Second Verse, Same As the First

It was December of 1989. We had just been ravaged by the worst hurricane of the century, Hurricane Hugo. Now, dreaming of a white Christmas, we got it... snow had begun to fall all around Charleston. The church bells rang out on Sunday, December 24th—Christmas Eve, and the snow was deep enough that all the meteorologists were mandating that everyone stay home and off the unsafe roads.

This was all well and good, except that we as a family were very involved in our church’s programs. Immediately, we wondered what was going to happen for the broadcast that Sunday morning. (Citadel Square, with its formerly mono-lithic steeple, as it was knocked down in the hurricane). While we were contemplating this problem, a call came in from our associate pastor and our choir director wondering if we were going to make it to church that morning.

We thought they were just trying to get a head count for the cameras, but it turns out that they were trying to make sure we would have a program at all for that morning rather than having to do a “re-run.”

At the time, we lived on James Island and it became obvious to us that we had two problems getting to church—they both came in the form of a bridge; one over the Wappoo Creek and the other over the Ashley River. After a moment's consideration, we decided we would try.

Thinking that would end the call, a second question came: “Do you think Brandon would like to sing on T.V. this morning?”

Being proud parents, we had no hesitation in saying, “Yes!”

We didn’t have any idea that “our young star” was not yet ready for prime time. This was the first time that he had been presented with the idea of being on T.V. They were asking if he could sing “Away in a Manger” for the morning service; that and one or two carols would be all the music for Christmas Day.

To calm our son’s quasi-fears of “being on T.V.”, Jim Long (the associate pastor) said he would be standing up there with Brandon the whole time.

Brandon huffed and puffed in true 9-year-old diva form and in his singular statement said, “I only know the first verse to ‘Away in a Manger.’”

Jim’s reply was, “Good! He can sing the first verse twice.”

And now, it was simply a matter of getting there.

While snow isn’t an issue for those in the North East, a tiny “popcorn” convection seems to put the town out of commission. So, you can only imagine what a blizzard would do to the driving habits of Charlestonians. The slight incline to the Wappoo Cut Bridge was made even more treacherous by it being frozen over by the ice and snow; a true manifestation of the sign: “Bridge ices before road.” The Ashley would prove to be much less of a struggle once the other bridge was crossed. We slowly inched along, but finally arriving at the church, we scurried inside, shaking the flurries off our rarely used winter coats.

While it was simply a flick of the switch for all those waiting to enjoy their Sunday morning service broadcast from home, we discovered that there were a few more unexpected hurdles to overcome once we arrived at Citadel Square.

With a smattering of people in the pews that morning, we were tasked with finding someone familiar enough to operate the equipment for the communications tower, transmission and T.V. camera. Securing the services of one, Will Haselden, to provided his master skills of all three: transmission handling between local television station and church, connecting the transmission to that electronics equipment and manning the T.V. camera during the service, we were technically readied to be “live on air.”

All of the members of the congregation were moved up to the choir loft because we were so few in number and we needed to “fill it out.” Now, with all “talent in place,” the countdown to go time commenced...

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

And... Will signaled to us to begin transmission.

Pastor Jim opened us up in a prayer of thanksgiving and we were ready to spread joy and cheer right into the homes of all who were tuned in!

When it was Brandon’s time to sing, Jim led him over to the piano and as promised stood by his side. With Pat at the piano and Brandon dressed to the nines in his bright red sports jacket, white shirt and Christmas plaid pants, he was ready to sing to the heavens (and to the viewers at home)!

He sang:

“Away in a manger, No crib for His bed The little Lord Jesus Laid down His sweet head The stars in the bright sky Looked down where He lay The little Lord Jesus Asleep on the hay.”

While everyone might have expected to hear about “Cattle lowing...” and so on...

What was heard was not the second verse... it was just the same as the first! Again, Brandon sang: “Away in a manger, no crib for His bed, the little Lord Jesus... Asleep on the hay.” Well, at that point, no

one in the church nor at home were asleep, but instead was chuckling while applauding. He had done it. While it was definitely his first televised performance, it certainly wouldn’t be his last.

And, even though the service was abridged, due to the myriad of unforeseen circumstances, its memory lives long in our hearts.