Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Last week I was in Green Bay again, a week after the famous Favre gift. At this conference, mainly education devoted to the administrators of senior living facilities, they had an American Idol contest. Actually what it was was a demonstration of a sound system being marketed for the senior living environment. It was a glorified karaoke. (Vendors of services and products aimed at the senior population sponsor the whole conference. We were there as designers of senior living communities)

When someone sang Elvis, actual clips of The King were shown afterward, a few moments that truly would enamor the senior population. When a gentleman sang Frank Sinatra, he opted to sing along with Frank rather than solo with just instrumentation. The Chicken Dance was played complete with a video showing the movements, and Lawrence Welk himself showed up in a clip of another golden oldie. It was a cool system and a VERY large projection screen.

When I sang, I sang Judy Garland's Somewhere Over the Rainbow. No movie. No Dorothy. Just me. It was low, and it was s-l-o-w, but it went well, and I won $300 cash in second place. Another amazing gift.

The next day I had my moments of fame when people congratulated me. The best was during a morning session. Behind me sat a group of five nuns, one of whom tapped me on the shoulder. "We all thought you should have won," she said, "We prayed you would."

That cracked me up and still makes me smile. The Sisters liked me. What more do I need?