MTC Tour Day 6: Berkeley? Really?
June 23rd, San Francisco, CA
Berkeley, California? In the middle of the Pride Festival? What were they thinking?
Honestly, I expected someone to expectorate on me or throw things at me. (I.e., I expected to get stoned—and not in the “California” sense…) However, everyone was really nice to us. It was an outdoor venue. The weather was great. (It was hot during the rehearsal, but I was in the shade. Some members of the orchestra had to use parasols to protect themselves and their instruments.) But during the concert itself, the weather was fantastic. The audience was into it. They really enjoyed it.
Personally, though, I had a setback. Because of my problems during the last concert, I was not allowed to stand during the concert at all. I was on-stage in the second row. I sang. But I was not allowed to stand. Physically, the concert was very easy. No pain at all. Emotionally, I felt disconnected and discouraged. I hope this isn’t going to be the pattern for the rest of the tour. However, one of the great lessons of the Choir is that we do what we are told to do. We serve where we are allowed to serve. “What e’er thou art, act well thy part.”
Berkeley is an interesting town, especially compared with San Francisco. It looked very NORMAL for an older college town. Older houses, a 7-11 (covered with ivy). Lots and lots of fraternity houses.
However, as we passed under a bridge, I saw a beautiful playground (complete with swings and slides) on one side of the road. It was completely EMPTY. Deserted. Across the road was a long, semi-permanent-looking homeless camp. I wonder if there is a connection here…
Now, we are back in our lovely hotel room. We ordered pizza delivered. A medium pizza with 5 toppings. $35. Not kidding. Obviously, it wasn’t Dominoes…
Oh, and last night in our room, we watched Rowan Atkinson in “Johnny English: Reborn”. I didn’t think the first one was all that great, but this one was HILARIOUS. A sequel comes out this year. I can’t wait.
One last thing. At dinner, the Choir and Orchestra was served (among other tasty things) a KALE salad. Sorry, to all you kale-fanatics out there, but it doesn’t matter what dressing you put on kale—it will still taste AWFUL. Honestly, if God wanted us to eat kale, He would have made it taste good. To whomever came up with the idea of eating kale, there may very well be an especially dark place in… Well, you get the idea.
Tomorrow is Sunday. I LOVE Choir sacrament meetings!
