Back for Baccalaureate

Capital Alumni beneath the gate

Capital University, Mees Hall Auditorium, was the site of the Baccalaureate Service for my daughter, Kaitlin's, Graduation in early May.

The "new" permanent thrust in front
of the stage in Mees Hall.

I was honored when Pastor Amy Oehlschlager invited me to play music for the prelude of the service.

I played both mountain and hammered dulcimers on the stage where I used to work when I was a student back in the 1980s.

"First Snow"

In those days, I was part of the Theater Production Staff and the Mees Hall Stage Crew.  I told those stories to Joe, the sophomore who is currently a member of the stage crew, commenting on all the improvements in the facility.

As one might expect, walking through campus several times brought several treasured memories to the surface.



These are now overlaid with Kaitlin's freshly minted memories as this place has become an important part of her growth.  When I attended, I never imagined having a child follow me in the places I walked, worried, studied, grew and played.

This wasn't my first visit since my commencement in 1981, but it was significant for marking a point in our family's history.

...And because I was without a pick to play my mountain dulcimer.

Throughout the tour I'd been wearing pants that have a "pick" pocket, in which I carry my flatpicks, in order to be ready to play at a moment's notice.

This day, however, I was dressed up and the picks with were still in my jeans!

What to do?  (They were actually only just a couple of blocks away at my sisters's house, but...)

Joe with the Joe Walsh Pick

Stagehand Joe had an excellent solution:

Pulling out his wallet, he produced a pick,
given to his Columbus radio DJ father by Joe Walsh.

That's the one I played the tunes with.  And then got him to hold for this photo.

Lesson:  Always remember to thank your stage crew, because they can help save your bacon at any time!

None of us gets through any challenges in our life alone.  We don't get here by our own effort, we can't survive our vulnerability by ourselves, we're always standing on the shoulders of those who went before, those who point the way, pave the path and give us nudges and fervent pushes along the road.  Sometimes they are calling to us from the future as well as pushing from the past.

We are all an Answer to Prayer.  (Kaitlin sang on this recording with me in 2005.)