Keep the Whole World Singing

The title of this blog posting is the title of the official song of SPEQSQSA - the organization of barbershop singers. I have decided that this is going to be one of my goals this summer - and maybe in life.

One of the saddest stories I have heard comes from Jerry Schwartz, a friend up north who has run the JCC teen travel camp for over 25 years. He takes his campers all over the country, and the kids spend a lot of time together. I asked him if the kids still sing the same songs we sang when we were kids in camp. He told me that they spent all their travel time with iPods plugged into their ears. They barely even talk.

Now this may not be a big deal compared to all the terrible crises in the world, but it struck me to the core. Singing camp songs is one of the great memories of my childhood. So what to do?

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Judy and I are putting together a singing and story night for the kids here and their parents. I hope to get the kids (and their parents) singing and show them how much fun it is.

My mission started last night. There was a potluck dinner for all the employees. I am sure Judy will fill you in on all the details. (She made a yummy cake, but that's a different story.) One of our fellow workampers and his wife like karaoke and have a professional-grade setup with about 2,000 songs. They planned to have us do karaoke. Before they started I asked the woman running the event if she would like me to lead a sing-along, and she did. So I led the group in "Rock My Soul" which has 3 parts and is a lot of fun.

There were 2 classes of people there - those who sang and those who thought I was from Mars. Luckily most of the Fun and Games staff were in the first category. Despite the many blank looks I got, I intend to keep plugging away at every chance I get. I intend to keep the whole world singing, one person at a time.

(To no one's surprise Judy and I both got up to sing karaoke.)