This
weekend is one of those three day weekends that used to mean something
different than a chance for no work, going places and having fun. Today is the
Sunday part of that weekend and we walked the few blocks to the live broadcast
of Music and the Spoken Word held in the Tabernacle at Temple Square in Salt
Lake City.
We
were a little later than usual, not being able to get the mattress off our
backs. Not good on a holiday since many people head for this event each Sunday
but more on Memorial Day weekend. We were able to get in but our seats were way
in the back and behind a post. Seeing isn’t as important as listening
especially with the combination of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the
Tabernacle’s acoustics. Settled in we relaxed as we listened to the rehearsal
before the live show began. Every
available seat was taken and doors were shut while the audience hushed and the
broadcast began.
This
choir is always amazing but to hear them live, with a full orchestra in this
building is something you have to experience to believe. Off a bit to the right
I noticed a man next to the aisle one row up. He didn’t seem to fit with the
mostly well dressed folks in the audience. Even casual dressers are tidy and
clean. I first noticed his hair. It was
short but sticking up rather weirdly and I don’t mean fashionably weird but
unkempt weird. He had on white socks but they were badly soiled. He kept
picking something out of his hair. Ugh, I thought, poking Larry and whispering
“I think that is a street person.” The
man next to him, I noticed, was giving him a wide berth, not wanting to get too
close. I wondered why they even let him in the door.
I
became engrossed in the music and the program whose focus was, To the Fallen
Soldiers Let Us Sing. Yet, the man kept rubbing and picking at his head which
was distracting. I was glad it wasn’t me who was sitting beside him. As I watched him I began to feel more compassionately
toward him. I said a silent prayer for him because he obviously didn’t have a
good life.
The
choir’s next number on the program was Who Are the Brave? Tears began to roll
out of my eyes. Washing over me was a strong feeling that this soiled, unkempt
man was one of the brave! Silently I
wept through the rest of the program and as Larry can tell you, I am not one of
those crying woman types. I thought of the many that had gone to war and came
home changed forever, physically, mentally, emotionally. The glorious finale of
the program was Battle Hymn of the Republic. The man gently waved at the
choir. I grabbed Larry and almost
shouted in his ear, “He’s waving at the choir”.
Lloyd
Newell, the announcer, asked that those in the audience that had served their
country in the armed forces to please stand so they could be acknowledged. The
man stood and subtly waved at the choir again.
I thought about how Christ takes us in His arms and wipes away all our
tears when we leave this life and I knew He would do that for this man. He
would not care that the man was dirty and unkempt and not quite normal. As the program ended and as we stood up to
leave, Larry went over to the man, who was still sitting, shook his hand and
said, “Thank you” as did I. The man looked up at us, his face surprisingly
young, and said, “You’re welcome.” It
was not just another Memorial Day holiday this year. It was a holy day.