December 12 – “Caroling at the Corner”

Did you ever go Christmas caroling much when you were a kid?  For me it was never a family thing, but I do remember one time after I was in junior high school.  A group of friends were going to go around our neighborhood.  I decided it would be fun to accompany the group.  Accompany as in play a musical instrument.  I had a problem, though.  In the first place, the only musical instrument I knew how to play was the cornet.  That would be cornet as in the brass thing that is kind of like a trumpet.  I'm still not sure what the exact difference between the two is, but they both make the same kind of sounds – loud.  That's what appealed to me in the first place.    So I decided to get out my cornet and be the accompanist for the neighborhood Christmas Carol Choir.  I wouldn't have any problem with the cold, because it never gets really cold in Galveston.  Except that one year when it snowed Christmas Eve.  That was nice.  But if we had been in Colorado my mouth might have stuck to the horn and become a permanent fixture.  I still don't miss twenty degrees below zero.  No.  Cold was not a problem.   The problem was I didn't know any Christmas songs.  We hadn't gotten that far yet.  Remember, I was just in junior high.  I could barely remember which fingers to use to make the notes.  And I didn't know that many notes, either.  And Christmas carols are notorious for using some very strange notes.  And there was no such thing as the internet back then, so I couldn't just go online and download the music.  Come on.  You're not even supposed to do that now.  Isn't it illegal?   I did find out how to play one song, though.  And in my junior high mind, that would surely be enough to wow the world with my expertise.  I remember setting out with my cornet in one hand and my cheat sheet of music in the other.  We walked up to the first house and rang the doorbell.  And as the homeowners opened it we started right in.  Now, I didn't play on the first song.  But the people saw the horn.  I know because they pointed at it.  I didn't sing the second song either.  Or the third.  I think we finally got to my specialty on the fourth or fifth song, and I let 'er rip.  Everybody in our little group jumped when I blared the first notes, but to their credit, they kept singing.  And they kept up.  I didn't have much of a concept of timing yet either.  Not that I'm any better now.  But we got through it, and the people clapped and said thank you, and even gave us some cookies.  People back then always had cookies around to give to carolers.    We made it to a lot of houses that night.  And if I do say so myself, I'm pretty sure we got better and better.  And I know I got, well, louder and louder.  That was the only time I can ever remember cornetting with the carolers.  And I think it went down in history in the neighborhood as well.  It was the night that Vaughan kid blasted the ears of Gulf Village with Jingle Bells on the horn.  People were so kind back then.   Oh.  We did some caroling tonight at church.  We stood on the corner by the stop light and sang to the Lord.  Caroling at the Corner.  It was lots of fun.  Cars were waving as they passed.  Actually it was the people in the cars that waved.  Except for one car.  It waved right over and pulled the wrong way down a one way street so it could pull over and hear our concert.  Surprisingly, it didn't cause any traffic problems.  The lady driving finally realized what she was doing and pulled on into the parking lot and joined us.  They were visiting down here from Illinois or Michigan or somewhere up there where it's too cold to go caroling on the corner.  Or anywhere else for that matter.  She had a great time.  The hot chocolate was ready to go when we got back inside.  What a night.  I kind of missed the cornet, though.  Maybe next year.   Luke 2:8-18 says, "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,         'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'  When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."   Father, thank you for carols and cold and kids and Christmas.  Amen.