Tugboats deserve some recognition too

"You know why I love tugboats? Because they are the little guy helping the big guy. That's all they do is help the big guy."

Six of us were on our annual "girls week out" trip, and Keller was looking out our condominium's window watching the boats at the nearby wharf. At the time I didn't pay her comment much heed, but for the past few weeks I've seen that principle in action at the high school where we are in the middle of musical performances.

Thirty-five actors are singing, dancing, and acting, while a dozen others are behind the scenes (literally) making sure that everything runs smoothly. Victoria is in charge of props. That doesn't sound like much, but ask one of the seven showgirls how important it is when her hankie is missing and Victoria rescues her with a spare. Randal, Michael, Jordan and Paul are the "muscles" that move sets, place furniture, and work special lights. Devon, Ashleigh and Kayla maneuver props, help actors with defective costumes (and sometimes even bandaids), and operate special curtain effects. Angela runs the grande master drape which must be in sync with perfectly-timed musical and lighting cues that originate and end with Emily and Kelsie who man the lights, microphones and sound effects from the control booth. Four other students work with costumes, and several others come early to apply makeup and wigs.

And then there's Karissa, our lead tugboat. She organizes the entire crew and cues the musicians, curtain people, and lighting technician for scene openings. Her responsibilities are enormous, and she is the "fall person" when a chair is misplaced or a cane is missing from a trunk. Karissa is the lead tugboat for everything that happens back stage.

Hours of practice go into the behind-the-scenes work, yet little fanfare is ever paid to those who spend their evenings serving the actors so that they will have their two hours of glory. The technical crew will leave through the side door late at night after cleaning up and organizing for the next evening, while the cast members stand out front in costume, greeting the patrons who will tell them how wonderful they are.

A few nights ago, after a particularly long and exhausting practice, the cast and crew met on stage for our nightly critique. Sammi, one of our lead actresses, asked to address the group. She wanted to publicly thank Michael who came to her rescue when she tripped over a set piece and fell backstage right before she came on stage. Michael had picked Sammi up and tended to her bleeding foot, making sure she was okay. He then whispered some words of encouragement and waited in the wings for her to make her stage entrance. Michael was Sammi's tugboat.

I believe Jesus has a special place in His heart for tugboats, those who spend their lives quietly serving, making sure that others get where they are supposed to go or do what they are supposed to do. In Galatians 5 we read that Jesus instructed the disciples to serve one another. Never does He say 'Make sure you are noticed" or "Take care of #1 first"... just "serve one another." Like a tugboat, serving is supposed to be our life purpose, yet I wonder how many of us even notice those behind-the-scenes people and appreciate their efforts, let alone are willing to take on those roles ourselves.

I can promise you one thing--if life really is a stage, as Shakespeare once said, without those stage tugboats there would be a disastrous show. I don't think life is much different.