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Girls overcome obstacles By Dani Dodge CENTRAL POINT � Despite the pain of a recently broken leg, Andrea Beck boldly took the tiny Community Stage at the Jackson County Fair with her sister Jennifer at her side. The two girls, 10 and 13, sang "Hakuna Matata" from the "Lion King" even though the accompaniment was wrong. (Instead of the music-only karaoke version, the recording with vocals competed with the Becks). Still, the girls belted out the song like true-blue soldiers. They�ve overcome a lot more to sing on stage than a bad tape and searing pain. These girls have conquered a disability that might keep lesser beings at home: osteogenesis imperfecta, better known as brittle bone disease. It�s a condition that leaves the girls� bones as fragile as dry twigs and their future uncertain. They are unable to walk, and the disease has left their tiny bodies oddly misshapen. Yet, their smiles have a performer�s gleam, and they can belt out a tune with an Ethel Merman-type gusto. They even sang the national anthem in front of thousands of people at the South Medford High School stadium to open Drums Along the Rogue, a national drum and bugle corps competition two weeks go. "Not everyone can sing very good," said Jennifer. "Most people who have disabilities, they can�t sing very well at all. "It�s fun to surprise people when we do sing good. You can see it on their faces that they don�t expect that." The girls will sing again at the fair on at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the dinner theater stage as part of the Southern Oregon Cinderella Youth Development Program. In addition to talent, Andrea and Jennifer have one other gift that allows them to be on-stage: a supportive family. Their muse is older sister Melissa Beck, 16, who aspires to a professional singing career. She�s singing at the fair all week with the pageant. Their mother, Katrina, 34, works for Living Opportunities, managing a group home and helping other families with disabled children. Their father, Nathan, 37, stays home full time with the girls. The girls also have one other sister, Karen, 12, but she�s more a cook than a singer and hasn�t taken to the stage. Only Andrea and Jennifer suffer from brittle bone disease. Katrina says that she tries to let each of her girls follow their dreams. She notes: "They told us when Jennifer was born to make the most of every moment." Melissa, the oldest sister, began singing when she was 5, and began taking it seriously when she turned 13. She�s won talent competitions and hopes to someday be a pop singer. She became involved in the Cinderella Scholarship Program a few years ago. The alternative pageant is focused on talent; the girls must wear off-the-rack clothes and can�t wear makeup when they perform. Melissa said she saw her sisters� talent right away. "Jennifer has always been singing," Melissa said. "She sings in the bathtub and everywhere. One day I said, �Why don�t you try to do what I do?� " Jennifer said she was excited to be invited to sing with her big sister, who had been taking voice lessons. She roped her younger sister Andrea into the deal and the two began working on music. Last year, Jennifer and Andrea gave their first public performance: singing Mariah Carey�s "Hero" at the fair. "They did a duet and they were such a hit," Melissa remembered. "Everyone knows they sing now. They�re like the Olson twins." Someone caught their act and asked them to sing the national anthem at last year�s Drum and Bugle Corps competition. They were invited back this summer. At this year�s performance, a wave of surprise rippled through the crowd when the two little girls in scooters sang out "Oh say can you" in clear voices that filled the large stadium. Some people in the stands got sniffley with emotion; the applause was wildly enthusiastic. The girls said it gives them a good feeling to know that they are doing something that even fully abled people often don�t get up the courage to take on. And it�s wonderful that people enjoy their music. But neither of the girls believes that a professional musical career is in their future. Jennifer said this will probably be her last year competing in pageants � even though she was the talent winner among 13- to 17-year-olds. Her sister snared the title of "Most photogenic." "I really don�t like pageants because I think they are for preppy girls," Jennifer said. "But I like to sing. It�s kind of fun to do it because you want to and not because you have to." Jennifer actually wants to become a doctor. "When I go to the doctor they talk to me different, not like a normal person," Jennifer said. "I like to get to know people � who they are not how they look ... Maybe I could change the way the doctors are. " Andrea aspires to a career in teaching. "Then I could teach other kids how to sing," she said. "Then they can be able to sing at places and have fun too." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA