Tour '02 Update #3
09/10/02Written by Tom Troyer
Ok, this time we're going to have less writing and more pictures. So last Friday night we left the concert and headed for the SMBI reunion to join up with David again. We got there pretty late at night, but there was still plenty of people up. We eventually got to bed, and didn't get up the next morning until we wanted to. That's traditionally pretty rare on quartet trips. Konrad usually makes us get up really early for whatever reason, it's almost always before noon! Unbelievable.
We're so dedicated we even work through lunch!
So we got up the next morning, or maybe I should say the next day, and me and Kon and By headed off to the local town tourist attractions, go-kart tracks and mini golf courses!
Maybe a friendly discussion over the scorekeeping?
We came back to the reunion in time for a supper of barbecued chicken!
After supper, we joined all the SMBI students around the campfire for a time of deep sharing. We sang a few songs, they sang a few songs as a chorus, David's quartet that formed for that chorus tour sang a few songs, other miscellaneous groups sang a few songs.
David sang tenor in this quartet.
The next morning, Sunday, the SMBI Reunion Chorus had a program at Sharon Mennonite Church. This was in the heart of Amish country, and we got to the church a little late and parked in about the last available space. Later that afternoon there was some other function at the church, and some Amish started pulling in the driveway.
That's when we realized that we'd parked right in front of the hitching post!
More buggies were pulling in, so I moved the car.
I never knew buggies had keys!
So David said goodbye to all the reunion students and we took off for our program that evening. We went to Dalton, OH, where our friend Brian Strubhar had arranged for us to sing. That night Don Showalter and his wife came to hear us, it was good to see them. We first met Don maybe four years or so ago when he was principal at Fairview Christian School in Albany, OR, and we sang for their chapel service. We also met the John Glick family and enjoyed visiting with them.
The next morning Brian took us over to his employer's place to fulfill a dream of David's.
 |
 |
|
Brian's boss owned a Viper. |
|
There goes David, his life now complete. We didn't know if he would come back or not!
I didn't do it!
Ok, I think I could get pretty used to this.
After we were finished giving Brian's boss a heart attack, we left with Brian for Ft. Wayne, IN. Earlier this year the Strubhars had introduced us to their friends the Keith Asbury family. Keith pastors First Pilgrim Holiness Church in Ft. Wayne, and had invited us to sing there. We really enjoyed being with him and his family and had a good service in his church. Afterwards he introduced us to the Steak n Shake restaurant! I think that was the start of a long term relationship.
Running up Keith's phone bill triple time.
The next morning we went to town. We had plenty of time to burn, so we went to Wal-Mart, then while driving around we saw a Corvette Museum! We ate at Steak n Shake again, then headed to the museum.
David was in heaven again!
We all enjoyed the Corvette Museum, not just David. The guide even took us into the shop in the back.
Since the overwhelming theme of this update seems to be modes of transportation, I'll explain our advanced environmentally-equalizing temperature control system in our own quartet mode of transportation.
See that silver vent tubing?
It's our rear air conditioning. We've been in extremely excessive temperatures this whole trip, and the guys in the front are always ready for the AC to be turned down before the guys in the back.
I thought I'd explain it, most people see that silver vent and laugh! Hard to believe. If they spent as much time as we do in there they probably wouldn't laugh quite so much!
Well I think I'm going to stop with this right now and send it. Tonight (9-12) I recorded our entire concert, I may be posting some mp3's from it on the website soon.
I'm glad we're not traveling in one of these. I'm not sure where we'd hook up our rear AC vent!