Best of Intentions

I have to write about what happened tonight if only for my own record and entertainment. 

But first, a precursor.......

We have 36 Summer Citizens here this summer, most with whom I discuss the LDS church and related topics with quite often (all of them are of other denominations).  Many of them enjoy listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so when it was announced in church a month ago that the Mo Tab's Pioneer Day/Patriotic Concert would be broadcast at our Stake Center I thought it would be a great idea to invite our tenants.

I announced it in a tenant meeting the following week.  I made sure to get the event information for the apartment bulletin board:  June 23rd, 7:00 pm.  I included other helpful information such as, "church attire requested but not required (shirt & tie/dresses)" (defining "church attire" is necessary for anyone unfamiliar with the LDS church) and "If you'd prefer a cushioned seat, please arrive 20-30 minutes early" (because heaven knows senior citizens would rather be in the chapel pews than the overflow). 

I had many tenants talk to me about the broadcast during the following weeks.  Most were concerned about the church attire because they didn't include shirts & ties or dresses in their wardrobe for the summer.  I reassured them that they could wear whatever they had- -I just wanted them to understand how everyone else would be dressed so that they didn't feel uncomfortable wearing whatever they wore- -regardless of what they wore they were still welcome.  They were satisfied with that.

So tonight was the night.  Tyson planned to stay home with Teryn so he could get him to bed while I joined our tenants at the broadcast.  6:30 rolled around and there was a knock at our door.  It was Gwen from #58 asking for verification of the church address because they had just driven to the address on the bulletin board and there was no one there.  Hmmm.  Weird.  I asked her to wait a minute while I threw my skirt on.  I jumped in with her and John and we headed back to the church.  Just behind us was another one of our couples from #62, Joan and Lefty. 

All were dressed very nicely just as recommended.  Keep that in mind.

We pulled up to the church and sure enough the parking lot was empty.  Well, I knew it was the right place, the right date, and the right time, so we hopped out and approached the doors.  They were locked.  Nice!  So I called a friend of mine who's husband is in the bishopric to confirm I wasn't crazy.  She didn't answer, but while the phone was ringing another car pulled in to the parking lot.  A man wearing a short sleeve button-up plaid shirt, shorts, and sandals got out and started walking toward us.  John looked at me smiling and asked, "I thought we couldn't wear shorts?"  Nice!  The man came with his key and let us in.  

We walked in to the quiet, desolate chapel and chose the most desirable seats.  After sitting down they joked with me about the "arrive 20-30 minutes early" thing.  I proceeded to tell them about "Mormon Standard Time" and predicted that maybe everyone else would start pouring in at about 6:57 pm.  The broadcast came up on the screen and the countdown to the concert was at 18 minutes or so.  Time passed.....we chatted.......more time passed.......we chatted some more.  The countdown got down to 3 minutes and there was still not a soul in the chapel.  Nice!  Jokingly, I laughed and told them, "little did you know I actually reserved this place just for us!" 

7:00 rolled around, the show began, and we were all alone!  Nice!!

The concert was incredible!  Some amazing music compilations and extraordinary performers.  Having the place to ourselves, we clapped after each performance and discussed what we thought throughout the show.  It turned out to be really low-key and comfortable for everyone.

The concert ended around 8:30 and we were all very satisfied.  It turned out to be quite the funny night for all of us.  Joan laughed and told me as she got in her car,
"I will never forget July 23rd, 2011." 

Me either =0)