Roger Rymer, Roger, and I made good time on Interstate 80, sailing through Nebraska. There were hardly any cars on the road. I am amazed at the beauty of America. Every day we see a different landscape. And there is so much land!
We arrived in Norfolk around 4 p.m. The buses were at least an hour behind us. Though we needed to rehearse the Brahms Requiem, Roger said it could wait until tomorrow when the schedule was not so tight.
Our host, Gloria Adams came to get us at the Johnny Carson Theater. No, it is not like in New York. This is Johnny Carson’s Junior High School, and the auditorium is named after him.
Roger and I had a disagreement about the car. I wanted to take the car to our host home so I would have everything I needed close at hand. I had re-packed my costume into my big heavy suitcase. The suit bag I had been using was just that much more space needed in the trunk. With the Rymer’s luggage, I decided to consolidate and no longer use my separate small bags for every purpose.
But Roger McMurrin wanted to give Roger Rymer the car, because Roger R. would have to wait at the school for over an hour until the buses arrived. That way he could drive to a coffee shop or somewhere interesting.
So we loaded my big suitcase, my tote bag of toiletries, my computer bag, and an extra pair of shoes, because I couldn’t find my performance shoes, and I didn’t have time to look. It was only when I was in the shower at my host home washing my hair that I realized I didn’t have my curling iron, and with a brand new perm, I was going to look ridiculous going to the theater.
Roger Rymer had both keys to the car, and we found him at the sales tables, which were in chaos. The bus had been late, and so the crew was late setting up the materials. Meanwhile the audience was coming early and wanting to buy. He gave Roger McMurrin the key, who agreed to retrieve my curling iron from the back seat. Waiting in the reception area, I thought of throwing one of the Ukrainian scarves from the souvenir table over my head, but that would look too obvious.
When Roger returned with my curling iron, I headed for the ladies room. But I found no electrical outlets there. I certainly was not going to do this hair styling in the foyer area. Finally, I found the women’s dressing room where the orchestra and choir changed clothes. There was a chair, an outlet, and a large TV box with two slit-like holes in it. I propped the hand mirror into on of the holes, plugged in the curling iron, and sat in the chair. By scrunching down a little bit in the chair, I could see how I was curling my hair. In fifteen minutes, I was finished.
The concert began, and I tried to find some dinner. The KSOC was supposed to go to the First Presbyterian Church a few blocks away, for dinner. But they were too late, so the church scurried and brought the dinner to the school in electrical warmers. When I entered the cafeteria, I thanked the ladies and gentlemen for feeding our group, and asked if there was any left.
“They just took it out to the van,” said one lady, picking up a large wooden spoon. “But let’s see if they are still here, and we’ll get you something.” She handed me a paper plate, and the two of us went to the loading dock by the dumpsters. Yes, the van was still there, and they were cautiously moving the food cart down the ramp.
“There’s chicken, mashed potatoes, and sliced apples left,” the lady said.
“That’s enough for me,” I said. I carried my plate of food back to the cafeteria and ate in silence.
There was a good crowd at the concert. We delivered the concert with great energy, even though I know our people were tired. They always rise to the occasion to present their music well.
After the concert, Roger and I drove to our host home. I had lost the map they had given me, but after wandering around a few streets, we found our way. Norfolk is a town of 21,000 people. It’s hard to get lost.
We visited with Gloria and Gordon Adams. Gordon is a retired general surgeon, and he is also the mayor of Norfolk. We enjoyed each other’s company very much.
The next morning, Roger and I picked up Roger Rymer at the First Presbyterian Church, and said goodbye to the remaining Nebraskans who had worked to make this event so successful. The buses had already left. Brenda must have impressed on them, that we would not be an hour late again.
Roger Rymer loaded his luggage and climbed into the back seat. Roger McMurrin would begin the driving day. And I sat in my regular seat, reading the MAPSCO. “Turn right and go 1.2 miles,” I said to Roger. We were off for a five hour and 17 minutes drive to our next stop, Olathe, Kansas (near Kansas City).
