Monday, March 28, 2022
I really jumped in with both my wet feet
Volunteering to usher
For the Bach Society concert at the church
I was excited to hear Bach’s
St. Matthew’s Passion
Only it wasn’t Bach
It was Thiele
Beautiful music, beautiful voices
Excellent orchestra, well conducted
But
I prefer Bach
Thiele is too lyrical for me
Lovely to listen to but also safe
It’s a pretty dynamic story
The Crucifixion of Christ
And I require drama
Speaking of drama
When we were on I-80
Headed towards Davis
In a hurry not to be late
There was a terrible black cloud
That practically drove us off the road
with big noisy hail
Rendering visibility virtually
Nonexistent
Thank goodness Mark was driving
I couldn’t see anything
It was pretty terrifying
And unexpected
Though we miraculously
Arrived on time
To welcome a lot of drenched
And dripping
Senior citizens
Who nonetheless were very excited
To be there
It had been a long time
Since the last live concert
At the church
Or anywhere else
I surmised
The wet but dignified audience
Had to rummage in their pockets and purses
With their cold wet hands
To find their vaccination cards with the booster
Their photo I.D.
And their eighty-five dollar tickets
And then they were passed on to nervous me
For their paper bracelets
It turned out I didn’t usher
I put paper bracelets
On the attendees’ wrists
I succeeded in my task
But without much grace
My thumbs kept getting stuck
Causing me to glue the attendees
As well as the paper bracelets
So their wrists didn’t look very artful
But they were all very gracious
And they were all a very attentive
audience