Valentine's Day 2010
These cuff links were a gift from my father-in-law, Firemann Legreid, many years ago. I don't have an opportunity to wear them much because my shirts don't accommodate them. However, on Friday, February 12, I donned a tuxedo and participated in the Northern Lights Chorus Singing Valentines day.
We divided into two groups and crisscrossed between Bismarck and Mandan, bringing a rose, box of candy, a greeting card, and two love songs to folks who hired us.
One of our first stops was at the Bank of North Dakota. As we sang, co-workers [almost all of whom were female] stood and watched.
Later in the morning we serenaded a male teacher at Simle Junior High. About 20% of the Valentine Singout recipients were male. And they seemed to take it in stride. One fellow we sang to owns a butcher shop. Fellow sextet member, Kerry Carpenter, had some misgivings. "I'm not sure we want to sing to a bunch of men with meat cleavers in their hands," he joked. They were attentive and no one snickered at the man who was the focus of our songs. Dave Helvig explained, "That's because he's the boss." Okay, I'll go with that.
We had a little free time between paid gigs so we stopped at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center. Dave's aunt lives there and we sang her a couple of songs.
Down at the other end of the huge nursing home complex, we sang to Firemann and his table-mates as they awaited lunch.
At MedCenter One, coming back down to the ground floor after singing to a lady in the surgery waiting room we took the time to provide some real elevator music. It was great fun to spread a little cheer and be a part of some Valentine's Day happiness.