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CHAPTER 26 - Olathe, KS
We arrived at the campus of MidAmerica Nazarene University around 3 pm. The concert would be at the Bell Cultural Event Performance Hall, a lovely building in Georgian Architecture. Its spacious lobby had a high ceiling, and around the top of the room in large letters were the words to the hymn “O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.” The walls were beautiful wooden paneling and the floors were polished marble. Did the students realize the elegance of their surroundings? What a beautiful campus!
When the buses arrived, the musicians gathered in the performance hall to spend an hour rehearsing the Brahms Requiem. They did not complain about this extra rehearsal. They wanted the Friday performance to be good.
The rehearsal ended at 4:30 and they were guided to the dining hall, which was a hungry man’s dream. There were four different stations where they could have dinner, or they could go to all four. At one station was Italian food, another Mexican food and salads, a third was baked ham (slice it as thick as you want, there’s plenty more!) and then there was the Mongolian Barbecue. Marcia and I selected that last one. We could choose our own vegetables from a large selection, put them in one bowl, get a second bowl to fill with rice, and then give it to the chefs, who would throw them on the grill with either chicken or beef, and stir-fry it for us. Then there were many sauces we could add.
The Ukrainians had been attracted to this unusual salad bar of peppers, mushrooms, water chestnuts, celery, grilled onions, broccoli, etc., but they didn’t know anything about the stir-fry. When they saw what Marcia and I were doing, they wanted it too. I explained in Russian how to do it, and to choose chicken or beef, and they smiled, having discovered something new to eat.
Afterwards, some of the guys got haircuts in their dressing room. They cut each other’s hair.
Roger was taking a nap in the parlor, and I brought him a paper plate of food. The concert was not until 7:30 so we had plenty of time. He was wet with perspiration from the Brahms rehearsal and had wrapped himself up in a blanket during the nap. I went to the car and got some dry clothes for him and his concert attire.
I went into the hall to collect cards for the drawing. The audience was small and I just considered it a Presidential Concert, a group of VIP attendees. Among them was the doctor from Yakima, Washington, who had operated on Maxim’s wrist and seen his recovery through. I thanked him profusely for his help. Another couple (the Isaacs) had driven from Tulsa, Oklahoma, just for this concert.
Today was Vika Konchakovskaya’s (Assistant Conductor) 40th birthday, and we ordered three sheet cakes to celebrate. They would be served at intermission in the orchestra room. In Ukraine, every ten years is considered a jubilee birthday, 40,50,60,70 – very, very special.
As I prepared for the intermission, I opened my book called “The Drama of Music Mission Kiev” and started reading the chapter I wrote on Vika’s life. There were many interesting details, and I decided to use this in the commercial tonight.
I was told that Katerina Mironuk’s bandura solo would be first, then Helen Sedikh would bring in the cake, everyone would sing “Happy Birthday” to Vika, and then I would start the commercial.
Katya Vikulkin and I were standing at the back of the auditorium during the bandura solo. But when no cake appeared during the applause, we decided to go down to the front. I started with these words:
“Usually at this time, I tell you about the many products we have for sale in the lobby. Roger and I tell you of the souvenirs, and the recordings, and the books. I have written three books. I tell you about The Splendor of His Music, which tells of our call to Ukraine and the early years of our ministry. I tell you of The Last Flowers before Winter, which talks about the history of the widows of Ukraine. But I usually don’t mention my second book, The Drama of Music Mission Kiev, which gives you stories of Ukrainians that have been important to our ministry. However, there is a chapter in here on Vika, and today we are celebrating Vika’s birthday. So I wanted to share with you a few facts about her life.
“When Vika was in Kindergarten, her favorite thing was to pretend to conduct an orchestra with her imaginary players in front of her. She started Music School at age 5. When she was eight, the government decided that she should go into professional sports, because she was a very good runner. But Vika loved music and she would not give up her dream. At 14, she told a teacher at the conservatory she wanted to be a conductor, “but not just any conductor. I want to conduct an orchestra,” she said.
