What might have resulted in a cancellation of rehearsal on July 24th turned out to be a very pleasant practice session for the Ladybirds. It became apparent when the group arrived at their usual rehearsal place, Park Place United Methodist Church, that the “keeper of the key” was not present and had not given the key to anyone else so that we could get into the building.

As a group we pondered what we might do - try to reach a representative of the church, cancel practice, or sing in the parking lot; about that time, Betty Twigg said, “I could make a suggestion.” Then she said, “We could go back to my house and practice there.”

Moments later, we all car-pooled to Betty’s house and had a wonderful rehearsal. The evening was gorgeous - clear as a bell with comfortable temperature and a balmy breeze. Betty rounded up enough chairs for all of us, and we proceeded to prepare for the gig we have scheduled for Monday, July 28th at the St. George’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Savage.

We discussed the costume we would wear for that gig and the number of songs we might perform. We agreed to meet at Park Place to carpool to St. George’s Church on Monday evening (07/28) at 6:15 p.m. to set up the carpools and travel in caravan in time to arrive there by about 6:30 p.m. The costume, by the way, will be “white and bright.”

We used the program for our latest performance to select most of our songs for the St. George’s gig, shaving the program to the appropriate number for songs to provide about a half hour of music. We did a bit of trouble-shooting of problematic “snags” in certain songs and carefully rehearsed all the numbers to be used. At the same time, we enjoyed each other’s company and the beautiful setting in Betty’s backyard and the lovely weather. We had been singing a while when we noticed a deer grazing in the backyard, eating grass and apples. She - it was a doe - almost seemed tame and lingered for a good while, as though she were enjoying the music and the food!

Ellie told the group that the daughter who hired us to sing for her mother’s 81st birthday party called her and effervesced over how wonderful she thought we were the day we performed at the Shrine Club for that party. She was thrilled with all our music, with our four-part harmony, and with the inclusion of all the special numbers she had requested that we perform. When Ellie thanked her profusely for “overpaying” us, the lady said, “You all were really worth the money. We were so pleased. Mother just loved everything, including the card from the Ladybirds. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime in the future.”

That report made everyone feel really good about our show and gave us even more incentive to make every program as satisfying to our audiences as the Shrine Club program was.

We all want to express our thanks to Betty Twigg for letting us use her home as our rehearsal spot for the evening. Everyone enjoyed themselves, sang well, and relaxed with their fellow singers. The practice was especially pleasant and productive, too! Thanks, Betty!