Sweetheart
In honor of Valentine's day (and to take our minds off of the potential surgery today), I would like to ask you all to post your favorite stories of Mom. Little snippets, zingers and anecdotes. It will help us all to remember why we mustn't tire or lose hope. As Roland said last night when a dear friend commented on our steadfast resolve to pull through this together, "Well, geez, Pam is just so extraordinary. What else are we to do?"
So please, your stories to help us pass the hours-
j
So please, your stories to help us pass the hours-
j
posted by Jacqui at 8:08 AM
4 Comments:
Hello everyone....it just sounds better and better every day. We we're part of the BCC family, in the boys' choir (new last year) and yet Pam made an effort to know Sam and me by name. We saw her many times last summer when Sam went to Camp Vandy at the Student Rec Center and she made us feel like we were really part of the team. Thank you for keeping us informed...this blog is a great idea!!
I plan on stopping in and giving you all hugs on Friday...going to LA to visit my Lisa, who visited you that first Saturday.
To Pam and all her family and friends:
Know that you all are being prayed for constantly. I was amazed to see all the pictures, since I had last seen Jacqui and Brian in 1897 when Pam and I and our classmates graduated from Scarritt. And now Jacqui is a doctor. WOW! Thank you for the journal and keeping us informed of this amazing journey. I pray that each day will show hope and healing!
I have so many memories of Mrs. Schneller... but here is just one. When I first started singing with BCC concert chorus (like 4 years ago), I was so quiet and so nervous all the time because I was the youngest one there, and I was always so afraid to make a mistake. There were also 6 or 7 seniors that year, and that made me feel even younger... I think I was 12. When we were learning a new piece, she called on people to clap and sing difficult rhythms and phrases, and I would always get so scared that she would pick me. When she did, I got so nervous and I pushed my voice and turned 5 different shades of red and everyone could tell by just listening that I was scared... and she would always have to stop me and say, "Charlotte, just relax!!" At the time, I hated when she called on me... and sometimes I still do... but she stretched me and forced me to become a better sight reader by making me do that, and now I'm glad she made me sing the hard stuff.
We had another practice again tonight... wow, I missed her!!! I want her to come home soooooo bad!!
Charlotte
This one from Rhonda:
I have not proven to be a
blogger, though I've tried several times it tells me that that name is
already used or something is unavailable or doesn't match. I may have
to consult my 17-year old (again....). Your site is really challenging
some of us who work in other ways. So it was so sweet to hear of your
deluge of mail. Baptist Hospital (where I work) is only licensed for
700 beds and staffs about 450, so trying to imagine the complexity that
has developed at USC (800 staffed beds and licensed for 1300 - according
to their website) helps me understand the size you're dealing with.
Even here, our mail room was relocated to a totally safe location at the
time of the anthrax scares. I can only imagine where the mail room is
there....
Your updates have been incredible! Thank you, thank you for sharing
all of yourselves with us.
So here's my Pam story... we met when the organist at Andrew Price was
taking a Sunday off (this was in the late 80's). I was substituting and
jumping from church to church, filling in and enjoying the freedom. I
remember a few intense conversations (me sitting on the organ bench at
AP, Roland or Pam sitting on the carpet next to me) about Brahms
interpretation or subtleties of hymn playing. Pam and I became lunch
friends... enjoying seeing each other and working together when we
could. Ate a restaurants that aren't there anymore.... no one drinks
more coffee with lunch than Pam does! (the vegetable plate and
coffee.... how does that balance?) When the bench became vacant at
APrice, she knew what was going on in my life (it's that mind-reading
thing she does...) and my toddler was just part of the mix.
Of course, I'm at First Pres because she called me one day... knew I
wasn't happy where I was and picked up the phone. OK, she needed an
organist, too.... Her support, encouragement and positive thinking took
me places I wasn't sure I could go on my own. I've always said that Pam
can pull from a choral group things that they don't know they can give.
It's always been amazing to watch her work and wonderful to sing for
her. I love the expressiveness of her hands and the way she uses her
face to convey the essence of the piece she's conducting.
I remember the Hardison wedding at First Pres - turned out to be a
musical extravaganza.... brass, the choir, a commissioned piece. Pam
even did a drawing of the sanctuary (little pews and everything) to map
out how the bridesmaids would process so that everyone was in the right
place at the right time. Two zillion phone calls went into that
wedding, and she took it all in stride (or seemed to....!). She's also
given me advice on raising teenagers (taken from her adventures with you
and Brian?), and I know now that she speaks the truth!!
Sending you hugs and best wishes - hoping for another good day.
Rhonda
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