Performance by Lori Chaffer »
It was late afternoon, and we were wondering about attempting one final shoot, this time high on the rim above Box Canyon. Two of our party embarked on a quick scouting mission and returned with tales of perfect winter light and a singular view of Laity Lodge to boot. So it was decided.
We hurried off unsure of just how much daylight we had left. Although hurried may not be the most precise word. Ropes were involved. Lori, surveying the route ahead, muttered simply, “This is going to be tricky.”
We converged at the rock outcropping marking the top of Box Canyon. Setup was quick. Lori was already wearing her guitar, so she just started singing:
“We’re taking a risk, making the dare
Gonna step out and breathe the air”
In the big scheme of things, maybe it was a small risk we took when we decided to make this late-day climb. The worst case would be the songs didn’t work out or a guitar would get banged against a rock. But if we hadn’t done it, we would have missed these few moments together with these friends, in this place. We would have missed seeing the smoke rising from the Great Hall fireplace far below. And we would have missed the shared sense that “Happy” was more than just a great song in a nice setting—that it was something nearer a benediction to a day’s work.
