We Interrupt this Travelogue for a Story: a capella anthem

January 8, 2017 -- The little lady and I had a bit of a vacation today. We left the farm, got to the end of the road, and I was persuaded to turn left. We were headed north. Indianapolis. The state capital. Circle City. But first, some necessities.

Fuel. What's left in the tank won't get us there. I pulled into Chuckle's Convenience Store and Gas Station and got the fuel flowing. While the tank was filling, I went inside for a cup of coffee. I recalled it was Sunday, so I looked to my right. To my pleasure, there sat Joe Kremp with some friends. It's always good to see him and I got to say hello before we left town.

Our next stop was some more filling. JC said we shouldn't hit the road with empty stomachs. No telling where we'd find civilization again, I suppose.

We stopped at McDonald's and saw Rick Wirey. He greeted us and told us how surprised he was to see my mother at two consecutive high school basketball games. I didn't tell him this, but I was thinking my father may have been just as surprised.

Rick went on to describe ...

The A Capella Anthem

It was an impromptu affair. As we heard it told, Don Spillman was to flip a switch to play a recording of the national anthem on Friday night. There was no high school band at the game because school had been closed that day. There was a game, though because ... Indiana. It's what we do.

The Hatchet House: Home of Public High School Basketball in Washington, Indiana

So there Don was, with a flipped switch and no sound. The drill team was already on the floor and the colors were presented. What to do? Silence. There may have been some muttering under Don's breath at that point, but nothing his microphone picked up. No, the crowd heard silence ... and a little restless shuffling from one another.

From the very aptly named student Spirit Block came voices nearly lost in the large room, "O say, can you see ...?" A few more voices picked up the melody. The tune grew and swelled as the crowd joined in. "... last gleaming." By the time it got to rockets and glare, the entire arena was in full voice. Rick said most of them were in tune, too. He said it left goosebumps on his arms and raised the hair on his neck.

At the end of it all, there was exultation, high fives, and congratulations. We don't need no recording, by golly. That's our song!

I liked that story. I liked it so much I'm stopping right here. We'll pick this trevelogue in a separate post.