Ed, the Shepherd 2001

By Mary May Barrows (Angelil)     Christmas Eve 2001 (soon after we moved from Florida to Virginia)

We are here in Virginia and somehow the days just roll by.  Ed keeps life interesting – it’s kind of like watching a whirling dervish when he enters the house.  His zest for life and enthusiasm are joyful to behold.

He was a very good Shepherd #1 for the Christmas Eve service.  He carried a torch pole with an orange cellophane torch.  For their first scene, shepherd #2 came in first and it became his job to herd the "sheep"   (a tiny girl of about 4 years dressed in what appeared to be a rabbit costume.  It took several minutes for me to figure out that she was a sheep.)   He had a tough time trying to get her to go up onto the stage and not into the aisle. 


For their second appearance, Shepherd #1 (Ed) entered first with the tiny sheep in front of him.  I almost giggled out loud as he tried to gently nudge her along with the pole of his torch.  Even with the sheep-herding problems, Ed spoke his 3 lines perfectly and projected his voice quite well.

Both scenes dealing with this tiny sheep quite resembled how things might go if you tried to herd cats!  (Only you "cat" people can truly understand this.)

When I asked Ed afterwards why he tried to guide her with the torch pole, he said they were told quite clearly backstage not to touch the children.  Even in this tiny town we have to think of legal ramifications! 

I was really proud of Shepherd #1 and even more pleased that he consented to do it.  A nice side benefit was that Shepherd #2 is a very successful real estate/construction man and Ed had great fun discussing heating systems with him.