Hootie, Hootie - Why Weren't You Hottie, Hottie?

I have been blessed in my life to enjoy music, on lots of different levels. I love to listen to it, love to play it and love to collect in it the form of cd's. Music is such a huge part of my everyday world it would be hard for me to be without it. I listen to it in the morning as I shower and get ready for the day, it is always playing in the car, cd or radio -- there is music in the air if the car is in motion. At work I am the first one to flip on the preschool friendly music in our room, when I tuck my child in for the night, music is the last thing I click on as I leave her room. I have music as my cell phone ringtone and a different tune to let me know I have a message. I have a closet full of sheet music and piano books, and lots and lots of cd's in my collection.

When I am sad, I turn to my piano to work out the sadness, wrangle it from the depths of my heart and have it come flowing out my fingertips onto the keyboard. Emotion can make me play better than hours of practice ever did. If I am happy, I look to the keyboard as well. It makes a happy heart sing! I can't begin to tell you the hours of pleasure and pain I have spent at my piano keyboard...it was my first form of cheap therapy, now, it falls a second to this other keyboard I set free my emotions with - the computer!

One of my favorite things to do is listen to live music. A band, one musician, a trio, makes no difference to me - if it is good music, I love to hear it played as it was meant to be heard - LIVE and IN PERSON! I have been privileged to attend some really great concerts in my lifetime. I love the feel of being caught up with a throng of people listening to great musicians confidently lead us into a "once in a lifetime" experience. To me, this is even more special if it happens outdoors.

Outside, no matter the content of the music, the concert is held in God's Great Cathedral...it becomes a unique happening, an unrivaled experience for all the senses.

Years ago we were fortunate enough to attend a James Taylor concert in Charlotte, NC and it was at a wonderful outside venue. The evening was extraordinary, a warm night, great seats, live music and the stars overhead. A music lover could not ask for anything more and for me it is a memory that cannot ever be recreated, except in my mind. To this day, whenever I hear a James Taylor song, I feel I should be outdoors to truly enjoy it!

Last night I got another outdoor musical experience, that was just as memorable. For five years, in our city, during the golf tournament, a special concert is held to benefit a local kid's charity. I have wanted to attend every year, so when I heard the tickets were on sale this year, I immediately put in a birthday present request. Lucky for me, the present buyer in my house heard my plea and I was given my tickets this year. There were four bands playing, with the headliner being Hootie and The Blowfish - of which I am a great big ole fan. I knew two of the other three acts as well, so I felt like the night was gonna be really cool. It was - way cooler than I ever anticipated! The temperature yesterday never got higher than 50 degrees, that meant that after the sun went down, it was somewhere around 38 degrees...and it was cool - more than that - it was FROZEN, or at least we were! We had dressed accordingly, had blankets and gloves, but the wind was whipping through us and by the end of the night, I think I had a glimpse of what frostbite must feel like when we tried to walk to the car -- OUCH!

The concert was awesome, the music was fantastic, the bands did not disappoint and by the end of the evening, even my husband agreed that the price of the ticket was well worth it all. It was an outdoor concert, there was some stars but mainly it was COLD. I guess now whenever I hear a Hootie and the Blowfish song, I will run and grab a blanket. It is a memory that I fear will not leave me anytime soon.

Finally thawing out and living happily in the Moment!
Bev