Wonderful Words of Life

Friday, February 8, 2013

Back in the Day

Some of you know that I grew up in a southern gospel music ministry.  My family, known as The Dunsmores, traveled all over the eastern U.S. singing in all kinds of diverse venues. One common venue for southern gospel singings was a high school auditorium.  I wrote this short story of a night spent doing what our family did every weekend, in a high school auditorium.  Enjoy...
The stage was made of old hardwood.  It smelled old.  It had character, though, from many years and many feet that had passed along its surface.  I wondered how old this high school wsa, what year it was built, and how many students had stood on this stage and performed in a play, or won a spelling bee.  Suddenly, my wondering thoughts were disrupted by my Dad whispering in my ear, "One more song and we're on".  I looked at the drummer who was on stage now, and winced as I realized how much rearranging of the drums was needed for me to be able to reach them all enough to play them.  The song was ending.  It was time.  I looked behind me to make sure the band was all there. Yep,there they stood cracking jokes as usual.  Five guys, four of them my cousins, three of them my age, still in our teens.  They were whispering and scheming about putting on roller skates they had found in the band room behind the stage. Greg played bass, Jerry played rhythm guitar, Bill (Pig) played keyboard, and Mark played lead guitar, banjo, dobro, steel, and any other musical instrument he picked up.  He was phenomenally talented.  Barney, the non-cousin, sang bass.
As we walked onto the stage the small crowd politely applauded.  The auditorium was a bit over half-full.  In this small town high school auditorium, we were singing to about four hundred people, a third of which were other groups and their families & friends. I tried my best to remember what it was like when The Dunsmores sang in front of packed auditoriums, but I was too young back then to remember any of it now.  I just have the stories and newspaper articles to aid my memory.  Those were the glory days of true southern gospel music, performed by true God-fearing, Jesus-loving, folks who had a calling to go out and share the good news of Jesus with the world. My family fell into that category, but music industry had moved on, and it was now all about how much product was sold. Like Dad always said, "I don't care if it's twenty people or twenty thousand, we give them our best, that's why we practice every week". 
The first song was fast, so it was hard to play and pull the drums in at the same time. I missed a beat or two, but managed to get the drums back in order.  By the end of the set the crowd was on their feet, some applauding, some "Amen"ing, and some praising the Lord. 
The four hour trip home was comical, as always. My cousin, Mark, stood in the front of the bus and provided standup comic relief with his impersonations. My face hurt after a few minutes from laughing so hard.  Even Dad laughed,and he usually doesn't laugh when he's driving. Jerry and Greg were arguing over a girl they'd met at the record table.  They couldn't remember her name, but she had given Jerry her phone number. Greg was fuming. Meanwhile, Barney was sitting on the couch in the back of the bus,already snoring, with his head cocked back and mouth wide open while drool dripped down the side of his chin. PIg walked back there to change, saw Barney snoring, and immedialely yelled to Greg and Jerry to "Get Mark", meaning that a practical joke was soon to be played.  Mark stopped in the middle of his impersonation of Dad singing, "Home is so much more than winders, walls and doors" when he saw the mischievious grin on Jerry's face.  He grabbed his shaving kit from his bag and squirted some on his hand.  They all four applied some of it to Barney's nose, hands, and bare feet.  They then took his tie and tickled his nose with it.  Barney jumped, yelled, and sneezed all a the same time.  Shaving cream and snot flew in all directions.  "Barney!! You ruined my new Bachrach's shirt! I paid $100 for this shirt", yelled Greg.  "It sure didn't get you that girl's phone number tonight, now,did it", Pig joked. Greg again started fuming.  Barney started laughing, in his notorious, "Hya hya hya" bass voice.  Nothing could make him mad.  He laughed at everything, even with shaving cream all over his face, hands, and toes.  Mark just stood their grinning, satisfied with his practical joke handiwork.
Oh how I miss the good ol days.