Smoky Mountain Les Mis

 

I was in between hikes with friends in the Smoky Mountains, staying the night in a simple little backpacker's motel on the southern side of the park. The kind with run down green furniture, dim lighting and a door that didn't fully close unless you kicked it.

But I didn't mind. My backpack had everything I needed, I was happy for a place to rinse off the dust and grime of the day, and the dark lonesome hills outside gave a strange sense of peace.

I flipped on the old TV for some background noise and headed into the bathroom to get hot water for my backpacker's meal.

Suddenly, beautiful swelling music took over the room, giving me instant goosebumps of awe. I ran back to the TV. What on earth was this? I had to know! This TV could not possibly have been capable of getting more than two channels. The motel was incredibly remote, and yet, there it was...the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Mis.

I stood there, dry food bag all but forgotten in my hand, completely captivated. I knew and loved a few songs from Les Mis, I'd read parts of the original story, but this was the first time I'd ever seen or heard it come together on stage.

It was utterly breathtaking, all the more so because the music was flowing from this tiny TV in a tiny broken-down room in the middle of the big wide blackness of the wild.

I can't think of a moment more powerful or fitting! Absolutely stunning.