The Slice: Go ahead, show off those pipes

So there’s this scene in the 2010 movie “The Kids are All Right.”

Five people are seated around a dinner table: a longtime lesbian couple, their two teenage children and the man they recently met who was the then-anonymous sperm donor all those years ago. The gathering is at his house.

The conversation turns to singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell’s albums. One of the women gets into it to the extent that she goes ahead and sings one of her favorite songs. Her eyes are closed and she’s really feeling it.

When she is done, the teen boy says something like, “Don’t quit your day job.”

Upon hearing that, the man at the table says something remarkable. Without slapping the boy down in a rough way, he tells him that it’s already hard enough in this world to reveal what’s in your heart. “Don’t make it any harder.”

I thought of that on Monday morning when I listened to phone messages left by readers who responded to The Slice’s weekend request for people to call and sing a bit of “Born Free.”

There weren’t that many. And some did not have great voices.

But all had courage.

Too strong a word? Maybe not. I think most people in Spokane are flat-out afraid to sing.

That’s probably true everywhere. But I have a hunch that this is a place that has more than its share of supposedly strong/silent types who would be terrified by the prospect of trying to carry a tune.

I know I am. Well, except for a few special situations.

Of course, it would be fair to ask, just where are people supposed to sing?

Many do not attend church. And real life doesn’t usually include something like the Mayberry town choir with Barney Fife hitting the wrong notes.

It’s too bad we don’t have a Bloomsday or Hoopfest for singing.

Events that involve sneakers and sweating are fine. But wouldn’t Spokane be an emotionally healthier place if more of us revealed what was in our hearts?

Singing can do that. Maybe that’s why it’s scary.

Today’s Slice question: Do you know someone who is so afraid of singing that he or she can’t even join in a round of “Happy Birthday”?