upcoming family party, Daddy Brendan offered to go buy Kentucky Fried Chicken for supper.  He left out of the front door and unbeknownst to the rest of us, Avery followed soon after. Brendan didn’t see her leave, and neither did anybody else.  Avery took her minky blanket and wandered around the corner out of our cul-de-saq. Fortunately, a woman and her two teenaged daughters were driving by and saw Avery all by herself.  They stopped and got out.  The girls sat with Avery on the grass while their mother knocked on a few of the neighbors’ doors.  No one recognized Avery, so the lady called the police.

Katelyn was putting something away in the hall when she noticed that the front door was wide open. She immediately sensed that Avery had escaped.  She ran outside calling her name and I ran around in the house looking for her in her usual locations.  The kids in the basement said that she was not with them.  So, Katelyn and I quickly put on our shoes and determined to search the neighborhood.  Katelyn went one way and I went the other.

When I rounded the corner onto the main street, I noticed a worried-looking woman on her cell-phone pacing the sidewalk.  I approached her and asked if she had seen a little girl.  She noticed me at the same time and asked if I had lost a little girl. Then I noticed Avery sitting happily with the two teenagers in the shade on the grass.  She seemed happy to be making friends with the two girls.  I explained that we had been looking for her, and the woman said that she needed my name and address for the police who she was talking to on the phone.  Just as we were talking, two police cars drove up.   I told them that we had been searching for my little granddaughter.  A relieved Katelyn soon joined us.  We thanked the woman, her daughters and the police and then walked home.  Poor Katelyn! It took her a while to decompress after such a close call!

When Katelyn was about 5 years old, she got lost.  Once, when the relatives were visiting Monterey for a vacation, we loaded everybody into our two vans and took them sight seeing around the peninsula.  Our first stop was at Fisherman’s Warf in Monterey. After looking around and enjoying some food, it was time to load everyone back into the vans.  Ellis drove one, and I drove the other.  Katelyn thought she should ride with me, but she really needed to ride in Dad’s van.  I told her to take Grandpa’s hand and go get in the other van.  Instead, she skipped herself down to the beach to gather some seashells.  But none of us realized this.  Ellis thought she was in my van and I thought she had followed instructions and got herself into his van.  We took off on a driving tour around Pacific Grove over to the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, then, we went home.  Two hours later the first van drove up to our house, quickly followed by the other van.

Katelyn had spent some time gathering shells along the beach and then noticed that none of her family was around.  She decided to go up to a young Naval Officer in uniform and his girlfriend.  He looked like a policeman to her.  She told him that she couldn’t find her family.  The couple called the police and they came and took Katelyn to the Monterey Police Station. (This was in the days before cell phones.) Katelyn actually knew her name and her parent’s names.  They were able to find the home phone number and kept calling it for two hours.

Ellis walked into the house as the phone was ringing.  When he answered it, the policeman asked if he was missing a daughter.  He said that he didn’t think so.  He said that she was in his wife’s car and we had been sightseeing all afternoon.  The policeman explained that a little girl named Katelyn said that she had been left on the beach.  I came in the house just then and was horrified to learn that we had left Katelyn! Ellis and I went quickly to pick her up at the police station.  Although Katelyn had been quickly taken care of, she was traumatized that her family had left her.  Even now, years later, she remembers that awful feeling of being lost.

I don’t actually remember the time I was lost.  But I know it traumatized my mother.  I was about 15 months old and had decided to take a walk with my dog Tippy.  I was dressed in my brother’s old overalls and hoodie that said “Bobby” on it.  Tippy thought she was my mother, so she kept me out of the street.  But she didn’t keep me from walking many blocks away from our little house near the train tracks in Palo Alto, California.

My mother was frantically looking for me --- in the house, in the yard, at the neighbors’, up and down the block.  Finally, she called the police.  “Does she have a dog with her?” the police dispatch officer asked.  “Yes!”  “We have her here.  You can come pick her up.”

