Why not to become part of the community #2

We are having a bit of a party in the bar tonight. My colleague and interregnum boss, Mike, will be playing some live music, mostly of the rock/blues persuasion, along with a couple of other people.

So far so good.

A few weeks ago they got together to play and a few of us were hanging out in the bar. It got to a point where we were singing along, and I ended up doing a bit of a solo version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now".

I am always pleasantly surprised when people compliment my singing voice. My mother, and now I come to think of it my father too, always told me I couldn't sing - they told me to shut up, or asked me if I was in pain whenever I opened my mouth to sing (admittedly, in hindsight, loudly and with youthful exuberance). As a result, I do, after a lot of assurances from my lovely friends, think I can sing, a bit, but that's my secret, and I definitely don't feel confident enough to sing in front of other people.

But somehow, I did end up singing, in front of a few people, and it was actually a great feeling. And Mike paid me a tremendous compliment, saying he'd like to have his guitar behind my voice, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy, and I must've been enthusiastic about doing it again...

Because now Mike is insisting I sing a couple of songs tonight. In front of a lot more people. Not all my friends. I am, to put it mildly, nervous.