DINNER WITH TWENTY-SEVEN

I went to visit a friend at his nursing home and as I was leaving, there were car loads of people exiting their vehicles and heading to the building. I asked, "Are you carolers?" and when they answered that they were, I asked if I could join them. The group was comprised of old, middle-aged, and young people, including one man carrying a baby! I asked how many were in the group and the leader told me 27. I asked, "Is this your whole congregation?" and one of the women laughed and answered, "Just about!"

Their group is from a church in Sabina and one of the women told me that her brother is a patient at the nursing home and this was their fifth caroling session that day!

The pastor asked if I knew my way around the facility. I said, "Please come to sing for my friend Charles." We sang as we walked down the hallway and when we got to Charles' room, one of the songs to be sung was Joy To The World. One of the women started to hand me a sheet with the lyrics on there. I said, "Oh, I know all four verses!" She said, "We only have two."

When it was time to sing the third verse, only MY voice rang out:

"No more let sin and sorrow grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make his message known
Far as the curse is found
FAR AS, FAR AS, THE CURSE IS FOUND."

All joined in for the chorus!

I would have gladly sung the fourth verse but the group was easing out of the room.

After we'd finished caroling throughout the facility, one of the women asked me to take a picture of the group; I said that I would try but I am not a good picture-taker!

I told one of the women that I write a daily BLOG and that I am always on the look-out for "an adventure" and this would be my next article! I said that I wanted a copy of the picture to use with the article. I went to speak to the woman with the camera and I gave her one of my business cards with the e-mail address on it and I, in turn, asked for her e-mail address. When she wrote down "Patty Wheeler" I exclaimed, "You sell Gold Canyon candles!" She asked, "How do you know that?" I exclaimed, "I'm Sue Raypole; you and I have been playing Facebook tag for a month!" Patty wanted to attend different craft shows and we kept e-mailing each other, but had never met!

The pastor asked me to join them for dinner at Frisch's. Of course, I was not going to let them pay for my dinner but they insisted; when I offered him money as a donation to the church, he said to give it to the waitress! I said, "I already left that poor girl a generous tip!"

I just sent a check in a Christmas card.