The cafeteria rang with excited voices. Our barbershop quartet, The Bell Tones was asked to perform at the local Home for the Blind in the next town. We, of course, were glad to entertain such a worthy group and immediately agreed . One wag joked, "Which uniform should we wear?" followed with, "Oh, that's right, they'll never notice." The others didn't respond to this, in fact, one said that we should wear the nicest outfit we had. A small stage was set up for us and a pretty decent P.A. system was donated for the occasion. The audience was made up of blind persons of every age, from the thirties to the nineties. Some sported sighted companions or nurses who stood or sat by their side, sharing the moment equally. I observed several German shepherds lying at their feet, adoration showing in their eyes as they wondered what was going on. After a short introduction in which we identified ourselves, stating our voice part and a little about our livelihood, we began our program. Some songs were completely familiar and others, called "Oh, yeah" songs, only the chorus came to mind. We didn't mind at all that some sang along they enjoyed it so much. In fact, a popular part of our program is when the audience gets to sing some of the old favorites. The harmony parts were quite evident as they tried their voices to the different parts. I think there was more group singing in the old days than there is now, but to blind people, sound and music is more important. We received a big hand at the finale and were made to promise to return the following year. Everyone was treated to coffee and cake, our quartet going around to the different circles of friends to sing a favorite song up close and personal. As we approached a new group, one blind lady amazed me by turning to me saying, "You're the baritone, aren't you?" Previously no one had ever been able to tell which singer sang which part but this lady was listening with her whole heart. |
