2006年、BHSバーバーショップハーモニーソサエティーのインディアナポリス大会１週間前に、以前から良くなかった椎間板ヘルニアがさらに悪化して入院を余儀なくされ、まさに断腸の思いで私だけ日本に居残ることに。
原因はゴルフのやり過ぎ。他のメンバーが渡米した大会を、私は一人病院のベッドに寝そべって夜中に観戦。
へそくりして貯めた旅費はそのまま病院へ。人生で最も切ない体験でした。ああ涙々・・・
出発前に見舞いと言うより冷やかしに来たTB（東京バーバーズ）の仲間に、土産はいいから大会に行ったらライザー（バーバーショップハーモニー向けに設計された山台）を買って来てよと頼みました。ま、その場で買うわけにも行かないだろうと思っていましたが、値段も手頃な物があってメーカーの担当とも話は付けて来たとの報告。
６台１セットでチーム全体分約１２０万円の買物に、団の了承を取って契約。納期は約半年と言う事なので、翌年8月の雅叙園ショウに間に合わせるため航空貨物として、シアトルに近い米ポートランドのメーカーから輸入、しかも一旦倉庫で保管は手間なので、ショウ前日に成田着で手配。
TBの有志数人がレンタルトラックで成田空港まで引き取りに行き、通関後貨物の開梱も空港で済ませその場で梱包材も処分、直接雅叙園ショウのゲネプロに間に合わせて搬入する剛腕さ。まあ何ともすごいことをやってのけたもんです。
雅叙園のゲネプロ会場に到着した初荷、マニュアルと首っ引きで組み立て無事鎮座しました。一同、組み上がった姿を眺めて、「おおー、これかあー。」
その日からTBのショウは、バーバーショップコーラスには必須のライザーが定番となりました。現在使用中のライザーは２代目。（GEO 栗本）
目黒雅叙園ショウチラシ
Indianapolis World Championship～Riser Purchase
In 2006, a week before the BHS Barbershop Harmony Society Convention at Indianapolis, my previously bad herniated disc worsened and I was forced to be hospitalized, leaving me alone in Japan. I felt like my body was torn apart.
The cause was overdoing golf. I watched the Indianapolis tournament, which other members went to the United States, in the middle of the night, lying alone in a hospital bed in Japan through the internet.
The travel expenses I saved were used to pay the hospital as they were, which was the most painful experience in my life. Oh tears …
I told my TB (Tokyo Barbers) friends who came to tease me before departure, saying, “If you go to the convention, I don’t need souvenirs, so riser (a set of stands designed for barbershop harmony), I want you to buy it.” I thought he wouldn’t be able to buy it on the spot, but when he returned to Japan, he reported that “there was something reasonably priced and I talked to the person in charge of the manufacturer.” ..
It was about 1.2 million yen(≒11,000US$) for a set of 6 pieces for the whole team, so I signed the contract with the consent of the team. Since the delivery time was about half a year, import from a manufacturer in Portland, near Seattle, as air cargo in time for the next August 2007 Meguro Gajoen(Tokyo) show, and it was troublesome to store it once in the warehouse, so I arranged to arrive at Narita the day before of the show.
Several TB volunteers went to Narita Airport by rental truck, unpacked the cargo after customs clearance at the airport, disposed of the packing materials on the spot, and brought it in time for the Genepro at the Gajoen Show. Well, I was surprised myself that I’ve done something amazing.
When we arrived at the Genepro venue in Gajoen, we assembled all the pieces, matching with manual, and set it up safely.
Everyone looked at the assembled appearance and said, “Oh, this is the riser.”
From that day on, the TB show has become a staple of barbershop choruses with a must-have riser. The riser currently in use is the second generation. (GEO Kurimoto)