Also interesting was being the chaplain for the Saturday session. I'd never expected to be the chaplain for any major singing, because . . . well, the obvious. But the chair of this year's Midwest decided that she wanted a Jewish chaplain for Shabbat, with the kind of prayers that came with that. I based most of them on Sha'arei Tefillah, or Gates of Prayer, which is the old Reform siddur (I don't have a copy of the new one yet, though I should really acquire one soon), and, in a nod to Pony family tradition, I started off the morning blessing with the "Shehekhyanu," as the Pony family does whenever there is a Family Event to be formally opened. To tell the truth, I'd been more than a little nervous about it, since we do get guests from all over the place, often from singings that aren't as thoroughly ecumenical as the Hyde Park group. But people really seemed to like it. As my friend C reassured me, most everyone at the Midwest can agree on God.
We did have some trouble with the building, including no building people, no supplies such as paper towels in the bathrooms, and ants in the bass section. And, of course, it being Memorial Day weekend, no one could be reached to help us take care of these problems. Accordingly, since Ida Noyes Hall is University property, and I'm still a student, I've been put on the Locating Committee for next year to help discuss this with the school. I think our secret weapon for next year will be that the Midwest will be at the end of April rather than the end of May, and therefore not a holiday weekend and therefore the building people might be more reachable.
It also strikes me that this would leave WisCon Weekend free. Maybe I'll go to WisCon next year; the one time I went was fun, so maybe I'd like it again. Who else might go? I could bring my gaohu.
