A special silo
Sometimes silos are used for advertising or promoting a product, or to announce a special event. Such is the case with the silo shown in this picture. Our daughter Regina and her husband, Don, celebrated the birth of their son at a Syracuse hospital. Not long after that, Don climbed up the old silo that stands on their property and painted a note telling all that would see it of their joyful event.
That was almost 21 years ago, and although the silo lost much of its original white coating, the words “IT’S A BOY” painted in John Deere green are still visible. The baby was named Cecil and had a normal childhood. It soon became apparent that he favored music over other activities and was encouraged in that by his parents, who enrolled him for private piano lessons. Early on, he developed an attraction to the sound of the bassoon. At Marcellus Central School, they didn’t have a bassoon for the middle school, so he played clarinet for a year. After that, he played bassoon in the Marcellus Central school band and filled in on percussion when their percussionist was absent.
In his senior year of high school, he was pursuing admission to music programs at several colleges. He was invited to audition with the bassoon at Syracuse College of Visual and Performing Arts. That audition resulted in him receiving a full-tuition scholarship to SU, where he is now nearing the end of his studies for a degree in Sound Recording Technology.
However, along the way, he has played snare drum in the Drum Line and the Marching Band. He is now proficient in playing the stand-up bass, electric bass guitar, and any keyboard instrument from the accordion to the organ. Cecil’s musical ability is not limited to instruments. He sings in several choral groups, including the Hendricks Chapel Choir and the SU Concert Choir. We have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing him in many concert programs.
Needless to say, this silo is indeed special to our family and us.
