The Convention from Hell
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| The Pittsburgh Music Revue |
After I joined the
Barbershop Harmony Society one of the things I looked forward to every summer
was the International convention which was hosted by different cities
throughout the US and Canada. I wasn't always able to go because of cost but
any chance I got I went. I would always travel with one of the guys from the
chorus. In 1981 I went to the International Convention in Detroit with my good
friend Leo Stefano. Leo and I sang in a quartet called The Pittsburgh Music
Revue (he's on the right in the picture). He was my dad's age and actually
worked for Bell of PA just like my dad and they actually knew each other before
I met Leo.
Leo had booked a hotel
on the outskirts of town which I remember had cement block for walls. It was
clean I guess but I was only 17 so I wasn't very picky. Thinking back on it now
my wife would have never stayed in a place like that. Once we checked into our
hotel we drove into town to register for the convention and sing some tags with
our friends from all over the country. We parked across the street from the headquarters
hotel, The Renaissance. As soon as I got out of the car I got panhandled by a
very large scary looking man. Leo yelled at him and said, "We don't have
any money, bug off!" Luckily he took the hint and left me alone.
The next day after
visiting some friends at the Pontchartrain hotel I was walking with a group of
barbershoppers back to the headquarters hotel (which was about three blocks).
All of a sudden I heard shots and I started running. One guy yelled don't run,
they'll shoot even more. Too late, I had been hit in the back with what seemed
like a 22 pistol by some guys driving by in a car. I couldn't believe it, I was
shot! I ran to the hotel to find Leo and that wasn't easy since the hotel lobby
was vast and many different levels. I finally found him
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| The Renaissance Hotel, Detroit, MI |
singing some tags with
some quartet champs and I started babbling to him. I was so upset I couldn't
even speak. He had a glass of something and made me take a drink. It took my
breath away, (it was some kind of straight alcohol) but it did the trick. I
mellowed out and then he asked me what happened. I spent the next few minutes
having Leo dig the BB's out of my back and he poured more of whatever he was
drinking on the wound. We cleaned it up better once we got up to the room. Leo
was singing with some champs so of course that was more important! LOL
Later that week we were
told about this wonderful Italian restaurant that we had to do for dinner. A bunch of us traveled what seems like 20 miles
through some of the worst areas I’ve ever experienced. The key was not stopping
at the traffic lights but to slow down and keep moving. We finally found the
restaurant, surrounded by chain link fence and barbed wire at the top with a
gate, kinda like a jail. It made us wonder if the person that told us about
this restaurant was trying to get us killed. But it was too late to turn back
now and try to find another restaurant and still make the next contest session
so we decided to go ahead in. We ordered dinner and as I was eating my salad I
had an allergic reaction to the peppers and couldn’t breathe. Leo thought he
was going to have to cut a hole in my throat and insert his Bic pen. Eventually
after drinking a lot of water and eating bread it finally started to subside. I
thought I was going to die right there.
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| The Boston Common, Terry Clarke is R/C |
My favorite quartet of
all time is the Boston Common and I was really bummed out that I wasn't able to
go to the convention in Salt Lake City, UT the summer before. I missed them
winning it all and I was really looking forward to seeing them on the AIC
(Association of International Champions) show. On the night of the show my good
friend Terry Clarke (bass of the Boston Common, 1980 Quartet Champs) had a
problem and was in a jam. It was their swan song year as the retiring champs
and the babysitting service for the hotel was unable to watch his son Penn. I
volunteered to forego the show and watched his son so that his wife could go
watch them sing. Things we do for our friends. His wife was very grateful and I
was happy to be able to help them.
A local barbershopper
had told us earlier in the week about a recent thing that was happening on
their highways. He explained that they would come up behind you and bump your
car to get you to stop and then they would rob you. Lucky us, on our way back home
one night we got bummed from behind. Luckily we knew not to stop and just kept
moving.
On a fun note one day
while we were waiting for seats at a restaurant during the lunch rush I noticed
these two very beautiful business women sitting at a table for four. I told
Leo, hey there are two seats, and I’m going to ask them if we can sit with
them. He said there was no way they would sit with an old man and some young
kid. I went over and they invited us to sit down. Leo’s jaw dropped as he sat across from a
woman with a dress that barely covered her breasts. We really enjoyed our lunch
that day. Oh yeah there was also a contest but for the life of me I don't
remember much about it, it really was the convention from hell.
A couple more cookies to try
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| Chocolate-Mint Thumbprints |
With peppermint extract, whipping cream, chocolate chips and my son's favorite treat after a dinner at Olive Garden Ande's Candys Mints these Chocolate Mint Thumbprints will be a big hit at our house.
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Cherry Jam Cookies. These cookies are simple to make and delicious. With cherry jam and a surprise flavor of ginger adds a really nice touch.
If you missed any of the cookies or any of the stories remember you can click on the OLDER POSTS to read everything I've posted from the very beginning. Thanks again for making my blog a part of your day.
Ron
