Today was a very special day for our singers. They were introduced to what has affectionately or unaffectionately become known as “Joseph’s Morning Song”. It’s my special obnoxious alarm clock I grace the singers with no more than once per tour. With the veteran singers it is stuff of legend; for the new singers it is a rite of passage that is whispered about on the bus with 50% anxiety and 50% excitement. Essentially, it is composed of a song I wrote as a joke to wake up my sons when they were little, and also containing a second verse that Bemo and I once wrote at an Exec retreat.
Today was the day. It must be planned with a keen eye to strategy, because it needs to be done in a place where we can be very loud without bothering any non-New G onlookers. It also has to be done in a relatively enclosed space where all the singers are sleeping in a common area so that it has maximum impact (don’t worry the boys and girls were still separated and always are). The church fellowship hall where the boys were, and Sunday school classrooms where the girls were, fit the bill perfectly. It was epic. I blared the morning song at 5 a.m. Zamuel Brushwood woke with a start and almost kicked me, and Beth Hummer came running at me and hit me in the head with a pillow.
Success.
After we ate breakfast and got on the buses it was off to Roswell, NM to try to catch a look at some aliens. We spent about an hour perusing the UFO museum and research center ("research center"...seriously???). It was one of the weirdest days I’ve ever had on tour. All of our singers were walking around with foil hats and big eyed alien shirts. The popular trinket to buy today at the visitor’s center was alien shaped eyeglasses. But I suppose in Roswell we didn’t look too out of place.
Fortunately, no one was abducted, though Stella kept insisting that she wanted to be.
There was no singing today – except from me. I’ll leave you with the lyrics to the morning song:
Buenos Dias!
Guten Morgen!
I hope you have a good ol’ mornin’
And that every happy thing would possibly come your way!
This is Joseph’s Morning Song,
I hope that you will sing along.
It is the perfect song to sing
When you start your day!!
Joseph A. Howell
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Sing-Out – Wyatt Park Christian Church
NG Singer/Parent Tour Meeting 2026
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