stillisstillmoving.com

http://westofthewest.wordpress.com
by renosepulveda

Here is a little Christmas story to warm you heart.  Not a traditional Christmas story to be sure but it happened in December, there’s some snow,  a chubby old guy and two people with generous, giving hearts. Here goes.

I found myself trapped in Bakersfield Monday night. I was trying to get down to Southern California, but a nasty winter storm had shut down both highways over the Tehachapies. I checked into a room and did what I always do when I’m in Bakersfield, that is head on over to Happy Jack’s Pie N’ Burger for a bite to eat.  I noticed the parking around Happy Jacks was a bit more crowded than it usually is and down the street, the Fox Theater marquee was all lit up but I didn’t put much thought to it, I was low on money as usual, cold and hungry.

Happy Jacks was just getting ready to close so it was just me and a couple of other people at the counter.  I was halfway through my Chili Size when the couple gets up to leave. I had been forced to half heartedly eavesdrop on their conversation with the waitress due the the size of the place.  Seems they had an extra ticket so if she’d like to see the show…well long story short, the waitress couldn’t make it so their attention turned to me.  I asked them who was playing and they said Willie Nelson. I asked them how much they wanted for the ticket and they said “Well you do like Willie right?”  

“Jeez Louise do I like…I LOVE Willie!”

“Well Merry Christmas friend” the man said and handed me a ticket.

Wait now it gets better.  I thanked them as they left and finished up my food as soon as I could. The show was gonna start in just a few minutes so I walked as fast as I could down to the Fox Theater right into the sumptuous lobby only to be greeted by a nice lady who took my ticket and led me to my seat RIGHT IN THE FREAKING VERY FRONT ROW DEAD CENTER STAGE!  My new best pals Willis and Donna just smiled and laughed at the dumbfounded expression on my face. I was even more dumbfounded when I found out Asleep At The Wheel was opening the show.

Then Willie came out (crowd goes absolutely batshit nuts) and joined The Wheel for five or six song songs. Willie looked gloriously old like a beautiful tree in autumn, songs, guitar solos and smiles falling off him like red, yellow and brown leaves. At the end of this sweet little mini set, Willie throws his hat out in to the audience and you’d think he’d thrown a Hail Mary pass into the end zone what with all the truckers and the ‘kickers and the cowboy angels  jumping up and elbowing each other to come down with it.

Sometime during the set I realized that this was more than a concert.  We weren’t here so much to watch Willie play the shit out of that old guitar although he certainly did. We weren’t even here to hear all the…classic just seems too small a word for songs like Crazy, Nightlife and Hello Walls he’s written.  No, we were here in the same room with a living, breathing Black Velvet Portrait Class Legend.

Willie played a good long set by anybody’s standard and then just went right out into the crowd and started shaking hands signing CDs, hats and posters, but mainly people just wanted to touch him and love on him. I grabbed his left hand and said “God bless you Willie” He looked me right in the eye nodded and smiled warmly. I felt like a little kid meeting Santa. Indeed at some point the band had gone into Jingle Bells as the people gently mobbed the man.

I guess even legends have to sleep and eat sometime, because eventually at some unseen signal the security people came and gently tore Willie away from his fans. And that was that, just a totally unexpected and amazing evening. Thanks Willis, thanks Donna…the happiest of trails for you and yours.

To read entire article:
http://westofthewest.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/a-christmas-story/