Nice thread!

Sang a solo rendition of O little Town Of Bethlehem at a local church's Christmas Pageant at the age of 6 or 7. I closed the show and got a thunderous applause, which for some reason both pleased and embarrassed me.

The strange thing is that I had been waiting for this for months, but it was almost a disaster. My parents, who were not churchgoers, had bought me a new red velvet dress for the occasion. They'd had my hair curled and tied up with red velvet ribbons. I wore shiney black patent-leather shoes.

When we walked into the church at 7 pm I was crisp and rosy and ready to perform. By 9 pm I was exhausted, bedraggled and dissappointed. No-one had called my name to perform. I think I started crying a bit, and one of the monitors noticed and asked what was wrong. My parents explained in rather irritated and embarrassed voices that I was supposed to be performing that evening, but that the last performance was happening at that very moment.

The monitor was very kind. She took me by the hand, dried my tears, retied my ribbons, and led me to the front of the church, then announced, just as people were standing up to leave, that there was one more performance and something about saving the best for the last. Everyone sat down again and waited.

Since they had forgotten about me there was no music, so I sang without accompaniment. I was still feeling quite hurt and sorry for myself before I started singing, but it all melted away once I got started. I loved the song.

That experience is as vivid to me today as it was then, Thanks for the opportunity to relive it by sharing it!

~ Jande