Simple America

Saturday I ate one piece of bread, crackers, and applesauce. Still did not want to risk anything as I still ran a low grade fever. Spent most of the day watching Season Four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Honestly, I needed to take it easy so I could attend Houston Symphony’s Very Merry Pops program.

And I did attend with the missus, my son, and his friend. Saturday night was freezing cold with light spray in the air. No snow as this is Houston, but this is about the most Christmassy weather I can expect. We ran late as I did not go to Joe’s Crab Shack with them for dinner. The smell of food just affected my stomach and I wanted to enjoy the evening. And every theater must have had a venue that night. The streets were slow and the parking garage was packed. Parked the truck close to a mile away from Jones Hall. Walking the streets was chilly and the wind almost knocked me down a couple of times.

We dashed into the hall, thankful for the warmth it offered. We were late and I could hear the sounds of Deck the Halls being performed. By the time we reached the balcony they had started playing Holiday Moods Suite No. 1. They projected the symphony on the side wall, which allowed us late comers to see a bit. But viewing that is not the same, especially with the sounds muffled by the walls.

Hard to tell from this picture but that is the Houston Symphony with the Houston Symphony Choir set up on stage behind them. We also had a lovely view of the Jones Hall Christmas tree.

They went right into the Hanukkah Festival Overture without delay leaving us standing outside a bit longer. Finally, the conductor, Michael Krajewski paused, allowing us to try and find our seats. We failed in the dark so I told the missus and boys to stand and wait for the next pause so we did not block anyone’s view while The Prayer was performed. An usher came by and pointed out where our seats should be. When the song ended we hastened to our spots and sat down in time to hear the Little Bolero Boy. You know I should have been happy to have a seat, but I heard this loud tapping. I looked at the boys and I was close to quieting them when I realized the sound came from behind me. A grown man tapping so loudly, oh, and off beat. At one point he started to clap out the beat, though remember, he has no rhythm. Just kill me. And then the candy wrapper brigade started crinkling their papers. Why can’t you people be quiet? Open candy and cough drops between songs please.

Will Maker, a local who gained some notoriety by appearing on American Idol, then accompanied the Symphony for O Holy Night. He has a splendid voice. Next the Symphony performed the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. This brought most folks to their feet in respect for Jesus Christ without with there would be no Very Merry Pops performed. It was beautifully done and my hats off to the Houston Symphony Chorus. Bravisimo!

The intermission came and we went to the washroom. Then the lads and I found a quiet corner and discussed World of Warcraft. Three pretty little teen girls walked by and I felt like come on boys give ‘em a look at least. LOL! Oh well they are just young teen lads. Those check out the girls genes just have not kicked in yet.

We returned to sit and the missus told us we had been in the wrong seats. Stupid usher. But it was perfect. The people in this section were well mannered. No tapping, inappropriate off beat clapping, or crinkling wrappers for the rest of the evening. Just my son asking questions. Well that’s what duct tape is for.

The program returned with the Christmas Waltz, which even had a three pairs of waltzers on stage. That was followed by We Need a Little Christmas from Mame. The next selection was quite unusual. They had the bassoon section come up front and the three bassoonists were featured as they played Bassoon It Will Be Christmas. They put on a delightful performance and I enjoyed this a great deal. This reminds me. PY, the Houston Symphony, had six double bassists performing on stage Saturday night.

The program even became more fun as the songs moved to old favorites like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The dancers returned to the stage and performed a comedic routine as the music played. The next tune was Sleigh Ride, very much a song full of memories for me. We played this tune in High School band and the percussion section is quite busy during this tune. There are jingle bells too jangle, and wood blocks for clopping, and don’t forget the whip for cracking. We used to fight over who got to crack the whip.

Will Maker returned to the stage and sang Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Beautiful voice, if I was a woman I would love to have him sing to me. I’m not, therefore I am just damn jealous. LOL!  The orchestra then played a medley of songs, giving the audience a turn to stand and sing along. The program then ended with a performance of Feliz Navidad. The conductor returned to play an encore and I cannot remember the tune. I still had a little fever okay. Lost my mind that second.

But I really enjoyed the evening. Felt so good to leave the house after being stuck in bed. I felt so good I could eat a house. How about this one?

Hey but I am 100% today. Eating as normal. Sorry I am not out visiting blogs that much. So much to do as I prepare to go on vacation. Trying to list a bunch of eBay auctions so they can run while I travel. And time it so I can ship them when I get home and my winning bidders do not have to wait. I am using the eBay Turbo Lister 2 for the first time and I like it so far.

Merry Christmas to all of you and may God bless you and your family too.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.