Newspaper Article From Saluda, South Carolina

The following two articles appeared in the Saluda Sentinel. They were written by Ralph Shealy who performs in the talent show video.

APRIL 27, 2006
IT HAPPENS...

Remember the movies from the 40's when Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland put on a variety show in a barn, and a big producer just happened to drop by, and he's so impressed, he put the kids on Broadway and they became stars?

Well, that didn't happen at the Emory Variety Show Saturday night at the Shrine Club, but we did have a young lady "drop by." She was driving down Hwy. 121 and saw the sign in front of the Shrine Club advertising the variety show, and decided to attend. The young lady was from Louisville, Ky., and was on her way home. "You've got the Kentucky Derby coming in a couple of weeks, and you stop by the Saluda Shrine Club to see a church variety show?," I asked her. She said she enjoyed things like this. Of course, she said that before we started.

Actually, we did pretty well, I thought.

I couldn't figure out, however, why the visitor from Louisville took pictures throughout the show. I hope we are not going to end up on some "Churches Gone Wild" website. I've known about this variety show for a couple of months, so I decided what I was going to sing Saturday afternoon at about 3 p.m. I don't know if the cruise-in was held Saturday. It was raining early in the morning, and none of my old cars handle moisture. I couldn't go anyway, because I was on a mission to find some tapes.

I had not planned on singing "church music." Instead I wanted to sing a song from the 40's a la Mickey and Judy, like "I'll Be Seeing You," or "You'll Never Know." I have accompaniment tapes for these and knew exactly where they were. They weren't. I tore my bedroom up looking for those tapes. I still haven't found them. So, I sang a "church song."

We had a good time at the show. There was a lot going on around our little burg Saturday night. "Elvis" was at Saluda Presbyterian, "Peter Pan" was at the Saluda Theater, and Saluda High had its prom.

Who says there is nothing to do here?

MAY 11, 2006
ON THE NET

A few weeks ago I wrote about the young lady from Louisville, Ky., who saw the sign at the Saluda Shrine Club for our Emory Talent Show and stopped in to take in the event.

I said she took pictures through the show and I hoped we weren't going to be included on some "Church's Gone Wild" video.

Well, we're not on that type of video, but we are on the internet!

Laura Parker has an internet site, www.meet-a-stranger.blogspot.com, and has included commentary, photos, and, yes, a video of the Emory Talent Show. She even has a clip of me singing on the video. I may be discovered yet - "American Older Than An Egyptian Idol."

She also has a photo of herself sporting the Bush-n-a-Bag "purse" Wayne Fulmer gave her.

This is a great internet site. Not many people want to "meet a stranger," but Laura meets them and writes good things about them.