Rolling
with the punches: Sunday July 19, 2015
On Life and Love After 50 Newsletter
My partner Greta and I had our first date on June 27, 1998. We met at my
deli when she ordered a fresh carrot juice. A couple of weeks later, we
attended the Orange County (California) fair. I remember vividly going to the
fair that year because we saw Jose Feliciano perform.
That 1998 concert was a no-ticket-needed, no-reserve-seating, event and I was
pleased that Greta insisted we get in line early enough to get a great seat.
When the gates opened, she ran, and I mean ran, and grabbed two front-row
seats. I said to myself, this is the type of woman I want in my life.
The annual fair has become a tradition for us. Each year since 1998,
we've checked out who is performing in concert at the fairgrounds' Pacific Amphitheatre,
choose an entertainer or group we like, and purchase the best tickets available
as early as we can. A concert ticket gets you into the fair for free.
I'm a country music fan. Greta enjoys some country but isn't as avid as I
am--for her no cowboy hat or boots, no Hank Williams Jr. t-shirt, just
comfortable summer clothes for an outdoor concert under the stars.
We've seen Alan Jackson a couple of time's there. I call him "The
Dude." Once we sat behind the mixing control booth and after the show, the
producer gave us Alan's hand-written playlist, which I thought was a big deal.
This year, I ordered tickets for us to see Willie Nelson this past Sunday
night at the fair. I've been a huge fan of Willie's, even before I got to work
with Johnny Cash in 1977 and 1978. Johnny and Willie were buddies, but I never
got to meet Willie. I said to Greta, "Chances are, this is the last time
we will get to see Willie Nelson perform. He's 82."
Greta insisted I read Willie's new autobiography, "A Long
Story," on her Kindle, on the flight home from Germany in June. It's a
great book and it fired me up even more about seeing him in person--the guy is
a classic.
I was excited because also Alison Krauss and her group, Union Station,
were going to be the opening act. How often do you get to see a legend like
Willie Nelson and one of the hottest bluegrass-country acts in the world (27
Grammys for Alison Krauss) on the same stage for $47 a ticket?
Our seats weren't the greatest, they were in the back of the
Amphitheatre, dead center, about 10 rows behind the mixing control booth, near
where we had sat for Alan Jackson. But, at least they were in the arena. On
the day before, we received an email from the OC Fair reminding us of the
concert.
In California, it never rains in July. Never! We are in the midst of the worst
drought in the state's history. Water rationing is everywhere. On Saturday, a
little, much-appreciated, El Nino rain fell on Orange County. It was supposed
to let up on Sunday.
On Sunday morning, we received another email saying, "Rain or
shine, the concert will go on." That reassured us somewhat, even
though the skies were grey. We took rain ponchos to the fair with us just in
case.
Our plan was to meet our friends Ron and Lee at the Baja Blues Restaurant
that is located within the fairgrounds at 5:15 p.m. They would be with another
couple and the six of us would eat and attend the concert together.
Rain started to fall at the fair around 4 p.m. Greta and I headed for the
restaurant early to secure a table for six. By the time we got there, it was
pouring rain and there was not a vacant table inside or out. The humidity was
high. It felt like New Orleans or Houston in the summer.
Greta and I were standing outside under a roof overhang, with ponchos on,
when lo and behold, a group left a table that was under an umbrella next to us.
We grabbed it and gathered six chairs.
Our friends Ron and Lee arrived shortly. The other couple had stayed
home. We ordered food and drink, had our meal, and kept repeating, "This
rain will end soon." Here's how the table next to us looked:
The tables next to ours
And Ron took this picture of our table
The rain was letting up. Ron checked the night time local weather report:
73 percent chance of rain. He said, "That means, a 27-percent chance it
will be dry."
Ron asked to see our tickets. He said, "We have our friends' tickets
in the car. They won't be using them. They are great seats and you can have
them." He said he'd come to our seats to get us and lead us down to the
other seats.
Greta and I went to our seats behind the mixing booth. There were rain
covers protecting the mixing equipment , completely blocking the stage from
view. That would have been a real bummer, but I reminded myself that Ron was
going to move us to the better seats. Greta, in her always positive way, said,
"See how blessed we are."
The new seats were in Row B, 10 feet from the stage. We could not believe
that we were going to see Willie Nelson from the best concert seats we had ever
had.
Close to the stage but no concert
The rain began to fall again. We had our ponchos on. A public
announcement was made: "It is OK to put your umbrellas up, but during the
show, you will have to put them down." A sea of umbrellas opened like
spring flowers.
Stage hands were busy using squeegees to remove the water from the
partially covered stage. The microphones were covered with plastic bags.
Instruments were covered. I started to get that sinking feeling that these
wonderful seats were not going to be of much help.
Showtime, 7:30 p.m., came and went. The stage had puddles everywhere.
At 7:45 p.m., the public announcer said, "The news is not
good..." The show was cancelled, it was too dangerous on stage. The show
would be re-scheduled. An email later that night at home repeated that the
show would be re-scheduled.
No one booed. Most everybody was wet to some degree. People stood up and
left orderly. It took two hours to get out of the parking lot because everyone
was trying to leave at once.
Ron sent me a text from his car: "I can't figure out how, but
somehow we still had fun."
And Ron is right. Sure it was disappointing to not see Willie and Alison
Krauss. But, you can't mess with nature. It just wasn't meant to be. We had a
memorable time, which we will never forget. I do hope there still will be a
chance to see Willie in person sometime soon. He's an all-time classic.
On Wednesday, we received the fourth email about the concert:
"The concert will not be rescheduled. You can get your refund at..."
Yea...yea...yea. (We did get the refund from Ticketmaster, within just a few days)
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