Page 62 - MLD Book

Calvary so he could have drum beats for his fancy Easter services. The powers that be consulted a lawyer who determined that it had been illegal for Melvin to have given them to the Lexington group. So the blessed Will Cary personally went over to Lexington in his truck and took them from Marlon and installed them in the Calvary Loft. I think they have been used maybe two or three times in the nine years since that ugly act took place, and one of those times was when Marlon borrowed them to do HIS b minor mass!! He made sure he returned them. (In scrambling around in my various notes, I think this seizure could have happened in the fall of 2012 instead of 2011, but the ugly intent remains no matter exactly when it was.)
Herbert Thornton had been a member of the Calvary choir since the late seventies, when he had come at the same time as Harvey. He sang the role of Old Black Joe in the Stephen Foster Story for years as well. He was a dignified and much loved man who happened to be black but we never thought about that at all. He was one of us. As it should be. He suffered from diabetes and in August had to have part of his legs removed. At the end of 2011 (December 4 to be exact) , when both Melvin and Herbert emerged from their hospital stays, both needed to be in wheelchairs. Both were totally capable of participating and contributing to the choir, but neither could make it up to the Loft. So we began having rehearsals in the chancel. Stay tuned as to how THAT ultimately turned out!
In amidst all of this frenzy of 2011, we celebrated the Silver Anniversary of the Lenten recital Series, and it continued to be a good attraction. By this time, too, the kitchen renovation, with all of its ups and downs, was completed, so we had a nice kitchen in which to cook, not to mention the three ladies who oversaw every inch of it every dreaded Tuesday. My fondest memory is of Anita Richards walking in the Parish Hall, with us cautioning her not to step on a newly glued floor. She did anyway, never listening to anybody as usual, and got royally STUCK!. She even fell flat in the middle of it, and we all laughed,includingher! Theturkeyproject(thekindyoueat)alsocontinued,withover700 being given out.
In order to not have the many negatives win out over the total scope of 2011 happenings, I want to share how a very important and rewarding venture was born. Once Melvin was consigned to rehab at ECH for about a seven week stay starting the end of September, we knew we had to do something to keep his brilliant brain going. (Through all of this reluctant medical stuff, he never lost his intellect or sense of humor, and we were so grateful for that and tried to make the most of it.) So we decided to plan that when he got home, we would begin a series of monthly lectures on Tuesdays in the Bach Haus involving organ literature and organ performing artists. We knew he would have to lecture from a wheelchair and he wasn’t happy about that exposure, but we knew the lecture position wasn’t going to affect his brain! It was a lot of fun to plan these, and it kept his mind occupied. We would begin with the Bach organ works and then go beyond, depending on many factors. Many of his students and colleagues had continued to keep in touch after he retired from U of L, and so he contacted them and was so excited at their enthusiasm and willingness to participate. When he got home on November 16, we began final preparations, which included putting all of his research and knowledge onto the computer for the first lecture with illustrations, contacting the performers, publicizing what we were doing to everybody we could think of starting with the LBS mailing list, setting up the projector and video stuff, CLEANING the Bach Haus (ugh), and oh yes, I had to practice the stuff I would play too. And before Melvin got home, I had contracted with Jerry Keys to build a ramp in the Bach Haus so Melvin could get to that level in his wheelchair. It barely was finished before he got home, and was a nice