Date of posting: December 02, 2007
At a little over half way through a young man came onto the stage waiving the flag. Everyone maintained their seats as though this was nothing out of the ordinary.
So I got to my feet, took my hat off and put my hand over my heart. Then I motioned for everyone else to do stand in respect. I stood up so and they in like manner. Starting from where I was, everyone arose from their seats as a great wave over the audience and the show ended with everyone standing and giving their respects to Old Glory.
Several sitting adjacent thanked me for doing what I had done.
From his vantage in the orchestra, my friend Scott Hancock noticed how the people had stood, how the phenomenon had started from one place and had spread, and wondered just what happened. Scott said that the musicians were gratified that everyone had stood and he would have liked to hear a bit more cheering. Yes, he thinks it would be great for the audience to cheer Old Glory during their performance.
There was a very special treat as the concert had featured my friend Scott Hancock who brilliantly played a Mozart solo. This alone was worth the effort of going all by itself.
There was a baby crying during part of the solo. Scott did not allow this to disturb his performance in the least. Goes to show that life can ebb and flow around us in it’s normal chaotic manner while we make our day to day contribution to the culture.
“The Stars and Stripes Forever” has a stirring piccolo part which came through clear and crisp. Guess who played this too.
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