It's been a while ... (blame hockey)

It’s been a while since my last blog entry … sorry about that.

After our return from Nauvoo we sort of got absorbed in hockey and piping became a secondary thing. Hockey in August you ask?! Well, yeah it does sound a bit ridiculous, but that’s the way youth sports is becoming.

Teagan got an invitation to try out for a couple of very good teams this year. Chadders AAA Bantam and Jr Grizzlies AA Bantam. Both teams are tier level travel teams and neither of them is really affordable so we weren’t sure how this would work out if he made one of them. He made both teams.

They both offered him a scholarship to play. These scholarships were good, but to play for Chadders still would have been far too expensive. The other was much more affordable, so we decided to let Teagan play with the Jr. Grizzlies this year. I applied for a position as Asst. Coach and was accepted.

I also agreed to coach a Squirts team with the county and so a lot of my time has been focused on hockey lately.

Regardless, there have still been bagpipe and drum competitions and other events, so I haven’t completely ignored my piping.

In August we went to Jackson Hole, WY for the Jackson Scottish Festival. The band did very well there placing 1st and 2nd in the two competitions. I competed solo as did Teagan. Teag took third place in his competition and I got a second place in my slow march. It was a fun trip and I will have a video of the band competitions posted on my video blog soon.

After Jackson I was asked by my niece to pipe at her wedding reception in St. George in October. I agreed only to find out later that the band was going to Ventura CA to compete in the Seaside Games. I had already committed to my niece, but Teagan didn’t have a commitment, so he went with the band. We found out in September that his hockey team would be going to Boise ID for a tournament that weekend, but he had already committed to the band, so he missed the tournament.

Unfortunately the band didn’t do very well in Ventura. It’s too bad, because they had done so well at the other competitions. Teagan said he still had a fun time.

I had a wonderful time playing at my nieces reception. I didn’t find out until I got down there what the plans were. She was married in the LDS Temple in St. George, but since her parents and a few relatives were unable to go into the Temple she decided to have a ring ceremony before the reception.

That is the first ring ceremony I’ve attended.

Shanay (my niece) asked if I would play for the bridal procession. I played Highland Cathedral and it worked out very well.

She then asked if I would play as people arrived for the reception, so I went outside and played a few sets while folks arrived. I then played again inside after the bridal dance and one last time as the couple left the reception.

Shanay and Spencer were both very pleased with the piping and I was happy to be able to provide it. Spencer is a metal sculptor and gave me one of his metal roses after. It was a beautiful gift.

Shanay’s sister is thinking of getting married next year and asked if I would be interested in piping at her wedding – of course I agreed.

Nauvoo - a very special experience.

We left for Nauvoo on July 11th in the early am. It was a long drive, but seemed to go by quickly and we arrived on the 12th. We settled into our little cabin at the Nauvoo Log Cabins to begin what was one of the most spiritual and fun experiences I've had in a long while.

The first week was fun, but a bit frustrating. My pipes (I'll blame them) didn't settle in very well. The humidity especially affected the bass drone which double toned almost constantly. We had seven pipers and four drummers (two tenors, a bass and a snare). Most of the pipers were quite good and individually we sounded good, but as an ensemble we had a tough time getting it right. It is a difficult thing when working with different chanters, reeds, pipes etc. Nevertheless, we got along and seemed to work well together.

Our daily schedule involved a parade down Mulholland Street (the main street in Nauvoo); playing before vignettes two to three times per day; the Pageant pre-show (we played Loudans for the Highland fling); the Pageant flag ceremony; a small part in the Pageant itself (fake playing for the dance scene); and finally the pipers would play to signal the cast to strike the stage. We would usually show up to these performances about 20-30 minutes before hand to tune up and then perform. We also had a practice in the morning to work with the weaker pipers on tunes and get our pipes in order. After a great deal of messing around with my drones I was finally able to get my bass to strike in properly. The cooler than normal weather also helped.

While I enjoyed the first week, I felt that there was something missing from the experience. I pondered and prayed to find the missing element that would complete the work I felt we were there to do. I felt we were really there to do more than just provide entertainment, we were ambassadors for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but I wasn't sure exactly how to bring this into our playing.

One afternoon, Mindy, Teagan and I went to the Nauvoo Brick Yard. There was an older missionary there doing the presentation on how bricks were made. His name was Elder Toone and he was almost blind. I was interested in how they made bricks, but didn't expect much from the presentation. I was in for a treat. Elder Toone did a great job explaining the composition of the bricks and the process that was used to make them, but he turned the whole presentation into a spiritual experience when he explained the faith of the early saints and then bore his testimony. I would have never thought that a presentation on brick making would have been a spiritual experience for me. As I thought about this presentation the spirit touched me and I felt that this was the element we were missing in our performances.


When Chuck Acklin (the other adult piper) left at the end of the first week I was left responsible for the group. We lost five of our seven pipers and two of our drummers, but we gained two more pipers. We had a nice tight group with four pipers and two drummers.

At the orientation on Monday I asked the group to meet in one of the rooms at the High School for a brief devotional. I told the others in the devotional that I felt strongly that we should take the opportunity to testify during our performances. We usually took a few minutes during our vignette performances to take questions, but I felt we needed to do more to invite the spirit. Everyone was in favor of this and the next week we began taking turns bearing our testimonies during our vignette performances. The change was remarkable.

I felt the spirit more strongly and finally felt that we were doing what we were supposed to do and what we had been called to do.

We moved into the White House Inn for our second week in Nauvoo. It was a great place to stay. Sort of like a boarding house with shared kitchen and a hot tube which was nice after a day of performing around town.

In the end, this experience strengthened my testimony of the restoration. I felt the Spirit of our Heavenly Father prompting me and responding to my prayers. I felt the power of the atonement of Christ and gained a deeper appreciation for His great sacrifice. Just like my piping, I realize that I am not perfect, but I also realize that in spite of my shortcomings, God is mindful of me and loves me, and I keep trying to improve. I love Him.

I am grateful for this experience. I am especially grateful that I could share it with my wife and youngest son.