Christmas Memories--Im listening to Christmas music and thinking about one of my most favorite Christmas memories.. ( Forgive me, Larry) . My son, Larry, began High school at Von Steuben H.S.. For several years Von was not a neighborhood school. It had been used to accommodate overflow students from overcrowded schools on the south and west side so most of the kids were black with a few other minority races. Very few, if any, were neighborhood kids. The year Larry graduated from grammar school, the Board of Ed had decided to make Von a magnet school for high achieving students. Larry qualified and decided to enroll at Von. The freshmen class was one third white, one third black and one third other minorities. The sophomore, junior and senior classes were mostly black students. Shortly after school had started , Larrys music teacher asked him to join the boys chorus even though he was just a freshman and most of the kids in the chorus were mostly juniors and seniors. I was pleased and surprised as I had never realized that Larry had such a good singing voice. He loved being in chorus and was getting ready for the Christmas concert at Von. A few weeks before the concert Larry told me that all the boys had to buy suits to wear for the concert. I was not a working mom and we were struggling to provide Christmas gifts for our five kids so the thought of buying this $125 suit for a 14 year old kid was traumatizing for me. Mr. Lennon had selected a suit from a certain mens store and he wanted all the boys to wear the same suit. So we eventually bit the bullet and ordered Larrys suit. It was kind of a shiny gray fabric double breasted suit , definitely not what we would have chosen, but...you do what you have to do for your kids. The suit required a lot of alterations because Larry was small for his age and we had waited so long they were out of small sizes. Finally the suit was finished and the night of the concert arrived. Our whole family went, all the kids and grandma. The auditorium was packed, the stage was filled with pointsettas and Christmas was in the air. First the freshmen chorus sang and I was amazed at how beautifully they sang. Then the girls chorus in red satin formal dresses sang and again the performance was incredible. Finally the curtains opened and the stage was full of boys, dressed in their sharp grey suits. I dont know how many kids were actually in the choir but it seemed like hundreds - all dark complected except for Larry who stood in the front row with his fair skin, and light blond hair looking as if a spotlight was shining on him. (It wasnt. ) A murmer rose up in the crowd and I realized that it wasnt just his good voice that got him invited to join the choir. Well, the chorus sang beautifully... classic Christmas music, hymns, and gospel music that I had never heard before. The choir would sing and one of the boys would raise his hand and the choir would part and the boy would come to the front of the stage and sing as the Spirit moved him. Then another boy would do the same thing. Somehow the chorus knew how to sing along and it was quite a performance. Id never witnessed that type of singing before. It was incredible. Finally the chorus took their final bows and the audience jumped to their feet applauding. Mr. Lennon decided that they would sing an oncore. He leaned towards the kids whispering what song they would sing and all the kids leaned forward to hear what he had selected. Then they started singing. If my memory is correct it was I believe in Music. They sang several verses and then they started doing a little dance step, just a little sway with a dip to one side in rhythm with the music. Every one was swaying in rhythm except Larry who was in the front row and couldnt see what the other kids were doing. ( We learned later the he was probably the only freshman in the choir and had not sung that song before as it was from a concert the previous year.) He stood there stock still as the rest of the choir moved in time to the music. A murmer rose up in the crowd, not only was he the only white kid in the choir he had no rhythm. Mr. Lennon leaned forward towards Larry, Larry leaned towards Mr. Lennon. Mr. Lennon used his finger pointing back and forth to get Larry to sway. I remember sinking further down in my seat, praying ,Sway, Larry, sway. Larry finally jerked in the wrong direction and a giggle rose up from the crowd. Mr. Lennon kept moving closer and closer to Larry, his finger moving back and forth in rhythm to the music. Im sure he was talking to Larry, and finally Larry got it right and the crowd started applauding. After the concert we waited in the hall for Larry. He came out quite flustered, I dont want to talk about it, I dont want to talk about it.. It was one of those times when you couldnt help laughing. Every few minutes one of us would start to giggle and wed all crack up. Larry didnt think it was that funny but he did tell us that the other kids called him the candle because he glowed in the dark. Im sorry, Larry, but this will always be one of my most favorite Christmas memories. I love you and I loved Mr. Lennons concerts. Mom
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 20:50:40 +0000
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