Well you want to know the rest of the story. The guy is a friend. At the dress he has kids on boxes with wireless pretend mics and lav's on the shirt. It makes a 4 yr old or whatever the same size as the 7 yr old. He gives them cookies when they vamp with the mics and 'pretend' to sing. They are more off key than on. To occupy them while Dad plays his killer solo, Mom passes them the cookies.

He asked what I thought and I said that. He lost the wooden boxes and the cookies for the performance but they still were doing cutsie and knew it. I sat in the 'heavy' horns for the euph 2nd and 3rd parts with my wife.

They normally do a church circuit. Our band leader, knowing we were having a NON church crowd mostly told him no religious numbers.

Now they are moving to South America as missionaries. OK.

As to the monkey thing it comes from the old English ap(e). And it had NOTHING to do with that before so you used that old word to say someone copied something.

Perhaps things are viewed differently through other's eyes. I was brought up in the strict British style, middle class pretenders, polished silver on sunday's with white linen, wedgeworth, fancy glassware, etc. Despite the hard times. Carry on, and bite your lip.

I was NOT referring to the lad on the video, I'm not the trumpet player.

And I hated it that my friend's mother whacked his knuckles with a ruler when he flubbed one scale and made him do them over and over. In my family, you could take music if YOU wanted to. I have the 60 year old piano as proof I was the only one of 6 that did.

When my friend's mom had company he had to dress up and play Chopin for them while they had tea. Very nice. Hasn't touched the piano since he left home, and I met his Mom a month ago and her husband died and she had just sold the Chickering concert grand. I might have bought that, and a new house for it too. Paul, the son, is a millionaire, and owns his father's former paving company. Nice Mercedes, however I like my old pickup, I don't pick up the junk inside, and the dashboard has dust all over it. I write phone numbers on the dash with my finger. LOL.

John Conley
Musica est vita