ISLAND CITY CHORUS

GREATER MONTREAL CHAPTER

SPEBSQSA Inc.

The Little Chorus that could!

MINI PITCH

Date: July 28, 2003

We have a couple of issues that are facing the Chapter. We need to grow, and we need to feel comfortable with what we are doing as a Chapter and as a Chorus.

When we joined together in 1996, it was to raise the level of singing in Montreal; to be a high quality singing organization where men who wanted to sing barbershop in good quality would find a home.

We wanted to learn new music on a regular basis, so that we would be adding an average of 10 new songs to our repertoire every year. We would likely retire an equal number, but the idea was to always be learning.

My question to you is, "Is this still what you want?" Those who have joined us since then can say whether that is an exciting option for them.

For me, it is the direction we must follow. If we continue to sing the same songs every week, we will start to see empty places on the risers. We need to have that healthy balance of adding the new at a high level, and honing the old to an even higher level.

We have a Director that can take us to the top. Let's show him what we can do.

July 20 : (Jim Henry) Hi everybody. Rob’s doctor put a call in to M. D. Anderson Cancer Hospital a couple days ago. It is the number one cancer facility in the country, and we were hoping they might have some ideas for treatment options that none of us knew about. Unfortunately the person with whom Rob’s doctor spoke didn’t offer any new hope. Rob’s performance rating (how his body is dealing with the cancer) is extremely low, as evidenced by the clotting in his legs (even though that appears to have gone down a bit), his loss of appetite, his various body chemistry abnormalities, the further spread of his cancer, and the fact that he has been bed ridden for nearly three weeks now. In short, his cancer is laughing at the chemotherapy regimen he is on, and his weakened condition renders him ineligible for and/or incapable of accepting experimental treatments or more potent forms of chemotherapy. We’ve gotten some helpful leads from many barbershop friends (most recently our dear friend, Bill Cain, bass of the legendary Suntones, who himself has been dealing with cancer and I’m sure would welcome all prayers on his behalf as well) on natural treatments that build the immune system. I’m going to order those and try to convince Rob to try them. Of course we would be ecstatic if they would help, or even better if God would just decide to go ahead and heal him outright. But until that time, our conversation is now turning to what can be done to perhaps bring Rob home from the hospital and make him happy and comfortable for whatever amount of time he has left with us. As any of you who know him would expect, Rob is taking this news with amazing bravery, strength, and dignity. I have always been proud to have Rob for a big brother, but I have never been more in awe of him than I am now. He has told me that one of the blessings that has come from this situation is that it has afforded him the opportunity to heal all his relationships on earth and in heaven. It has brought us all closer to one another, and it has renewed and strengthened his personal walk with Jesus. May we all learn from Rob’s example.

As usual there are far too many people to thank. But I want to use this forum to particularly express our gratitude to the forty Ambassadors of Harmony guys and their families who, led by new Ambassador Eric Drennen, descended on Rob’s house this past Saturday to attack all the chores that needed doing. In a matter of hours Rob’s entire deck was stained, the area under the deck was cleared of weeds and replaced by new sod and a rock bed, a dead tree was chopped down and uprooted, a ceiling fan was installed, the ice maker in his freezer was repaired, an old television antenna was taken down and disposed of, an alarm system was installed on his sliding glass door, and new latches were put on his backyard gates (the latter two projects were mandated by the county pool inspectors). And yet we still found time to partake in the delicious food everybody brought, swim in the pool, and sing a few choice tags. (I’m sure pictures will soon be posted at www.aoh.org and/or www.gashousegang.com.) What a blessing to be associated with people whose love of music is eclipsed only by their love for one another!

Rob sure has appreciated all your cards and e-mails, so please keep writing:

Address: 101 El Caballo
St. Peters, MO 63376

E-mail: getwell@gashousegang.com

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein."

"Lead your life so you won't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself."

"When it comes time to die...make sure all you got to do is die."

"You don't have to attend every argument you're invited to."

"Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily."

"A mistake not corrected is another mistake."

"Where will you spend eternity?

1. Here c) hell
2. Heaven d) not sure

Quartetting songs for this week: Sixteen Tons and Steppin' Out.

Repertoire: Overture, Witchcraft, You'll Never Walk Alone, Star Spangled Banner, O Canada, Hello Mary Lou, Roses of Picardy, (Sectional) Summertime, (Choreo) Sixteen Tons, Orange Coloured Sky. [Morgan directing]

Practice is something we do at home, every day, between rehearsals!

Rehearsal is where we reinforce what we have been practising every day!