Enter, Stage Right.

   Two of our grand kids were in their school's
Christmas Concert last night and that's an
event grandparents do not miss!
   You know how it works.
   The kids dress up in their best and take to
the stage to play or sing an assortment of
your favorite holiday songs while the proud
parents and grandparents sit back and enjoy
the show.
    Well that's the way it used to work.
     Seems there have been a few changes since
our own kids were in the spotlight. And most
of them involve the audience!
      From my vantage point in the first row of
the balcony I spotted enough cell phone
screens to supplement the stage lighting were
they trained in that direction. Most of them
were being used as cameras of course. They
were not as disturbing as those that pop up
in a darkened movie theater. In fact they've
probably helped to do away with the constant
flashes you used to see from the film cameras
parents used to bring.
     What was disturbing, however, was the
relatives who felt compelled to shout out
their son or daughter's names the moment
they saw them on stage! It reminded me of
a scene in "The Music Man" when the kids
were preforming for the first time. You'd
hear "That's my Bobby" or "Look at my
boy on that saxophone!"
      But those were actors in a movie!
      You expect to see the grade schoolers
wave to mom and dad when they seem them
over the glare of the footlights.
       When mom or dad are the ones attracting
every one's attention....it isn't really all that
attractive! I think they should be expected to
sing and dance along with their kids if they
want to be part of the show. I could always
use a good laugh!
         On the other hand...most of the kids
were pretty darn good! I'm not sure they'd
want to share the billing with proud, but
loud parents!
          Hope you're enjoying the sounds of
the season, that they're all coming from the
stage instead of the seats, and that all your
NEWS is good!