Diners who went to Fort Payne McDonald’s on Thursday had no idea they would be served much more than their meal.
They had to wait a bit to be served because there was a busload of students there to catch their own meal on the road. It was the student choir from the University of Louisiana-Monroe. They had been to the presidential inauguration, performing over the weekend and on Monday. Now, they were heading home to Monroe, La. Their route took them right down Interstate 59, through Fort Payne, on through Gadsden, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and into Mississippi; finally into Louisiana and home to Monroe.
After they had placed their food orders inside the McDonald’s, they, like everyone there, had to wait for their order to be filled. They made good use – great use – of that wait time. They struck up “God Bless America.” Totally unplanned. It was a God thing. And an American thing.
God did indeed bless America, and He blessed Alabama and all who were blessed to be inside that Alabama McDonald’s at that magic moment in time.
It gave new meaning to “dinner music.”
Listen and watch as Mike Frasier of Fort Payne caught this magic moment:
It just happened to be a wonderful birthday treat for Mike Frasier, who shared the video on Facebook.
"A group of kids from Louisiana Monroe they had been to sing at the inauguration stopped at McDonald's and sang very good God Bless America," he wrote.
If you think that these ULM students will never be in Alabama again, that would be incorrect. They will be back on September 6 in Bryant-Denny Stadium as the ULM Warhawks take on the Crimson Tide. When these two teams played in 2007, ULM pulled off the startling upset of Coach Nick Saban's first Alabama season, defeating Alabama 21-14. These ULM singers were just toddlers then and do not remember that game. Alabama fans do remember it all too well.
God bless America.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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