End of a Magnifcent Weekend and Summer

Wow!  What a great ending to a great summer!  Last night capped off what was one of the most exciting weekends ever.  No, I didn't make it to the Labor Day sales at the mall, nor did I make it to rodeo weekend in Elk City.  I helped to dedicate a building and performed with our church chorale in Mendelssohn's Elijah! We took some friends to Oklahoma City to sight see and eat.  Finally, we attended the wedding of a great young couple.

 Armstrong Auditorium

To say that I helped dedicate a building is all at once an overstatement and a gross understatement.  By helping I mean to say that the same chorale union that performed Elijah, also performed for the dedication.  This "building" is a grand performing arts auditorium patterned after Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, California.  It is named Armstrong Auditorium, after the late Herbert W. Armstrong.  Words simply cannot express the majesty and beauty of this place and pictures do not do it justice.  That's not to say that there weren't plenty of pictures taken and words spoken.  To cap off the dedication weekend we were privileged to have Sir David Wynne, famed British sculptor, unveil his Swans in Flight sculpture at the auditorium.  He began the weekend by giving a forum about his working and personal relationships with Mr. Armstrong.  He is quite a great man.

Grandeur

Sir David Wynne

Swans In Flight

The Elijah concert was a hit.  We heard from many in the community about how wonderful the performance was' as well as how beautiful the building was.  It was truly a moving experience to be a part of such a great work, in such an awe inspiring place.  We all wore white and a man from California provided even more drama with stage lighting.  When the "fire descended from heaven" we were lit up in glowing and flickering red and yellow and when it was a "still small voice" we had a calming blue.  It just added that much more to the drama of the story of Elijah.

Just us!

Probably the most fun we had was in taking a group of friends to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill and for a walk around Bricktown in Oklahoma City. There are nicer restaurants in the area, but none that say "Oklahoma!" in quite the same way.  This group of friends was made up of 10 from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, a lady from Houston, and the three of us.  Most of them had never been to any place like Toby Keith's.  They were amazed by its size not to mention the size of the portions.  We ordered calf fries, but only got one of them to try them.  I have to admit that in all my *COUGH* 40 years, I had never tried them either.  Well I went for it.  Okay, if you can get past the mental part of it, they are good.  Only two of our Trinidad friends would try them, but they all got a good laugh at each other's expense.  Whether is was for the faces made or a lack of adventurous spirit, everyone was included in the teasing.

Toby Keith's

Elijah (not the one the oratorio is about), Jeff, and Thomas

The wedding we attended was just beautiful.  All the decorating needed was a couple of white flower arrangements.  The hall is truly that beautiful.  Their reception was held on the grand mall in front of our newly unveiled sculpture.  Other than the Oklahoma wind, it was a great reception ending with all the guests sending them off through a tunnel of sparklers.

The only bad part about this weekend was sending friends back home.  Our newest friend from Trinidad stayed with us for the weekend.  He was a great joy to have with us.  We can't wait to see them all again in a couple of weeks! I also took Jessica to the airport this morning.  It has been two months since she arrived and she had become even more like one of our own children while she was here.    She is an extremely hard worker and the landscape crew will miss her.  For one thing, I believe she is only one of three full time landscapers and there is still a lot to finish around the auditorium.  I have a feeling she may be back soon.

Tabitha and Jessica

Well, that's the long of it.  No sales, no rodeo, but a lot of awe and a lot of fun!  Now back to the grind.