When my mother got to the Police Station, she saw me sitting on the counter with a donut in one hand and a lollipop in the other.  When I saw her, I said, “Hi, Mommy.”   The policemen said that I had never cried once.  They explained that they had asked me what my name was.  I told them “Betsy Lee.”  They then asked, “Betsy Lee what, little girl?”  I told them, “Betsy Lee.”  Then they asked, “What’s your mommy’s name?” “Mommy.”  What’s your daddy’s name?" “Daddy.”   They were a little embarrassed when my mother told them that “Lee” was our last name.  They apologized profusely saying that they could have tracked down our phone number if they had only realized.  Anyway, I was safe.  My mother had been traumatized, but I had had a lovely day out and had gotten two treats to boot!  But the joke ever after was that my name was “Betsy Lee What-Little-Girl.”

Like mother, like daughter – three times lost,
but thankfully, all found, safe and sound!

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July the 2th

7/2/2019

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Tom and Carolyn Lee with Michael Bailey on his Baptism Day

Today, July 2nd, 2019, we are celebrating the birthday of
my dad Thomas W. Lee
at a Family Reunion.

He would have celebrated his 93rd birthday today. We always loved getting together for his birthday because first of all, we loved him, but it helped that the extended family could make time to visit Provo during the 4th of July. My dad, in his quirky humor, always referred to his birthday as July the 2th (tooth). So, that's what we call it as we continue the celebration with a Family Reunion in his honor.

Things I remember most about my dad:

Most of all he loved our mother. We knew it because he said it often, but he also showed his love in how he treated her. One time he caught my young son teasing his little sister. Dad took Michael aside and gave him a tongue lashing about how he should always treat women with respect. Michael straightened up after that.

My dad loved the mountains. In his early years, his parents spent summers at the BYU Aspen Grove "campus." Grandpa Wilford Lee taught English during the summer school sessions. Dad told us that traveling up the un-improved winding roads to Aspen Grove in those days was treacherous. Once there, they were not in any hurry to travel down them again until fall. Dad and his brothers roamed all over the hills and trails. He always felt that Timpanogos was his mountain.

He enjoyed reading.  My dad was a speed reader. He would go to the library weekly and pick up the box of Science Fiction or Adventure novels the librarians would set aside for him. It was normal for him to read 25-30 books a week. His favorite place to read was up in the canyon. I remember him loading up the station wagon with a bunch of us kids to go to Aspen Grove or Canyon Glen. This was his way of babysitting: He would spread out a blanket under a tree, lean against it with his pillow and his book, and turn the kids loose to roam. None of us got lost. We knew we had to come back when he gave his distinctive whistle. And we always did.

Daddy Tom was a terrific storyteller. Some of his stories have become legend. One summer, he took the oldest grandkids and their dads up the canyon for a Camp Out. Each evening he told a story that he continued to make up for days. Finally, he wrote it down for the family to enjoy for future generations. Problem is that none of us can find our copies of Johnny in the Moon.  (Somebody PLEASE find it!)

He loved his family.  My dad often said that he hated children. But none of us ever believed him. He always kept a stash of candy in his drawer by the bed and always allowed us to raid it while we climbed up on the bed to hear a story or watch sports with him. Grandpa was a big softy.

Dad was a wonderful listener.  We knew we could always go to Dad with our problems. We always felt that he gave good advice. But really, he just listened and asked the right questions so that we could figure out the solutions to our own problems ourselves. No wonder he was such a revered Bishop.

He loved God and his country. Dad always served diligently in his callings in the Church. He bore his testimony frequently. He and Mom were such wonderful examples of their faith. They also loved the United States of America. They were history buffs and loved having opportunities to take the family on cross country trips. They really couldn't pass any Historical Marker without stopping to read it!

For his 80th Birthday, I wrote a Sacred Patriotic Anthem inspired by my Dad. At our July the 2th Family Reunion, the entire extended family sang it. We have performed it several times since as a family. So wonderful to have a big musical family! Enjoy "My Promised Land."

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Of Phrases and Cut-Off's

Lost and Found: Like Mother, Like Daughter

July the 2th

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