show #3810
Wisconsin Opry,
MUST tell everyone about out wonderful experiences at the RITS concert in
Baraboo at the Wisconsin Opry! We saw the 3pm show, so here goes!
It was Sunday, and our pastor wanted to come along with his wife &
guest,
but our service starts at 11:30 and you need to be at the Opry by 2 pm to
get your reserved tickets. Plus NO reserved seating, and it's 2 hours
away
at least! My biggest consolation was that sweet Bobbie said she'd save
seats for all the Cyberpals if she could. (PLUS I'd finally get to meet
her!)
Anyway, our pastor is normally noted for long-windedness and getting off
on tangents, but this day he was NOT. He was so excited to be going, He
started the service saying welcome and blessings, he was going to a
Riders
concert, but we were pressed for time, so Amen and goodbye. Everyone's
mouth dropped open, then they realized he was kidding and chuckled.
Still,
there was a notice in the bulletin about it!...I wonder if this is the
1st
time the Riders have ever been in a church bulletin?!
We blasted off for the Opry and made it in record time, just after 2 pm!
There was our "Sweet Bob-boo", with a whole down-front section for
Cyberpls
on the Too Slim side! She gave Robert & Skyler some Cyberpal badges,
which
made their cowboy "look" even more Western. We got to meet Donna, the
Dedicated!.........she rode a bus 10 hours from Winnipeg to meet Jill at her
place in Minnesota, then they continued on to the concert. Danielle was
also there, but I didn't get to visit with everyone as long as I wanted
to.
We were all wilted from heat & humidity........I certainly felt
brain-dead.
The place was packed shortly, and the Wisconsin Opry "house band" got us
all in the mood for some good ol' Western music. Then it was RIDERS
TIME!
Here's what they played!
Back On the Texas Plain!
How the Yodel was Born!
Wahoo!...and the audience clapped and shouted nicely! !
Tumblin' Tumbleweeds!
Then Too Slim did a poem on "Reincarnation". He put poor Joey through
his
paces, eventually reincarnating him as a horse apple, and said, "Y'
don't
look all that different, Joey!" !
Next an instrumental, Night Riding Song (Moo! Quack! Bleat!)!
Autumn On the Trail!
Sioux City Sue!
Phantom of the Chuckwagon (one of my favorites!)!
Hoop De Doop, including their little dance!
Lie Still Little Doggie!
Rawhide.....followed by "Bowlin', Bowlin', Bowlin'" and some local jokes
that really cracked everyone up.!
Ride to the Cowboy Camp Meeting (Pastor & Capt. Dale's favorite)!
Ride for the Dawn!
The Arms of My Love, Woody's waltz from the new album (sigh!)!
Then requests, but Just as I was about to holler "Surfin' in the USA",
they
started to play..........
Orange Blossum Special!
Palindrome!
Cool Water......and EVERYONE was dyin' of thirst from it, & the HEAT!!
Joey time!....a fantastic polka! !
A lady won the famous 8-track by
asking,"How come you're always picking on little Joey?" Too Slim said
she
won, because she noticed he was little, and he's lost 35
POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Joey! Where ya goin'?!)!
A Medley dedicated to Roy Rogers,,,,,,including "Pecos Bill, Blue Shadows
On The Trail, Lights of Santa Fe, Don't Fence Me In, The Navajo Trail,
Sons
of the Western Sage, and of course Happy Trails.!
Then they did an encore of You Are My Sunshine
We had an older audience, and they all loved 'em to pieces! Then it was
autograph time!!! The RITS all stood together at first, which was
overwhelming to me (double sigh!). Then I noticed that Joey wasn't the
only thinner one..........the whole band was! Ranger Doug told me they
were all on a high-protien, low carbohydrate diet, and everyone one of
them
was lookin' lean & mean! Woody looked quite peaked, and told Capt. Dale
he'd been fighting a crummy flu for 2 long weeks......he was too tired to
twirl on stage, so no rope tricks. I could feel my heart squeezin' while
he talked about how hard it had been to get his strength back.
Next came my favorite moment as Too Slim zoomed his attention in on my
boys. He asked them about school, and kept trying to get shy Skyler to
say
his name. I told himname & age, and her said his daughter will turn 7
about a week and a half before Skyler turns 6. Both tykes share the same
favorite song, "Cody of the Pony Express", which Slim said she ALWAYS
asks
him to sing. Then he started singing it to the boys, plugging in their
names! "A thunderbolt busts, and then a big cloud of dust, He's comin',
Skyler of the Pony Express!..."Shy Skyler tried not to smile, but totally
failed. When he got to "Now Robert waits by the canyon gate, to take
Skyler by surprise,", I thought their faces would split!
He continued in his Sidemeat voice to tell them how Skyler grabbed
Robert
by the tail & swung him round & round, and Robert got the giggles. We got
a
picture of all 4 RITS with my boys, and me huggin' Too Slim,
..................and now I have to wait to get pictures back.
Sooooooooooooooome day, my prints will cooooome!
I'll let Bobbie add on any more, cuz she stayed after we had to go, and
then went to the second show. I wanted to give you the biggest hug in
the
WORLD, Bobbie!!!!, but I saw you steppin' up to Ranger Doug, and there
was
no way I was going to interrupt that!
My only regret is I forgot to give them a copy of my Cyberpal Theme to
have, and one to autograph. NEXT TIME!
Nancy Jean, Capt.Dale, Robert & Skyler