The "3 Minutes & 53 Seconds Of Musical Bliss: Part II - The Treasures" Story

Story #1:  It was an ordinary day.  Standing in St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania talking with a few guys that I had taught school with at Manheim Township High School.  Our meeting today wasn't a pleasant one since we were celebrating the life of another teacher who had recently died.  As I stood in the entrance to the sanctuary I saw a familiar face from the past; the distant past!  That can't be Ed I said to myself.  I excused myself and walked over to the fellow who I thought I recognized who was talking with his wife.  "Ed, is that you?"  He turned and in an instant I knew it was him.  A face you can never forget.  

Ed in on the right dressed in period garb for the

singing of the "Hallelujah Chorus".  To his

right is Jim who is also new to the flashmob

this year.  He was a missionary in Italy for

years and recently moved back to the States

and settled in nearby Manheim.  He is an

interesting fellow and we both had a good time

talking about time we both spent in Italy.

right is Jim who is also new to the flashmob

this year.  He was a missionary in Italy for

years and recently moved back to the States

and settled in nearby Manheim.  He is an

interesting fellow and we both had a good time

talking about time we both spent in Italy.

Ed and I were the same age and had sung in the boys' choir together at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown historic Lancaster.  We both started in 1952 when we were able to both read as well as understand music.  In no time we were reminiscing in front of his wife Nancy about the good times we had while singing in the choir as well as being in Sunday School classes together.  He held up his right hand to show me the large scar on his thumb that happened one night when we were waiting to be picked up from choir practice while standing in front of the church parish house.  Ed decided to hang from a very large cast-iron light attached to the wall of the parish house.  When he added his weight to the equation, it came off the wall, almost cutting his thumb from his hand.  I ran quick to get help and he was taken to the hospital.  The scar still exists to this day.  Nancy seemed fascinated by our conversation so I thought I would add a bit to it by asking Ed if his mother happened to have a plastic liner in her pocketbook when she was alive.  Ed laughed while Nancy look puzzled.  He then explained to both of us..."My mom lived through the Depression and never gave up the mentality she developed during those years.  When she would go to church Pot Luck Suppers she would empty her plate into her pocketbook before going home.  My wife told me one time when she was helping out with coffee-hour after church that Ed's mother poured both the excess tea and coffee into a glass jar to take home with her.  My wife also told me that our youngest son grabbed her arm one time during another church event and told her,  "That lady next put her food in her pocketbook."  Well, Ed and I, as well as his wife, had a good laugh.  I asked him if he would enjoy singing in a flashmob choir and singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" with me.  A few minutes later he had given me his phone number and a promise that he would be there to sing.

The "four basses" are shown here.  Jim dressed in black, Tim with the green and white stripped sweater, Ed with his wool garb and LDub with the Santa Hat.  We are not the only basses in the chorus, but we seemed to gather together when it was time to sing.  Both Jim and Tim had the "Hallelujah Chorus" memorized while Ed and I used the music when necessary.

Story #2:  It was an ordinary day.  Practice for the flashmob's "Hallelujah Chorus" had just ended.  I had just finished talking with a few familiar faces from last years chorus and thanking Ed for coming and adding an extra voice to the bass section.  As I was walking back the main aisle in the church where we had practiced, I saw another face that I was sure I recognized.  As I approached her, I tapped her on the arm and asked her name.  She looked at me and said, "Kate."  "I think I know you." I said to her.  She took a closer look at me and said, "Maybe you might know one of my sisters."  Nah, I knew that she was a face from my past.  "Where did you go to high school?" I asked her.  She looked at me and then it hit her.  "Mr. Woods...my high school Photography teacher!  How are you.  I haven't seen you since...1983 when I graduated."  Well, the crowd around us instantly gave us a good look and a few claps of applause.  We spent the next couple of minutes talking about the fact that she loved photography so much that she majored in it in college.  She was now a graphic designer, using her photography she learned in her business.  We parted by saying we would talk the next day after we had sung the "Hallelujah Chorus."  Sure enough, we saw each other the next day and I got to meet her boyfriend and then I got introduced my wife to one of my former students.  She told of one of her friends who also was in my class with her who became a photographer.  She said I must feel pretty good knowing that what I taught them led to their careers in the visual arts.  Wow, pretty neat compliment!  Our conversation was cut short when the chorus headed to the door to sing one last time around the the Christmas Tree in Lancaster's Square.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.