The company's director gave me my selection. And then, practice, practice, practice until it was perfect. Move to the music, I told myself. To the right, point, back step, point. Look at the back of the audience. Smile, smile, smile.
The big night arrived. The crowd filling the theater applauded loudly for each act.
"And next, ladies and gentlemen, here's Chester Hunt singing “Slow Boat to China.”
I anxiously made my way to the spotlight, repeating in my mind the lyrics:
I'd love to get you / On a slow boat to China All to myself alone / Get you and keep you / In my arms ever more / Leave all your lovers / Weepin' on a far away shore / Out on the briny / With the moon big and shiny / Melting your heart of stone / Honey, I'd love to get you / On a slow boat to China / All by myself alone
Then, panic set in as I stood dumbfounded in the center of the spotlight. The silent crowd watched expectantly.
" I'd love to get you . . .," I began, my voice breaking slightly. I couldn't do it. I stood transfixed, unable to remember the rest of the darned song. It seemed like forever before I started again: "I'd love to . . . "
And then, I just walked off the stage.
Hear Ella Fitzgerald perform "Slow Boat to China."
