Joy in the Congo
Photo: cbsnews.com Speaking of miracles ... Sunday night I watched the last segment of 60 Minutes. Normally I'm not a big 60 Minutes because sometimes I think the stories can be downright hurtful, or mean, or too sad for me. But since I was waiting for Amazing Race to start, I kept the station where it was. I am so glad I did. The Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world. The pictures of what I can only call squalor were unfathomable. How people live, work and raise children in a place like that is beyond me. But if you look closer, like Bob Simon from 60 Minutes did, you'll find the Kimbanquist Symphony Orchestra. A 2oo piece orchestra and choir under the tutelage of Armand Diangienda. I wonder if this is what Beethoven was thinking of when he wrote Ode to Joy. Diangienda, a commercial airline pilot after the airline he worked went belly up, taught himself to read music, play instruments, find broken instruments in the trash, repair them then teach others how to ...