Tonight as I watched her conduct West Side Story, I am so glad that she had accomplished this dream.”
Then I continued to share her experiences on her first tour, and how the love of Americans touched her heart, and was important to leading her to a point where she placed her life “into the Hands of God.”
“And now, we want to sing Happy Birthday. Someone bring in the cake!” But there was no cake.
“Would someone go outside the door back there and tell them to bring in the cake.” The ushers left and came back and shrugged. No cake there!
What I didn’t know was that all the time I was talking Brenda and Helen were searching desperately to find the cake. It had disappeared from the lobby and they were running from room to room to find it. They finally found it in the orchestra room.
On stage we were ready to give up on the cake, and begin “God Bless America”. Then all of a sudden the side door of the stage opened, and people were saying, “It’s here. It’s here.”
I couldn’t see over the heads of the musicians, but Brenda was trying to light the candle on the cake, but the breeze from the other side of the hall kept blowing out the flame. Finally one of the singers, closed the opposite door, the candle was lighted, and the cake was carried forward to the front of the stage, where Vika met her cake, received her song, and blew out the candle. Whew!
Ian Polster had arrived on the tour. Tonight he conducted his arrangement of “New York, New York.” He always adds a lot of life to the party!
After the concert we went home with our hosts Dr. Donald Bell and his wife Faith, who had built the Cultural Events Building and had invited the KSOC to their campus. Four other Ukrainians came along with us, because they have a lovely large home.
Many of our group went to the hotel even though there were a number of hosts waiting in the lobby with numbers of papers. We are just a really large group to sponsor, and it was our first time in this community.
Vika ran over to me, and gave me a hug, and whispered in my ear, “Thank you!” Then she ran away to catch up with her husband Andre, who drives our truck.
I was unusually tired when we got to our host home. I didn’t even carry my suitcase into the house. The Ukrainians gladly helped me. They helped Roger too as his arms were so tired after conducting the concert. He said they “didn’t work anymore.”
I went right to bed and let the others visit. There would be plenty of conversation with Roger helping the Ukrainians to know their host.
The next morning, Roger and the others rose early to get back to the campus for the Chapel Service at which the KSOC was central with music. Following the Chapel, and a bag lunch at the school, Roger conducted another Brahms Requiem rehearsal with the singers and players. That gave me the greater part of the day just to stay in bed and rest.
I received a phone call from Roger Rymer who was also staying at the hotel with some of our musicians. “We have a problem here,” he said. What now? I wondered.
“One of the Ukrainians has cut his hand rather badly, and I think he needs medical attention,” he said. I gave him Brenda’s cell phone number, and hoped that she would seek help at the college.
Brenda called me an hour later. “The boy who cut his hand is the drummer, Stas. He said he didn’t need to go to a doctor today. He was picking up a glass coffee server, and it broke in his hand. I’ve been in touch with the doctor who operated on Max’s wrist. He says he needs stitches, but Stas is refusing the stitches.”
“Do you have a translator? Does he know these details?” I asked.
“Yes, Irina Loktionova,” Brenda replied.
I asked to talk to Irina. “Irina, why doesn’t Stas want to have stitches?”
“He says that it isn’t important. He rarely has any problems. But he’s just nervous about it.”
“Well, I want you to convince him that it is crucial. His hands are important to his career. This will cost him no money, and he needs to get this problem fixed.”
Stas agreed to go to the hospital with the doctor. It took seven stitches.
There were more people at this concert. The students who had seen the KSOC in their chapel service came back to hear more.
The next morning we bid goodbye to the Bells. Dr. Bell took our two guys to the college, and we had Kostya and Katya in our car. When we arrived at the Cultural Events center, the Ukrainians were trying to push and squeeze their suitcases into the bus. Two more days, and they would be able to ship some of this stuff home.
