SINGING WITH ANN

The Voice of an Angel

Stan Bratcher invited me to attend a “singing” at Ann’s house.   At that point, I had no idea where Ann was living.  People in a capella churches often love to sing, and it was not uncommon to get together at someone’s house to learn new songs, sing some of the old ones, and just enjoy being together.

As we got to the house, I heard a little child crying.   My heart sunk.  Was Stan introducing me to a single mom?      As it turned out she was temporarily living with Jane Smith, her best friend from high school.  They had also gone through nursing school together.   Jane’s husband was overseas in military service.  Ann was temporarily living with Jane and helping with childcare.

We had a great time that night.   Hymn singing has been, and continues to be, a favorite recreation.   I had a fairly decent voice (there are probably those who would question that), but Ann has an incredible voice.  I believe she could have sung professionally had she chosen to do so.  We’ve had a running disagreement throughout our marriage history.  She claims not to be able to read music.  I can read music to some extent, but her knowledge of a song surpasses mine.   She says “Anybody can tell when the notes go up and down, but I can’t read music.”

I ask, “Why is it that you know exactly how sharp, a flat, and a natural are supposed to sound?”   The truth is that she’s a better sight reader than I am.  She just refuses to learn the names of lines and spaces, as well as key signatures.  Just give her a pitch and she’ll go with it.  She knows how long you hold quarter note, and even a “dotted eighth” followed by a sixteenth. 

I’ll have to admit that my mind really wasn’t on the hymns that night.   They were on the young lady the twinkle in her eye, with an infectious way of laughing, and with a voice that sounded like the voice of an angel.  I was smitten.