Ring My Bell

The theme from Pirates of the Caribbean.

I went to church on Sunday....no, no, lightning did not strike. I saw a friend performing in a hand bell choir. I probably should have put in the SNL I Need More Cowbells with Christopher Walken, but alas, I could not find it on You Tube.

Twinkle twinkle little star was one of the first songs they performed by the little kindergarten kids. So cute. They sit at the long table with their color coded bells in front of them with their choir teacher in front of them with a large easel and a pointer. The notes are color coded to match their little bells. She starts her arm waving to get the rhythm going. Then with her handy pointer, she points to each note and then looks at the child who is supposed to whack their bell. If you listened carefully, you could hear her say each child's name.

"Twin..kle, twin...kle, lit...tle........wait for it....wait....wait...it's coming....star." Whew.

My brother and I are sitting in a pew , heads wagging up and down like human metronomes. We get into the rhythm, but waiting for the last note is killing us. The nice older people sitting behind us are cracking up.

Little boy in the green shirt with the big ears is not quite sure of the concept.

"Twin...kle, twin...kle, lit...le....nod....nod...wait....star."

They finish their little show and get a loud round of applause. The people behind tell us they were laughing because it was so funny to watch our heads go up and down, and then pause waiting for the final note. They were also cracking up because Lop (brother's friend) opened the box of cookies he brought for the church social afterwards and was passing them out. I needed a sugar rush, so I grabbed one. (A church social. Wow. I never thought I would be typing those words.)

The big kids were good but the adults were pretty cool. They have some big honkin' bells they play. And they actually whack the bells against a pad on the table for a different sound and they also use them like percussion instruments. Very cool sound. But their choir leader reminded me of every PTA president I have tried to forget. I was a PTA president but really it was a puppet presidency. My friend, Debbie, really ran the show. She had done it for 2 years and talked me into doing it. I keep looking but I'm not sure where the word sucker is printed on my body. If it wasn't for some of those wonderful women, I would have been in PTA prison for some infraction of the rules.

More cowbells anyone?