Off the Risers- Life as a Singer: Lynette

It’s a soup night. With Minnesota stuck in what seems to be a perpetual polar vortex, it’s not surprising that I’ve caught a bad cold. That’s not good timing when I need to be hard at work getting ready for the first rehearsal of our next Singers project.

As my Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable simmers on the stove, I thought I’d write about the many ways Singers work to stay healthy during these brutal winter months. Everyone seems to have their favorite remedies. For me, it’s soup in the evening, plenty of water during the day, an occasional cup of herbal mint tea, a glass of Emergen-C before bedtime, Sudafed (the original, red ones, actually wonders at times) and sometimes a Cold-Eez or two if I catch my cold in time. This time, I definitely did not.

This is what I tell myself is my cold routine. In reality, I’m a coffee drinker, and I’m way down on my water consumption. Enter the cold battle blitz of this evening, complete with the soup. A quick Facebook poll of The Singers reminded me of other favorite cures: NyQuil and sleep, Airborne, and zinc lozenges.

Sleep! Oh yes, some more of that would definitely help. If only one could get comfortable under the weight of all of those heavy blankets.

In the midst of this, I can’t help but be reminded of a scene from the television show West Wing when Lord John Marbury offered up his own ideas to President Bartlett:

MARBURY: You know, there are some marvelous flu remedies known in the certain remote parts of the subcontinent. Licorice root, for instance, combined with bamboo sap and a strong shot of whiskey. Ginger root, also, mixed with, uh, citrus peel.

BARTLET: And a strong shot of whiskey?

MARBURY: Yes, of course. In fact, you can throw out the ginger root and citrus peel, and still be well in your way.

However you fight the battle, wishing you well.

Never stop singing,

-Lynette