Travel Tips

My wife, my daughter and I had traveled and sang with the VA-NMMG (Ok here is a "mouthful", The VA-National Medical Musical Group. Some doctors, dentist, nurses, Med' Tech's and other related, assorted, associated health care personnel who also like to "make music".) In 1996 we were to give our Veterans Day Concert in San Francisco's Davis Symphony Hall. One of our soloists was "snowed" in in Cleveland, Ohio and did not get the music she needed from the group, before arriving to sing in the concert. She was not familiar with an added piece, "On Eagles Wings". My sixteen year old daughter had sung the piece the year before in our Veterans Day concert in the chapel of Hotel des Invalide in Paris. So the chance of a life time fell in her lap when she was asked to sing that in place of our "Billed" performer before TV cameras and audience of 6000 people!
What greater joy for a parent than to see that you have "passed on" a talent and some measure of "joy and satisfaction" to your children.

In 1993 we had toured Cardiff, Wales and London, England. One of the "highlights" of that trip was a concet in Wesminster Cathedral (not the Abby!) in London. Strangely enough father and daughter end up standing in "rank" with each other for the concert.

In San Francisco, not only had my daughter had the chance to sing a solo, I was asked to fill in as the "back stage announcer" to introduce our host for the perfomance. (That lead to some "inside" jokes about it being the "Lee and Heather Show from San Francisco"). I am still touring with the group and interesting oppertunities still arise from time to time. We gave a Vetereans Day concert in St. Andrews Cathedral in Honolul, Hawaii in November 2003. Again I was asked to introduce our "host and Hostess" for the concert, only this time it was not Art Linkletter but instead Miss America 2000, Angela Perez Baraquio. Not that I have anything against Mr. Linkletter, but...
Angela was very gracious and accepted my request for a pictrue with her. Upon hearing that that day was my birthday she very kindly added a congratulatory hug! Ah, yes, that song in my heart is a "joyful noise" even if others can't hear it!

Our group had arranged a tour to the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, due to some uncetainty and confusion about the arrangements we had NOT realized that our interest in performing a short concert at the memorial was "not acceptable" nor approved. So..., we proceeded to do what we had planed to do, only to hear that we were NOT supposed to have done it! The National Park Servicce was NOT pleased even as our leadship expounded on our "good intentions". (Some of us wondered if the Park Service felt we were "subversives" because we sang the National Anthem and the Navy Hymn.) As my Grandmother used to say, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions". The Park Service seemed to have some "hand baskets" with our names on them.

In June 2004, with ALL our permissions, approvals and permits "in place", we gave the very first concert, by any group, at the World War II memorial on the National Mall. While it had not been "advertised" in advance, there were many visitors that day and it was very warmly received by those present, with MANY heartfelt thanks offered by visiting veterans and their families.