Music in the Parks tour, Day 3

The last day of our music tour started with another delicious breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast time got real interesting when people started recounting tales of what had happened the night before after we got back to the hotel from Lagoon. The hotel had hosted some sort of awesome party the night before that lots of adults came to. There was a bar on the main floor of the hotel, but the bar got so full, that they extended the party to outside. There were several people from our group (both kids and adults), that slept on the main floor, and the music from the bar kept one room of our group awake, but the outside party was the real eye-opener. Apparently, a portable dancing pole was set up in the outside area (and was very visible from several rooms' windows, both on the main floor and above it upstairs), and half-naked ladies were dancing on it until the wee hours of the morning, and loud, drunk people (paired with the sight of the dancers) kept several other rooms of our group up pretty late. Lots of the youth in our group had eye-opening experiences. Literally.

Anywho, after we ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel, we loaded the bus for Salt Lake City to attend a live session of Music and the Spoken Word in the tabernacle. I was looking forward to this event on the itinerary, because I've never heard the Mo-Tab choir live and in person before!

When we walked in, we sat as a group on several benches towards the back and watched the end of the rehearsal. I noticed that Darcy and Ammon weren't around, and after discovering that they had walked up closer to the front to sit, I moved and sat by them before the program started. 

Several of our group seated at the Tabernacle waiting for the show to start.

The speaker for the show introduced several international guests in the audience, then told the audience that they had to be extremely quiet during the production, as it is a live televised event. The video countdown began, then the choir and orchestra began singing/playing. I snapped this picture as they began, and about 15 seconds later, there was a blood-curdling scream. 

The sound came from a woman sitting in the row directly across from us to the right. The cameraman, who sat at the base of the large camera in the above photo, passed out. He fell off the platform that the camera was standing on, and landed directly onto the row of people behind it, hitting his head on the wooden bench in the process. The loud scream came from his wife who was sitting behind him to his right, and as he fell, she screamed in panic. It was such a horrible scream--the kind that gives you shivers, or makes you deathly afraid, or you know someone is in pain. It was so awful that the rest of our group who were sitting in the back thought that someone had been stabbed or shot or something like that. The weird thing was we had all just been told to be quiet; and then to suddenly hear this extremely loud, high-pitched, scream full of fear and pain was unreal and very unsettling. The program only lasted 30 minutes, and it NEVER stopped going. During that time, however, most of the audience's focus was not on the program, but rather, on what was happening to the cameraman:  the row of people that he landed on was cleared out, he was laid flat on the bench, his wife took over the camera for a few minutes until a different guy took over for her because she was just too emotional, personnel came down to check on him, they retrieved some kind of bag of medical supplies and 5 men hovered over him, then his wife sat by him and cried tears on his chest, then the EMT's came in with a gurney, and they scooted him to the end of the row, placed him on the gurney, asked him several questions in the aisle, took him out, and then there was just 5 minutes left in the program. I enjoyed one whole song at the end of the program: one song free of watching the drama unfold right across from me or feeling panic in my chest (due to the nature of the scream). 

It was all so strange. I couldn't wait to get out of that building. I felt trapped, and not being able to talk about what I felt (because we weren't allowed to talk since the show must go on) made it worse. I felt such horror at what had transpired, and I couldn't shake that on-edge feeling all day (again, due to the nature of the scream). When we walked outside after the program was over, my sister Tabbi was waiting for us. She lives and works in SLC, not far from Temple Square, so I texted her that morning to tell her that we were in town. She had just recently returned from Hawaii, and surprised us with some fun goodies from her trip. She also had this amazing lipstick she got from Hawaii. It's color is green from the eucalyptus plants it's made from, but when you apply it to your lips, it instantly turns your lips red and the longer it stays on, the redder your lips get. It was magical and I loved it!!

We walked/roamed around Temple Square for about 20 minutes before heading back to the bus. It was another nice, hot day. The bus driver wasn't there yet, so we waited in the shade of a single tree on a narrow strip of grass right next to where the bus was parked. It reminded me of a field of cows on a hot summer day--they all crowd into the shade, with a giant area around them completely vacant!

When the bus driver arrived, we were happy to start the drive back home. On the way, we stopped in Ogden at John's parents' home. His brother had recently returned from a mission, and they were having his homecoming and family get-together that day. His mom said she would gladly serve us all lunch if John could stop by so the whole family could be together for the first time in 3 years! And I'm thrilled that we did; I think it was exactly what we needed to rejuvenate our souls after the terror we felt that morning. We all enjoyed the lunch stop! The food was fantastic, the mood was peaceful, there was plenty of shade to sit in and eat, and everyone liked being able to relax and chat.

The original Anderson Family

The whole Anderson Family as it is now

The two Tolman's on the trip

Before we loaded up the bus {again}, the choir sang the a cappella song "Hide and Seek" for everyone. It was a lovely treat!

The bus ride home was not at all like the bus ride down two days prior. It was abuzz with sounds of life, of happiness, of fun. I had liked the quiet of the bus ride on Friday morning (I am not a morning person), but I equally liked the sounds of laughter and music emanating from the kids on the bus ride back home on Sunday evening, because it meant they were enjoying one another's company, which made the trip feel successful.

When we stopped for our last major pit-stop in Idaho Falls, my son got off the bus wearing a woman's dress. And truthfully, I couldn't have been prouder. I am glad that he felt comfortable enough to dress like that AND walk through a public gas station (even though it startled a little girl who saw him and she ran and clutched her mother's hands!!). I'm glad that he spent a lot of time with good friends on this trip, because they make him feel accepted for who he is. He's been around other friends this year that aren't like that, and it was refreshing to see my son be happy with himself, and exude confidence. Teenage years are hard, and it's harder when you feel like you have to fit a certain mold to be "cool" among your friends. These kids are not like that--the youth that we took on the trip are very open, accepting, good, strong kids, who aren't afraid to be themselves, and as a result, the goodness spreads to those who are around them. This trip was so wonderful for both Ammon and I, because we were surrounded with such high quality people!

The bus ride home was miserably hot, but I loved everything about it otherwise (well except for the stinky tuna and broccoli that John alternated between eating the whole time non-stop. Such a smelly combination! And since he sat right across from me, that's pretty much all I could smell).

My favorite memories of the trip include: watching the students unite, bowling with the ladies in Ogden, being at Lagoon with adults all day, laughing on every single ride at Lagoon, talking and laughing with Darcy on the bus, singing harmony with John on the bus ride home, and listening to John and Skyler serenade us at the front of the bus on the guitar. These last two pictures capture the essence of that strong memory. Many thanks to Mr. A for providing such wonderful opportunities like these for the students, because they improve the students' individual and collective talents, inspire cultural awareness, and promote feelings of unity and togetherness. This experience has also filled my mind and heart with memories of pure joy as a result of his efforts!