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Show 63 to face her, raised his voice half a step, then finished with accompaniment. Marry me, carry me, Far away with you, Giddyup, giddyup, giddyup-whoa! My pony boy! "Isn't that easy?" he said. "You all want to try it?" He motioned for Jan to come to the mike. Three more times. Maybe four. Everyone singing, getting right into it. Parker sang along, too, trading looks with Dyna, feeling as if he'd just topped over K2 or something. It was crazy! Miss Mary was the next person Dyna coaxed into performing. However, after a few emphatic gestures, everyone understood she was flatly refusing to use the mike. Fragile as she was, she maneuvered Dyna around to trade places. Then she had Dyna explain that she would try to remember some verses, but it had been a long, long time and, after all, her memory wasn't what it was, way back when. Signing with her hands and simultaneously whispering the words at Dyna's ear, she began reciting "The Children's Hour." Line at a time, Dyna spoke them into the mike: Between the dark and the daylight, When the night is beginning to lower, Comes a pause in the day's occupations That is known as the Children's Hour. It was a strange performance, but the audience sat very still, waiting for each hard-earned line. Parker was amazed at her memory, at her courage, too. When she finished, she took her seat smiling. The silence in the room was profound; it said everything-and more. To Parker's surprise, he was the one who started the clapping that seemed to go on and on. A rash of ditties came next, kicked off by the jolly old limerick-lover who'd bent Tammy's ear. "My name's Jim Frazier," he began, "and I know about a hundred of these. Tonight I'll limit myself to one," he promised. Then he clung to the mike support for dear life, grimacing and winking his way through all five lines, his ruddy face shining: |
