Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

My cute friend Annaleesa had an extra ticket and I got to tag along.  I love to see this Christmas concert put on each year at the conference center by the tabernacle choir and the special guests accompanying them and I feel very lucky to go when she gets tickets.

This is Annaleesa's Aunt Caroline and she is a fun gal that makes me laugh whenever I get to visit with her.  She was here all the way from California so it was fun to see and visit with her again.

The tab choir and orchestra getting set up before the Music and the Spoken Word was to start.  We got to see that live taping and was given brief instructions to be very quiet and to absolutely hold our applause, even if tempted to do so.  That's a pretty big undertaking for a crowd this large.  Surely somewhere, somebody is going to want to applaud.  After one of the tender stories that was told by Tom Brokaw about the Candy Bomber-Gail Halvorsen and how he sent candy down to the little kids in German territory in little parachutes out came the Candy Bomber and that was hard not to stand and give him a big applause for his goodness.

Gail Halvorsen-from Wikipedia
Shortly before landing at the Tempelhof airport in the American sector of Berlin, Halvorsen would drop candy attached to parachutes to children below. This action, which was dubbed Operation Little Vittles and sparked similar efforts by other crews, was the source of the popular name for the pilots: the candy bombers. Halvorsen had wanted to help raise the morale of the children during the time of uncertainty and privation.
Halvorsen started by giving a few treats to children watching the planes from outside the Tempelhof base. Wanting to give more, he promised to drop more candy from his plane the next day. Because the planes would arrive nearly every three minutes, the children naturally couldn't distinguish his aircraft from the others. However, Halvorsen promised to wiggle the wings to identify himself, which led to his nickname "Onkel Wackelflügel" ("Uncle Wiggly Wings"). The other American candy bombers became known as the Rosinenbombers (Raisin Bombers). Halvorsen's initiative drew the attention of the operation's commanding officer, Lieutenant General William H. Tunner, who approved of it and ordered it expanded into Operation Little Vittles.
The operation was soon noticed by the press and gained widespread attention. A wave of public support led to donations which enabled Halvorsen and his crew to drop 850 pounds of candy. By the end of the airlift, around 25 plane crews had dropped 23 tons of chocolate, chewing gum, and other candies over various places in Berlin. The Confectioners Association of America donated large amounts to the effort, and American school children cooperated in attaching the candies to parachutes.