The final installment in the Sandusky family's fair adventures. They see Loretta Lynn in concert. (I will conclude the series tomorrow with M'buti's fair experiences; hope you will enjoy the story! (This is especially for you, Kate Clifford; SORry for leaving y'all hanging like I did yesterday!)
We are now at the grandstand, waiting for the show to start. We are about to see Loretta Lynn in concert; and so far, everything is going according to plan. The band has warmed up, and Loretta is in the backstage area, finishing getting ready for her performance. We don't see her yet, but we do see the bus behind the stage; and the grandstand is filling up fast. When we got to the grandstand, there were maybe less than 100 people in the stands; now, 15 minutes before the show is to start, the seats are nearly full of people, and there aren't many empty seats left. There are people of all ages and colors at the show, and we are all eager to see Loretta Lynn sing.
Now there are many people here who have probably never seen Loretta in concert before; but we are ones that have seen her--and more than once. In fact, we have probably seen Loretta over 4o times; the first time was when Ronee' and Johnny were just babies. We have met Loretta Lynn too, on several occasions, and she is among the nicest people in country music.
At exactly 7:00, the "Coal Miners" come out onto the stage, resplendent in sparkly, red stage outfits and black boots; and once they take their places on the stage, they break into their opening number, "Two Dollars In The Jukebox", a hit for the late Eddie Rabbitt, who was best known for his hits "I'm Drivin' My Life Away" and "I Love A Rainy Night". They are in good voice tonight, and the audience is at once clapping right along; and some are even singing.
After their first song, the people clap, and the bandleader then introduces the star of the show, none other than Loretta Lynn. At the sight of Loretta, the audience rises to their feet (most of them, anyway), and they burst into excited applause and screams. Loretta waves as she makes her way to the stage, and she then breaks into her first song, "Hey, Loretta". Loretta has her hair hanging loose around her face, and she is wearing a chiffon blue gown with a billowing skirt; she looks absolutely wonderful. At the sight of Loretta, Ronee' yells as loudly as she can, "I LOVE YOU, LORETTA!", and Loretta sees her (and hears her); she then waves to my daughter, and Ronee' squeals happily. Johnny then does an earsplitting whistle, which promptly sets his hearing aids to squealing, and he yanks them out of his ears and shakes his head as he mutters to himself, "Johnny, now THAT was STUPID!" I ask him if he is okay, and Johnny signs yes. He then puts his hearing aids back in and turns them on low, so the music and noise doesn't hurt his sensitive ears.
We enjoy the show, and halfway through, Loretta leaves the stage and lets her band and her twin daughters, Peggy and Patsy, have a turn in the spotlight while she changes her dress into something more casual. Peggy and Patsy sound a lot like their famous mother, and they are really quite good. Their best-known song, "Woman to Woman", garners the biggest applause. We then see Loretta Lynn return to the side of the stage as she waits for her daughters to finish up their set, and she then returns to the mic, where she then does a medley of her biggest hits. At each song, the audience applauds and cheers loudly. They know what to expect from Loretta, and to them, this is old hat. (The audience members who haven't seen Loretta before are especially delighted; this is a big treat for them, and they seem quite excited and enthusiastic.)
I look at my brood; each member (but Jodie, who can't talk much) are singing along; and they are trying their best to drown each other out and do their best Loretta Lynn imitation, even the boys, which makes the girls laugh. Ronee' is especially getting into it; she does a killer job at imitating Loretta Lynn, and she has even sang different Loretta Lynn songs during her stage performances. People sitting near her stare openmouthed at her, and I hear someone say, "Damn, but that kid should be on the stage with Loretta; she's GOOD!" (not knowing that Ronee' HAS shared the stage with Loretta on past occasions!) Johnny is having a ball laughing at his brothers, who make goofy faces as they sing, and he breaks forth into hysterical giggling more than once.
Bill, my husband, is enjoying the show, too: he is sitting in a wheelchair, tapping his feet to the music and bobbing his head to the melody. He has always been a fan of Loretta Lynn, and so have I, as a matter of fact.
The show lasts nearly two hours; the ending song, "Coal Miner's Daughter", brings forth a wave of screams and wild applause; this is her biggest song, and this is what the audience came to hear. They cheer throughout the entire song; and afterwards, Loretta is given a standing ovation that lasts a good ten minutes. She then returns for one more song, and she sings her latest hit, "Country In My Genes". That garners much applause and screams, too.
Loretta is then helped off the stage, and people then start to file out of the grandstand. Most leave the grandstand area, but Bill, myself, and the kids go to the side of the stage, where we then show a security guard our backstage passes; and we are given the okay, and soon, we go to where Loretta is. She sees us, and she gives us all hugs; and she is amazed at how much the kids are growing. She gives us kisses, and Johnny pipes up with, "Loretta, did you hear me whistle?" and Loretta tells him she did. She said that was the loudest whistle she had ever heard, which then makes Johnny blush. She then sees Ronee', and she gives Ronee' a big bear hug, and she asks her if she is still singing. Ronee' tells her yes, and Loretta tells her to keep up the good work, and maybe she'll have her sing with her the next time she is here in Nashville. Ronee' then grins really big, and she blushes a bit, too.
Besides chatting and getting kisses and hugs from Loretta, we also have our pictures taken with her, and Loretta is more than happy to pose with us. She is still the same sweet and generous person we remember, and she is still "down-home country"--and is NOT ashamed of her "hillbilly ways".
It was the perfect ending to a perfect day at the fair, and we were sorry to see the show end, but we had to get home; it was now 11, and I had to get my sleepy bunch home, or there would be cranky kids at church tomorrow; and I don't know if Pastor Bilkey could handle that!
This is an excellent series, I hate to see it end, but as they say all things have to come to an end right? I will look forward to reading the last installment, tomorrow, or the next day...
God Bless
~Michelle~
((((Hugs)))))
Reviewed by Kate Clifford
10/5/2003
I could feel the atmosphere through your write about the Loretta Lynn's concert and felt like I was there. What a joy it must be to be part of such beautiful music. Its good to leave the readers hanging a little :-) .....just not to much :-)
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
We are now at the grandstand, waiting for the show to start. We are about to see Loretta Lynn in concert; and so far, everything is going according to plan. The band has warmed up, and Loretta is in the backstage area, finishing getting ready for her performance. We don't see her yet, but we do see the bus behind the stage; and the grandstand is filling up fast. When we got to the grandstand, there were maybe less than 100 people in the stands; now, 15 minutes before the show is to start, the seats are nearly full of people, and there aren't many empty seats left. There are people of all ages and colors at the show, and we are all eager to see Loretta Lynn sing.
