ANDY WINTER
i actually do not know him because based on what i heard (since i became a fan of libera) his name is synonymous to siberia...cold, harsh). you can never go near any libera boy without going through mr. winter. and mr. winter's word is always final. he is mean, stern - almost like a block of ice (well, ice is winter anyway. otherwise, if his family name was summer, that's another story).
anyway, i will not elaborate on the incident anymore as all was already forgotten & forgiven. i will choose to close that chapter in the book forever close. now, i stand corrected. the cold, mean guy had a good side too and all those talkies about him suddenly made me think were just out to destroy his personality. he explained his responsibility to each and every member of libera. those boys' parents trusted their sons to him so it's his responsibility as stage manager/security to take care of those boys. i must admit all members of this choir are all exposed to the "elements" in each country they performed. okay, i will be blunt - there are the gays, the pedophiles, the obsessed stalkers. nevermind those screaming teenage girls but the three categories i mentioned are by far the scariest. and mr. winter (big as he is) is the right man to protect these kids from them.
fast-forward to last sunday's meet and greet at d'block. mitch was nowhere & didn't have the intention of going to SM. he was on duty (being a male nurse at the ortho hospital). he seemed not to be interested anymore. so i kidded AW was looking for him. he followed during the 2nd batch signing. i told him now was the time to "meet & greet" mr. winter. either we get a friendly gesture of a cold shoulder, it doesn't matter, as long as we face THE man.
we waited. out came andy. we greeted him and just as we introduced ourselves to him, he readily recognized us. this was the most exciting part of the meet & greet of libera for me. of course, it was exciting to see the boys again, both old and new but meeting andy made it ever so memorable.
after the PICC concert, i sought him out to have my programme signed. he obliged and drew a picture of a CAT..."orangecat", he said as this is my username here in my blog. i was a picture of happiness at that moment. andy isn't mean. behind that big shadow of a mean guy is a man with a heart - ever protective of his boys and true to his responsibility to protect our choirboys. thank you, andy. you have friends here - me and mitch.
