[Magdalen] A great sadness

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

It is something that happens to all of us.  This year I decided to drop out
of the excellent choir I have been in for many years. The time was right.
I was no longer absolutely confident of my nailing the music.

It was a good run, but I am not a s young as I used to be.  On one hand, it
is heartbreaking to leave this excellent group, but on the other hand, I'm
not doing any favors for music by staying on past quitting time.  I think I
always figured I could get in "one more season."  Well, that one more
season is now past, and it's time to let a younger guy hit the very low
notes...

The cold breath of death chills the back of my neck.  But since there's
nothing one can do about it, there's really no point in fretting.



James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 9:04 PM, Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Last evening at Marions rehearsal, Tony, our director for 20 years, told
> us that he and his wife are retiring to Nanaimo, BC, and this is his last
> season with us.  Realistically, this will be the end of the Marion Singers,
> the eponymous /a capella/ chamber choir. More than a singing group, we are
> a tight bunch of friends who have loved making music together.  And over 20
> years of monthly concerts we have been the means by which many churches
> have raised money for whatever, because we sing at zero cost to the host
> asking only for water or a light snack to sustain us while they sell the
> tickets and do publicity for their own gain.
>
> We're not getting any younger and we've had a good run, but what a
> terrible loss it will be to me personally after these 25 years of singing
> really good stuff with really good friends.  :-(((( Another page turning in
> my ever-changing story.  Onward and upward.
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>