Country Stars

Before my dad finished college to become a school teacher, he worked as a full time radio disc jockey. And he was good! I remember that in Ogden, he worked at a country music radio station, and I would call him at work and ask him what time he’d be playing “my song.” I don’t even know what song it was, just a song that had a tune that spoke to me, I’m guessing. And he would always tell me what time it would be on, and I would listen.

As part of his job, sometimes he got to go to concerts. I was the lucky one who went to a few of those. One concert I remember clearly was Lee Greenwood and Barbara Mandrell. I have no clue right now what Barbara Mandrell sang, but apparently she was good, because she was the main deal. Lee Greenwood was just the opening act. But I can close my eyes and see him up on that stage, and hear him singing “Proud To Be An American.” How cool is that??

I also remember that I went to see Alabama in concert. They are one of my all time favorite country groups, even if they are a little “old,” because so many of their songs have such good messages.

I’m not sure if he was part of the Alabama concert or not, but we also went to see someone named John Conley. (?) No idea who he is, but we did get to go back stage. And you know how cool it is to go back stage.

Mom the Water Fountain

My mom was just silly. Really, both of my parents have just always been naturals with kids. They get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I remember that when I was a kid, and it was summertime and very hot, my mom had us all lay down on our backs, next to each other, and the game was that she would come by with her giant cup of water, and carefully pour a little bit into the waiting mouths below. She would start at one end, and, one by one, work her way down the line. I’m sure it was me and my siblings, but if truth be told, there were probably plenty of times when neighborhood kids were also part of the fun. It was so funny, because she was standing up, and it was a long way from her cup to our mouths. She would pour, ever so carefully, just a little bit. And a lot of times the water went into our mouths. But even when it went in our mouths, there were plenty of times when it wasn’t the straightest shot. To this day I can still feel the trickle that missed, moving from the corner of my mouth, down to my ear and into my hair. And we would just shriek with laughter. We tried so hard to catch all the water, but I’m sure we secretly hoped some of it would trickle out and get us wet. We never ever got soaked, but we always got wet, and we always had a super great time.