a day in my life

A day in my life as an anthem singer... This is a snapshot of my day on June 28, 2008. It was the day I sang the national anthem for the Kansas City Royals vs. the St. Louis Cardinals in Kansas City.

8am Roll out of bed & check cell phone for new messages.

9am Breakfast with my friend and assistant for the event later in the day, just cereal, gotta keep it simple.

10:13am Shower, dress, straighten hair.

11:15am Trip to the grocery store to pick up fixin's to make home made pancakes on Sunday morning.

11:51am Drive through Brookside and around The Plaza in KC.

12:37pm Lunch with three friends in The Plaza. Turkey & Avocado Club & a Fat Tire... mmm. Great conversation about real estate, my recent trip to Memphis, hookin' up and dogs.

2pm Paige drops me off at the Brez-Salveter home to rest.

2:03pm Lounge on the couch, watch True Life on MTV.

2:20pm Retire to bedroom to check email, play on Facebook, lay around a little more.

3pm Straighten hair again, warm up voice in the bathroom. GREAT acoustics in the bathroom.

3:20pm Make up.

3:50pm Iron clothes. Wish out loud that I had someone to iron clothes for me. Wish out loud for a Diet Pepsi.

4pm Run downstairs for Diet Pepsi, then return to ironing.

4:07pm Dress. Can't wear read, per the Royals instructions so I am wearing my standard anthem attire. Black. Throw wallet, tickets, & make up in purse.

4:12pm Shoes & jewelry. Wearing a BIG red flower shaped ring with a diamond in the center to secretly show my loyalty to the Cardinals. And slight panic because it sounds like nobody else is ready to leave.

4:27pm Out the front door! Panic again because now Andy needs to clean out the car before we can leave. Andy reassures me that he will get me "to the church on time."

4:50pm Andy drops me & Cindy off at the front entrance of Kauffman Stadium.

4:55pm Cindy stops with me to get water. Cindy takes my purse and camera for me.

5pm Cindy warms up the camera, taking pictures of Chris Duncan during batting practice. She just loves some Chris Duncan. Kasey Schweitzer of the Royals introduces me to a member of the KCrew who will serve as my "handler" for the evening.

5:10pm Cindy heads to the dugout to get in position for pictures and my handler takes me to the press room.

5:15pm Meet Willie Wilson. I think I have a crush on the Hall of Famer.

5:25pm Warm up in the "blue room." Feel strong. Voice feels good. Ready to go!

5:30pm All pregame participants gather in the press room for download on the night's festivities, the schedule and the rules. Everyone is given their cues. Kasey is, by far, the most organized and together event director I have EVER worked with and that includes NASCAR, MLB, & NHL.

5:32pm Step onto Kauffman field. Cindy takes a picture of me standing on the on deck circle. Royals players swarm the dugout. (Some of them were lookin' real good.) Cards players stagger in slowly. (I think there were maybe six Cardinal uniforms out for the anthem.)

5:36pm Mic'd up, earphones in.

5:38pm Kasey ushers me to homeplate. Camera man positions himself about 4 feet in front of me. Announcer introduces me. (I don't even remember what he said but I remember hearing my name and then seeing my face on the HUGE flat screen in center field. What a distraction!)

5:39pm And... anthem. I can hear myself in the earpiece and the echo in the stadium. Just keep going... Just keep singing... Don't let the echo or your giant face on the screen mess you up. OOO fireworks! And the home of the brave!

5:40pm Applause. I hear a few people yell my name. As I walk off the field, a couple of random Royals congratulate me on a job well done. Some fans lean over the dugout and extend applause to me as one of them yells "great job!"

6:10pm In my seat, Bud Light in hand, fun with friends for the rest of the night. Throughout the night various fans approach me and tell me the anthem was great or beautiful.

9:30pm A couple behind me spots me on the Royals highlight reel playing on the screen in center field and realizes I was the anthem singer, then engages me in a brief conversation about the hows, whys and what fors of anthem singing.

10:15pm Finally get to the car, more beers, cavorting in the parking lot with the unbelievable number of Cardinals fans in KC for the weekend.

11pm Arrive back at the Brez-Salveter residence, ding dongs for everyone, and a few minutes of "Better Off Dead."

11:20pm Off to bed, a little "internets" time and then to sleep.

It was a good day. A good day indeed.