Flash mob caroling

                                                            Pat, Rose, and Mary Jean

     I was driving home from a toy store in Lake Oswego when I noticed police and fire vehicles hurrying down Rte 43.  You don't' often see that on this side of the river, I thought.  Life in the wealthy suburbs is more sedate.   I fiddled with the radio scan button.  My favorite progressive talk radio station, KPOJ, had changed abruptly to a 24-hour sports yammer, so I don't really have a home on the  dial anymore. ( Of course, it's no longer a dial, and I don't have a word for how you work a radio anymore, either.)  
     I switched from classical music to Oregon Public Radio, and heard tense voices. "Clackamas County Sheriff reports that units are arriving from Gladstone, Milwaukie, West Linn and Lake Oswego."  A little later, "Unconfirmed reports of two dead.  One taken by Life Flight helicopter to OSHU."  There was a gunman killing people in our local shopping mall, Clackamas Town Center.  About twenty minutes later, "The shooter has been neutralized.  That's all the sheriff will say.  We don't yet  know if there are any other gunmen in the mall."  Deputies were scouring the mall, looking for other shooters and evacuating shoppers and clerks who had been hiding in storerooms and bathrooms and under clothes racks.  Eventually, the sheriff reported that the lone gunman had killed himself, and that everybody was being  evacuated from the mall.  Later estimates said that 10,000 people were in the mall when the killer was shooting.

Flash mob, Judy at left

      A week ago, Lisa Nowak had the idea that we should  sing Christmas carols in the food court of Clackamas Town Center, right where the gunman had opened fire.  She checked it out with mall management and mall security, who were enthusiastic.   She started planning on Saturday, inviting  all of us at Tamara's tea.    She e-mailed the women from Chrysalis,  our writers' group.  The leader of Chrysalis, Pat, is also the office administrator for my church.  Pat put the event on the church listserv and on Facebook. We  invited our friends and neighbors. I invited  my former Flash Choir.  One of the fine bass voices in  the Flash Choir is our local TV weatherman, Mat Zaffino.  Zaffino e-mailed Lisa to ask if she would mind if he sent TV  news cameras.
      By Wednesday night a flash mob of singers strolled around the food court, gathering weary shoppers to sing with them.   Lisa planned on singing the first verse only of 6 familiar  carols:
O Come All Ye Faithful
Joy to The World
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
What Child is This
Silent Night
     Lisa, in her Santa hat, passed out sheets of paper with the lyrics on them. Chrysalis turned out in force.   Paula led the singing with her guitar, and a flute player set the key.  Mary Jean gestured to the crowd to join in. Church members with their children on their shoulders walked around singing. Judy was there in her red Christmas sweatshirt, along with our neighbor Janet.  After about 5 minutes, when the carols Lisa had planned had been sung, the crowd  formed a circle around the guitar and flute, and some lead singers (including a chihuahua) emerged.  The group   continued with We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  By the time they got to Go, Tell it on the Mountain they were singing third and fourth verses.  When they sang O, Holy Night  they were making 4-part harmony. The brief, spontaneous flash of carol singing that Lisa had anticipated turned into a twenty minute celebration, with about 150 people participating.

To see the  local news coverage of the event:www.kgw.com/.../Flash-mob-carols-at-Clackamas-Town-Center-184277741. html -

Lisa writing

      I was not able to go sing carols  at the mall because of a silly meeting.  Later that night I eagerly watched all 20 minutes of the video,  pointing out friends and probably making Judy bored with my running commentary.   "Lisa's new book Dead Heat  has just been published.  Paula also plays the  dulcimer.  Rose's husband just died.  She is a fine poet.  Mary is making her second movie.   Pat's book Kidnapping the Lorax was in Amazon's top ten environmental books last year.  Mary Jean is on the ski patrol on Mt Hood."
To see a more complete video via KPDX:

    http://politicollision.com/story.php?title=clackamas-town-center-flash-mob-christmas-caroling-days-after-shooting-showing-support-#26747

     Lisa made a bold move, and good people gathered around to do a modern version of singing away the dark.  As Lisa told KGW news, "We can't let the darkness inside of a few disturbed individuals extinguish the light in all of us."