Monday, July 9, 2007

Singing for Freedom

The previous post captured some of the images from our singing engagement at Petco Park. It was a great experience and the feeling of pride while walking on to the field to sing the National Anthem at a major league event is definitely one for the memoirs. I went to lunch with Norman, Alberto, Lyle and Mito and then drove down to the park at call time. As we approached the stadium we met the protesters. Individuals with red shirts with the slogan "Save our Kids" on them. You are always going to have narrow minded individuals so that part didn't bother me so much, what did bother me was to see them teaching their children to hate and discriminate. To see preteens handing out the information was appalling.

The great thing is the protesters were definitely in the minority and I am so grateful for the support that we were shown and the applause of the crowd. I am personally grateful and feel blessed to have so many amazing friends and family who sent me e-mails of encouragement and let me know how proud they were of what I was doing. It's funny how the most encouraging support can come from the most unexpected places. My sister Lynn called to wish me all best (which I totally expected) and then my brother in law Jeff got on the line and wished me well. In his stereotypical NY fashion he stated, "I don't know much about that lifestyle, but you got balls to stand up for yourself and I'm proud of you". If you don't get the idea of how that felt ~ picture Tony Soprano having an unexpected tender moment.

Even without the hoopla of protesters and supporters, singing behind second base at a national game would have been an amazing experience and I am thankful to have been part of such an exciting event.

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