The caroling is open to the public, and I came to enjoy it, but also to see how it has changed.
I didn't take a picture of the outside of the building because I got there just about as the caroling was supposed to begin, so here is a picture from May 14, 2020. This building was built in 1904 and will be celebrating its 120th anniversary next year.
It has a beautiful lobby full of marble.
The lobby ceiling.
The only thing I'm lacking is music.
I spent well over an hour trying to upload a video I took to You Tube. I never figured it out - I kept getting a message that I needed to take a 30 second video of myself and wait at least a day for verification. I also tried to upload it directly from my phone to the blog, but it was a 28 MB file and I don't know what ended up happening to it.
So why bittersweet? Because fewer members of the public showed up. Because there were fewer employees of the building's two major employers singing than in the past (I'm sure that hybrid work schedules had something to do with that). Fewer people playing instruments. It just wasn't the same.
But is anything still the same? Change is a constant in our lives.
The TV coverage (available on You Tube) had mostly interviews and next to no music, but no matter.
Here's a post from 2018 with the way it sounded back then.
How sad that this seems to be a dying tradition. The reaction to Covid seems to have rewritten all the rules.
ReplyDelete...so that's the Security Mutual Building where my insurance payments have gone all of these years. It has been pleasure to help to support the business. They sure knew how to build things back then. ☃️ 🎄 ❄️ 🎅🏼
ReplyDeleteCaroling has always been something I read about in books, but never experienced myself, even growing up in the '60s. Maybe more an east coast thing? Oh, my Camp Fire Girls group caroled in nursing homes! Honestly, I don't have fond memories of that, even though the "old folks" loved it. I'm happy your event was back after three years. Three years can be a long time between things.
ReplyDeleteThe building is looking fabulous
ReplyDeleteThe building is magnificent.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, the world has certainly changed.
Beautiful building! Beautiful caroling! Numbers don't matter. Heart is all that matters! (I'd love to hear this year's, but 2018 sounded just lovely!) I hope they can keep it going!
ReplyDeleteThey sure make it difficult to upload videos. I bet if you cut it down to small reels for Instagram or TikTok, then the blog would take it. But no matter. Things have changed. It's too bad it wasn't what it was, but it might bounce back in a year or two.
ReplyDelete