Would you work hard for over a month to raise all your grades; would you sit on a hard floor for an undetermined amount of time with your hands on an instrument case and not be able to lift your fingers even the smallest iota; would you wait every six hours before you could take a bathroom break and only eat and drink when someone fed you; would you stay awake even when your body screamed SLEEP and your head kept nodding off; would you continue to stay in this position for 21 hours??? Chase did!
Chase was the winner of Ted Brown Music's "Hands-On Instrument Contest". After sitting with his hands on an instrument case for 21 hours (from 6:30 p.m. Friday night to 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon) he beat out 27 other students in the Tri-Cities in order to be the grand prize winner. He kept his concentration, stayed awake, paced his eating and drinking, and was a very good sport watching kids drop out of the competition one-by-one. Chase and a 7th grade girl were the last two contestants for about the last two hours and were both rock solid. The girl made one slip and raised a thumb to make Chase the winner. As a family, we all took turns being Chase's support crew, staying with him to help him stay awake and feed him when he needed it. Tara took the toughest shift (from midnight to 4:30 a.m.). Aaron and Kendall even called a couple of times to check in and encourage Chase. Chase was extremely happy that his determination and persistence totally paid off and he loves his new saxophone! My only question is this: If he can sit THAT still and under control for 21 hours, why can't he sit still for one hour of church?
This is Chase at the beginning of the competition. Notice the bright eyes and happy smile:
This is Chase at the end of his 20th hour. He was losing the comfort of his pillow and blanket right after I took this picture. Notice the droopy eyelids and bloodshot eyes:
At the end of the 21st hour, the two kids left in the competition were losing their support crews and would be on their own to endure every itch and not be able to scratch, not be able to eat because no one was there to feed them, and have no one to talk to or wake them up if they started to nod off. I fed Chase, put his water right next to him with a very long straw, and gave him a dose of a 5 hour energy drink. Right at the end of the 21 hours was when Chase's competition slipped up and raised her thumb. It was heartbreaking to see her lose after lasting for 21 hours, but we were very proud of Chase for sticking this out and working hard to accomplish his goal. He looks much happier now:
The local news came and did a story before the competition started. Here is their news report:
