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From: leniemc on 29 Jan 2007 20:11
In article <ELrvh.481949$Fi1.262608(a)bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>, Darrell
Jefress says...
>
>All, last week I had reported that Ryan Rhodes' last day as the lead bass
>for the Voices would be last Saturday. I think I also reported that my wife
>and I are scheduled to arrive at WDW this Thursday - just five days too
>late.
>
>Well, in the end, I decided I had to go for Ryan's last day. One of the good
>uses for money is to be with your friends on the important days in their
>life, so even though this cost me a bundle, I knew I was doing the right
>thing. So I scheduled the craziest WDW trip I've ever done -
>
>1 - fly out of Los Angeles on Friday night
>2 - land at MCO Saturday morning, and drive to WDW
>3 - breakfast at Yacht Club Galley
>4 - all day at Epcot, including watching the Voices from 12:30 until their
>last set at 5pm.
>5 - dinner at 'Ohana
>6 - hang out in the lobby of the Polynesian reading and doing paperwork
>7 - drive back to MCO early Sunday morning
>8 - fly back to Los Angeles at 0730, just 25 hours after I landed
>
>In the end, one of my friends gave me a hotel room as a present, so I was
>able to get about four hours sleep on Sunday morning before heading to MCO.
>
>Well, I'm glad I went, as this was a genuinely special occasion. Worth every
>second, every penny, and all the lost sleep. There were others who came in
>for the occasion from Oklahoma (Ryan's home state), Minnesota, and New
>York - that I knew of. (I also met one of the Fort Wilderness snowbirds that
>we've talked about in the other thread.) Not to mention several members of
>Ryan's family, and all sorts of local friends.
>
>The crowds in the rotunda got bigger as the day went on, and the music was
>genuinely inspired. All of Ryan's favorite numbers were done, along with a
>number of requests from the friends and family. At one point, the group
>even did their "happy birthday" salute to a friend's guide dog, named Tiger.
>(Yes, the dog *is* named after Tiger Woods.)
>
>At the 3:30 and 4:15 sets, Ryan absolutely brought down the house with the
>best performances I've ever seen him give of "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
>and "Old Man River". And he gave us his popular "braying donkey" at the end
>of "Old MacDonald".
>
>The Voices also occasionally do a piece called "50 Nifty United States", in
>which at the beginning each of the performers tells us what state they're
>from. Ryan gave us "Nebraska", even though he won't be moving there for a
>bit yet. (He assures us that he'll always be a Sooner at heart!)
>
>Regrettably, we were forced out into the courtyard for the final set (a
>practice I despise as much as others of us dislike the closing of eateries),
>but this final set was a fabulous "All Ryan, all the time" set, as he did
>the spotlight sections for "God Bless the USA", "Yankee Doodle", and his
>final number, "America the Beautiful". It was nice to be able to share the
>moment with so many others who were there for the same reason.
>
>In the end, it was a special day for all of us who were there to honor a
>dear friend, and a really nice guy. What I also appreciate was that this was
>all done without sacrificing the quality of the show for the rest of the
>guests. (I have seen Broadway productions in which a departing performer was
>honored in such a way that the audience who wasn't part of the "event" was
>left wondering "what the heck was all that?")
>
>Ryan will be missed, of course, but what he kept telling folks all day was
>"I'm not saying 'goodbye', I'm saying 'see y'all later'. As I told him just
>before I left, if we don't see each other again here, we'll meet again, by
>God's mercy, in another place.
>
>But the Voices will go on, of course, and they'll still be my single
>favorite thing to do at WDW. I'm not sure who'll be the lead bass now. I'm
>not sure anyone knows yet.
>
>And in the meantime, my wife and I arrive on Thursday for a "regular" WDW
>visit. She'll finally get to meet all the others. We're hoping to find a
>time when we can get together briefly with Ryan, since he's still in town.
>
>Nicholas via Darrell
>
>
Thanks for the report, Darrell. I love the Voice of Liberty and never miss
them. I even have a couple of their CDs. I'll be down their next week - can't
wait!

lenniemc

From: Darrell Jefress on 29 Jan 2007 20:37

"leniemc" <leniemc_member(a)newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:epm60201evr(a)drn.newsguy.com...

> Thanks for the report, Darrell. I love the Voice of Liberty and never
miss
> them. I even have a couple of their CDs. I'll be down their next week -
can't
> wait!

If you're there on Tuesday or Thursday, be sure to ask someone if Nicholas
is there. Or just look for the really good-looking guy in the front row
holding the camcorder.

Nicholas via Darrell


From: lenniemc on 30 Jan 2007 07:19
In article <yjxvh.482965$Fi1.216350(a)bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>, Darrell
Jefress says...
>
>
>"leniemc" <leniemc_member(a)newsguy.com> wrote in message
>news:epm60201evr(a)drn.newsguy.com...
>
>> Thanks for the report, Darrell. I love the Voice of Liberty and never
>miss
>> them. I even have a couple of their CDs. I'll be down their next week -
>can't
>> wait!
>
>If you're there on Tuesday or Thursday, be sure to ask someone if Nicholas
>is there. Or just look for the really good-looking guy in the front row
>holding the camcorder.
>
>Nicholas via Darrell
>
>
I'll try to make a point to be there one of those days if not both and I'll be
sure to look you up! Seems like the last several times I've been the one that
gets her hand held while being sung "Ole Suzanna" to. It's happened 3x's in a
row. Think this time I'm going to the back of the Rotunda! &#9786; Have a
safe trip!

lenniemc

From: FIZZIE on 30 Jan 2007 10:49


Thanks for your report.
I always make it a point to hear the Voices of Liberty.
For my family, they have always been a Disney main event, not to be
missed.
Just another example of the high quality performances that add up to
make the price of a park pass seem like one of the best bargains on
the planet.
-Fizzie

From: bigbrian-nc.com on 31 Jan 2007 04:33
On Jan 29, 2:17 pm, "Darrell Jefress" <eve...(a)tokyo.com> wrote:
> All, last week I had reported that Ryan Rhodes' last day as the lead bass
> for the Voices would be last Saturday. <snip>
> Ryan will be missed, of course, but what he kept telling folks all day was
> "I'm not saying 'goodbye', I'm saying 'see y'all later'. As I told him just
> before I left, if we don't see each other again here, we'll meet again, by
> God's mercy, in another place.
>
> But the Voices will go on, of course, and they'll still be my single
> favorite thing to do at WDW. I'm not sure who'll be the lead bass now. I'm
> not sure anyone knows yet.
>
> And in the meantime, my wife and I arrive on Thursday for a "regular" WDW
> visit. She'll finally get to meet all the others. We're hoping to find a
> time when we can get together briefly with Ryan, since he's still in town.
>
> Nicholas via Darrell


Nicholas,
Thank You, Thank you, Thank You! I haven't poted to RADP in
years, but I just had to write to thank you for your report, the
Voices of Liberty are a favorite of mine, probably my top favorite in
all the Live entertainment groups, and I really like many of the Live
Entertanment offerings, Ryan in particular has always taken time to
say hi to me and even remembered my name after a very long time
between trips
I regreted not getting to see the VOL in December. If there's a way to
pass my best wishes along to Ryan in whatever he pursues please let me
know how, Thanks

Brian Martsolf - http://www.bigbrian-nc.com

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