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Hayden continued... of the activity, if it's purely a social night out
then eventually they will not find fulfillment in that and
eventually will make the decision to spend that time with their
family. They need a release, a challenge, an aesthetic moment, a
thrill, some magic, etc. and on and on. While the brotherhood of
barbershop is GREAT, if there isn't more there, you'll never retain
members.
Having a great time in
Indy Once again, Sally and I had a delightful time at the International Convention. Indianapolis was a fine place for the contest. Competition occurred at the Conseco Fieldhouse and the sound system for this place was fantastic. A huge TV monitor augmented the ability to see the contest participants and our floor seats allowed us to watch while facing forward, unlike those in the side seats. It pays to sign up early and Dean Beckman deserves our thanks for taking care of ticket orders for the Harmony Hawks group in attendance. We missed our old friends Dean and Mary Kruse who had been present at every previous international contest we have attended. It was a sad sendoff to attend Mary's funeral the day before we drove to Indianapolis. This year's Indianapolis didn't seem like the same place that we visited in 1997 when the last international was last held there. It was OK then, but the attractiveness of the city didn't seem nearly as high as it did this year. Restaurants with outdoor seating were on many streets, the city was clean and calm. Downtown traffic was light and the skyway provided lots of opportunities to move among buildings and avoid waiting for pedestrian crossing signals. One afternoon several of us Harmony Hawks spent dining and drinking Stella Artois, Smithwick and Strongbow hard cider at the Claddagh Irish Pub. Not surprisingly, some of the British barbershoppers were attracted to this place as well. But some of us seemed to eat every meal at Champps,
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which was fine and all, but the atmosphere there was not the same as the microbreweries and pubs. At midnight, the nightlife was going strong and so, finding something to eat after a contest event wasn't limited to Steak and Shake. And an unheralded feature was that you could get sushi at a walk up in the Circle City Mall food court. The city's canal walk was a very attractive place for a stroll, a bike ride, or just to sit and watch the people go by. Paddle boats and rented kayaks were in use on the canal, and one could go for a gondola ride manned by young people dressed like Venetian gondoliers. I didn't hear any of them singing "O Solo Mio" though. It certainly didn't hurt that the weather was about perfect, with highs in the low 80's and cloudless skies just about every day. It couldn't have been nicer. The contest was exciting and competition was intense. Interestingly, the Musical Island Boys from New Zealand won the college contest on what I believe was their third attempt. The chorus contest, though won by Vocal Majority as is their every-three-year pattern, was very close with Westminster, The Northern Lights, and The New Tradition biting at their heels. The absolute hit of the contest was Midwest Vocal Express from Greendale, Wisc., and their Under the Sea set. It was wonderfully entertaining. What creativity! I'd drive quite a way just to see that set performed again. Maybe we'll get the opportunity to enjoy it again. It topped their green Army men set which was also wonderfully imaginative, which I understand has been retired, or they ran out of places to sell green face paint by the gallon. Harms on Indy continued on page 6
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