Before the buses had left the parking lot, Roger, Roger Rymer, and I were moving out toward Kansas City. We crossed the Missouri River, and headed for the state where we first began this tour, Iowa. And the town would be Maquokota.
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CHAPTER 27 - Maquoketa, IA
As we crossed the Iowa State line and again saw the farmlands and familiar road signs, I felt as if we had come back home. We had finished the circle: Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and now back to Iowa.
We were ahead of the buses by almost an hour, so we stopped at the home of Nathan McMurrin, Roger’s brother, near Davenport. Nathan greeted us and gave us a tour of his garden. Then he invited us into the house for a light dinner. Actually we decided to make it light, because we had already been eating our sack lunches for several hours on our way. But we sampled his green beans, cabbage salad, tomatoes, and potatoes, all of which he had raised in the good Iowa soil.
His wife Carolyn took my two loads of laundry and began putting it in the washing machine. For the remainder of the tour we would be staying in a hotel, and this was my last chance to get clean clothes. She would bring the clothes to us at the concert in Maquokota tonight.
The Cultural Arts center in Maquokota is a small, but adequate building with about 700 seats. Roger and I rested at the Comfort Inn Motel, and came later to the concert. I had eaten so much, I didn’t need dinner.
As Roger and I were getting ready for the concert, Roger told me that he needed some throat lozenges. The lady at the hotel desk told us that the only drugstore open was Wal-mart.
Dressed in tails, Roger thought it would look too strange for him to go into Wal-Mart, so he sent me. I was dressed in a tea-length black velvet skirt and velvet jacket and pearls. As I walked in to join a group of people in jeans, I wondered what I would say, “This is my Halloween outfit?” Then I remembered that Sarah Palin had her express bus stop at Wal-Mart to go in to buy some diapers. I guess if she could do that, that this was not out of the ordinary.
At the concert hall, Ian Polster had arrived from the last concert venue, and he would be conducting two numbers tonight, “Sing,Sing,Sing” and “New York, New York,” both of which were his arrangement.
At the beginning of the concert, Vilen, the bald-headed tenor, had a bad headache. He did not want to see a doctor. But Irina Loktionova took care of everything. Her mother was a doctor, and she gave him some medicine, made him some tea, and had him walk in the cold night air. Soon he was feeling better. He had wanted Ukrainian medicine, but it was on the bus and the bus was at the hotel.
In the concert, Roger explained that our political life in Ukraine was chaotic right now. After a disagreement with Prime Minister Timoshenko, President Yushenko has dismissed the Parliament for three months and then they would hold new elections. Dismissing Parliament has happened before, and the Parliament was inactive most of the time. That happens often.
“How would you feel if our US Congress was dissolved for nine months?” The audience cheered their approval.
After the concert we went back to the hotel. The man who had furnished our free rooms greeted us, and told us that Obama had stayed two nights that week (the two days before the third debate) in room 121. It had a Jacuzzi in the middle of the room. We were just down the hall in 114 in a normal room.
The next morning we met at the cultural arts center. Roger gathered the Ukrainians and told them that it was important not to have a green concert in Wausau. A green concert is the last concert of the tour when the performers do silly and humorous things during the concert to confuse the director. It makes the concert a joke, and Americans are not coming for a joke. They are coming for the real concert.
Secondly, we showed our appreciation to our three drivers, and gave them their tips from the mission. These drivers have been great. Bill, the head bus driver, has been with us for 10 tours.
The hosts said good-bye to their Ukrainian friends. One lady told us. “We just love them. We want them back. Next time they are welcome to stay a week.” And this was a lady who was keeping Ukrainians for the first time.
I opened the MAPSCO book for the directions to the last venue on the trip. At the beginning of the tour, it had looked so thick. Page after page had come out of the notebook and been deposited into a trash can at a rest area along the way. Now we had only four-and-a- half hours to Wausau, Wisconsin.
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