Little did I know that Pam had a surprise up her sleeve. She told me to leave work no later than 15:00 last Thursday and go straight home. So I did that but when I got home, nobody was there. I knew something was coming and although my Cub Scout career lasted just a few months and I never did get to be a Marine, I did learn my lesson to always be prepared. I quickly showered, shaved, and changed out of the clothes I'd worn to work.
Just about an hour later, Pam and those same friends who took us to dinner showed up at the condo. Without telling me where we were headed, I got in the car and away we went. About a half hour after we got in the car, we pulled in at Snoqualmie Casino Resort.
I still had no idea what was coming, other than dinner at Falls Buffet. It was Brazilian night and the food was delicious. Part way through dinner, Pam handed me this
If you've known me for about five years, or if you've glanced through my sidebar, you'll know I am a member in good standing of Taylor Hicks' Soul Patrol. The only time I've gotten to see him live was when the show Grease came to Seattle. He was the Teen Angel in the show, and after every performance he got to perform his song Seven Mile Breakdown. Other than watching every Tuesday and Wednesday night during Season 5 of American Idol, which included dialing for votes until the phone lines closed, that's the only time I'd been able to see him.
Until last Thursday. If you can read that ticket, you can see we were in the sixth row, just slightly off center. If you can't read the ticket, this is how close we were.
I don't know how Pam kept the secret for over a month. I don't know why I never saw that he was coming to the casino. I'm usually very aware of when I might get a chance to see a favorite performer. But this time the surprise was total.
He put on a great show. And it was wonderful to be in a room full of Taylor fans who understood and shared my delight at getting to see him live.
After the show, our friends shoved me into line and handed me a couple of $20s for one of these...
...because even though he had a plane to catch, and even though I already have several copies, Taylor still was going to sign merchandise. I felt like I did when I was a kid standing along the 3rd base line at Candelstick, waiting for my Dodgers to finish batting practice and come over to sign autographs. I still have an old glove and a baseball signed by Ron Cey and Dusty Baker and Steve Garvey and Davey Lopes.
And now I have this
I don't know how I'm going to top that for Pam's birthday in a couple of weeks. I'll have to think on it.
