Westward leading, still proceeding
by chuckofish
Thursday night I went to the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ Evensong at Grace Church. It was a lovely respite during a busy and stressful week. The church was still decorated with white poinsettias and trees with white twinkly lights. The three wise men had joined the rest of the creche figurines before the altar. And we got to sing “We Three Kings”–always a favorite. I remember learning it for my first Christmas Pageant, which was held actually at my school (back in the good old days). The Junior Kindergartners made up the “choir”. We wore freshly-ironed white cottas with big red bows and carried these neat flash-light candles. We sang in the near-dark. It was very mysterious and cool. And “We Three Kings” was a very mysterious and cool hymn. All that traversing afar, over field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. Not to mention that dramatic ohhhhh-ohhhh-ing into the refrain! Then there is that fourth verse:
Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume
breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing,
bleeding, dying,
sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
Awesomely descriptive and creepy. I can honestly say that was the best pageant I was ever in. The next year, as a Senior Kindergartner, I was given a part (with a solo) so it was much more stressful. I was Joseph. (Yes, I went to an all-girls’ school.) My best friend, Trudy Glick, played the Innkeeper, and we could barely contain our hilarity during our important conversational exchange concerning the lack of room at the inn. Oh well. At least I didn’t faint, like my good friend Harriet who played an angel. And I made it (tremulously I’m sure) through my solo.
Good times. Were you ever in a Christmas pageant?
dual personalities 
HA! Not a single one for this PK…I always acolyted for the BIG services, though (I had a pretty good, inside connection!!).
Hey, remember when I was Janette Isabella? That was third grade and I had to do the solo in front of the whole school. Talk about trembling. I think they picked me because of that green corduroy peasant dress I had… I actually remember a teacher telling me to wear it. Talent was obviously not an issue… You know, in some ways hell would be having to relive one’s school years over and over and over, don’t you think?
In third grade I was given the ‘lead’ in the Christmas play (which actually had nothing to do with Christmas as I recall), but then they took it away because I did not “project enough”, That was one of the few times I remember Mother being really annoyed with the school. I was actually kind of relieved I think.