Could You Ever Get on Stage and Sing?

I'm excited about today.

If you've read my previous posts you know this has nothing to do with sitting in a church for three hours (or however long modern-day services last, 20?). No, my daughter is in a singing competition today and I can't wait to take in the whole experience.

I know this is daddy talking, but my daughter has real talent. She loves to sing and has an unbelievable voice. She has poise (dare I say stage presence?) that I'd never expect in a seven- year-old.

Today, she will be singing Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry." I've heard her do this song about a thousand times. She's ready and will knock em dead.

People will often turn to me while my daughter is on stage and say, "I could NEVER get up on stage and sing in front of people...especially when I was seven!" I agree with them and the conversation turns to something else.

But I have a secret.

Not only could I have gone up on stage to sing in front of people, I DID sing in front of people!

I'll give you a minute to get over your shock.

Yes, when I was a little older than my daughter is now I was asked to compete in the Kiwanis Music Festival as a male vocalist. Looking back, I have to believe that I was selected based on the following:

1. I had one of the louder voices in the school choir for boys my age (note I didn't say "best")

2. Most boys my age sounded like injured squirrels when they sang

3. There weren't that many boys in my class

4. I didn't know enough to refuse the nomination

That said, I prepared to sing the song assigned to every competitor that year. The song was about a little mouse who ignores the warnings of an older mouse of the dangers of mouse traps and meets his end. Lovely stuff for kids huh? It's been nearly 30 years since I sang that song, but I can still remember every word...

Once a trap was baaaaaaited

With a piece of cheeeeeeeeese

It tickled so the little mouse it almost made him sneeeeeeeeeze

I'm cringing so I'll stop there.

Myself and another boy in the class prepared for a weeks and were even forced to build in some dramatic movement to hint at the violence of the scene.

More cringing.

We sang in front our classmates and the comments I received were universal, "Rick, you're definitely louder than the other kid." Clearly, I was ready.

The day of the competition I was surprised by how many other boys had been voluntold for this assignment. I wondered if they could match my volume level, did they have dramatic movements? It turns out they could and they did. One of the kids even looked like a mouse and I knew my day would not end well.

When it was my turn to sing, I was barely able to get a squeak out for the first line and by the time the word "cheeeeese" came along I was sure I would place last. I recovered nicely, but I knew that much like the foolish mouse, I had also met my end.

Well, just my singing career.