Half Mast Is Over

Yes, the Brady flag has been up and down over the past couple of days. It's been up because of Steph's getting accepted to the study abroad program (yea Steph!) and then came down for a couple of hours during the night when it was dark because the Lord's University made a mistake and let Brett walk. However, I noticed that when the sun came up this morning, the flag had returned to it's rightly altitude. Onward and upward.

I'm not sure if I told you kids this story, but when I was a freshman like Brett, at the encouragement of Randa, I auditioned for the Young Ambassadors. I thought I did OK. I was numb when I didn't even make it to the first call backs from the very first cut. Ouch! I remember being very embarrassed and was convinced that I didn't really have "it". I knew the Lord was finally giving me the message that I just wasn't good enough to sing with the 'big boys'. My patriarchal blessing wasn't going to come true. I was an OK talent in Manassa, but BYU was a different story.

After moping around a day or so, I received a call from a woman named Klea Worsley who had seen me in the audition. She wanted to know if I would like to try out for another BYU group. I wasn't too excited at that point but she was quite persuasive. So even though I felt dejected, I went down to audition. I sang again. Did OK. They asked me if i could show them some choreography. I said, "Cory-what?" (I'm not joking--I didn't know what choreography was.) I'm from Manassa and we don't use words like that. They explained that choreography meant dancing while you sing. Whoaaa! You mean sing AND dance at the same time. I tried it and was very stiff, but they were patient. I made it into the group that was called the, "Sunshine Express". As it turned out, that was the best thing in the world for me. We performed nearly every weekend. Young Ambassadors performed maybe once/month after months of practice. Sunshine Express also went on a tour to the Northwest. I got so much more experience and had a lot of fun being in Sunshie Express. It was smaller and I got much more personal help and exposure.

So, after my mission, I was much more prepared going into the audition for YA's. I knew what they were looking for. And, yes, the rest is history. I got the solo part and stole the show by going out into the audience and singing a love song (I Love You Just The Way You Are) to and dancing with a young or not-so-young girl. Everyone loved it. Autographs galore. Even groupies.

Next spring, Disney came to BYU seeking talent. Young Ambassadors performed for the Disney judges. After the performance, Randy Booth pulled me aside and told me they were especially interested in having me audition, so Randy put together a short medley of songs for me to sing. Nearly all the YA's auditioned. I heard nothing for about a week or so. I then got a letter in the mail from Disney indicating that I was chosen as the top tenor in the western U.S. The Disney auditions weren't completed, but they wanted me to put my summer schedule on hold while they completed the auditions. And, once again, the rest is history. They completed the auditions in the east and offered me a position. Out of 5,000 top college kids across the country, I was the top tenor???????? Wow!

They had originally asked me to go to Disney World, but the YA's tour didn't finish early enough so they sent me to California because they started one week later. We got home on Saturday afternoon from tour and left Sunday to be at Disneyland in time for Monday AM rehearsals.

The first day, we auditioned for parts. The most coveted part was the "Love Song Boy". And guess what song he sang? "I Love You Just The Way You Are". Yes, I blew the competition out of the water and was again the "favorite" on stage. "Which of the Osmond brothers are you?" was asked several times/day. (I've never told Donny that.) Imagine that! A farmer kid from Manassa who learned to sing while being bored on a tractor and a horse.

So, the moral of the story, . . . If I had made Young Ambassadors as a freshmen, I don't think I would have ever had the skill to make Disney and maybe even Young Ambassadors after my mission. It's amazing how the Lord really does know everything. From total dejection to becoming a star. OK, a shooting star.

So there you have it. Melinda, Steph and Afton, you'd better copy this as I may not tell this story again. So, when I'm gone, you can all sit around and read how wonderful your dad was. Or at least thought he was. Ha, ha. No, I'm not going anytime soon. I'm too much like Granny Mae.

Brett, we're all very proud of you. This is only a small bump in the road.