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20th Anniversary Weekend
by Donnaj
Our accommodations were a wonderful 2-bedroom condo with Jacuzzi, stereo
w/CD player, and a VCR. We were right across from the elevator, though,
and therefore had to listen to mysterious dings coming from somewhere in
the living room we thought, until we nailed it down to the elevator right
outside our door!
Thursday morning we spent shopping for beanie babies (Amy's passion!) and
picking up our Prime Time Country tickets. We heard from Bert, and found
out to our dismay that she had reserved only two seats in the VIP section
for Bobbie and me. In the unceasing hubbub leading up to the anniversary
celebration, she had forgotten to add Amy and Ellen to the list! However,
when we got there Thursday afternoon, after standing in the cold rain for
about an hour, I won a Riders in the Sky baseball cap for simply knowing
all the guy's names and shouting them out before anyone else did! When we
finally got indoors out of the rain, Bobbie and I were on the list, and
the lady at the door asked how many were in our party. We said 4, we all
got in, and we all got VIP seating! (Yee-Haw!) We ended up in different
sections; Bobbie and I were directly in front of the stage where the guys
performed, Ellen and Amy were directly in front of the interview area,
but we all had a great view of the goings-on.
The guys sang "That's How the Yodel Was Born" and "Cowboy Camp Meetin'"
during the show. I found out at least one thing I didn't know before. Too
Slim's middle name is Owen! The Fred LaBour part I knew, and I also knew
that Fred LaBour (yes, our Fred LaBour) was responsible for starting the
rumor that Paul McCartney was dead and had been secretly replaced by a
look-alike in the '60s! Cool, huh?
They had a GIANT anniversary cake (Bobbie went home with the "2" and "0"
candles from the cake; the rest of us just left with about 5 pieces each!
There are still two pieces in my freezer! I can't bring myself to eat
them and not have any left!) which they shared with the audience. That
lead to Bobbie and me getting on-camera exposure. Gary Chapman brought a
piece over to me 'cause I was on the aisle, and we both got on camera!
(You also saw the back of our heads a few times throughout, but that's
hardly exposure!)
Anyway, while we were milling around eating cake and schmoozing schmoozing with the guys afterwards, who should show up but Texas Bix Bender! I was ecstatic,
since I hadn't expected to see him there! We talked for a loooong time,
and got filled in on some of the plot twists for the upcoming Riders'
Radio Theater taping on December 2nd! I must admit, I was a bit dazzled
by it all! Bobbie will probably be putting pictures up on the web page
soon! Check it out if you want to see a truly happy (and slightly dazed)
saddlepal!
We finally left (after Ellen won a 20th anniversary T-shirt during the
warm-up to the PTC taping!) and went back to the condo to bask in the
wonderful "I been to see Riders!" feeling we all know so well. Bobbie and
Ellen, both being clowns, very creative and very talented, spent most of
the evening creating a giant cowboy boot out of balloons (we have to put
up a picture of that on the web page, too!), Amy catalogued and
photographed her new beanie babies, and I just watched PTC on TNN,
listened to Songs of the Sage, and played my guitar. All in all, it was a
very satisfying day.
Amy and Ellen had to leave Friday morning. Both had obligations back
home, so we bade them farewell after promising to get Ellen's T-shirt
autographed for her (which we did!). Bobbie and I spent the day kicking
around the area, shopping and just having a good time. Then we went to
the Grand Ole Opry Friday evening, where Riders were scheduled for two
songs. Bert set it up for us to go backstage (pictures of that, too! And
those will probably make the Roundup!), were I got to meet Little Jimmy
Dickens, whom I've idolized since childhood, Grandpa Jones, another one
I've loved since childhood, and Billy Walker, whom faithful saddlepals
will remember as having been a guest on Riders' Radio Theater a few years
ago (he sang "Cross the Brazos at Waco," one of my favorite guest
appearances on RRT). I even got an impromptu guitar lesson from Ranger
Doug while backstage! And since we had to park out front and it was a
looooong walk in the cold, Woody and family took Bobbie and Slim and Bert
drove to Bobbie's car. Cowboy chauffeur service. Pretty cool!
But it's not over yet! Saturday, after more shopping, Bobbie and I went to
the Opry again, since the Riders were performing at the late show. This
time I finally got to see what they Opry is like from out in the audience
(on my third visit!). It was wonderful! I was a little disappointed in that to
me, the Opry means a certain kind of music, and, while we saw and heard
some of it, a lot of the night was taken up by the more modern "country"
music that I feel is rock 'n' roll with an accent. There were some high
spots, though, in addition to Riders in the Sky. Grandpa Jones performed
(he was wonderful!) and Ricky Skaggs and his group did some wonderful
bluegrass. Terri Clark was there to do a couple of songs. Again, faithful
saddlepals will remember her as a guest on one of the Riders' many TNN
Christmas specials! She's really great, with a voice reminiscent of Linda
Ronstadt, a little modern for the Opry (IMHO), but darned good! Yet
another wonderful night, and it still wasn't over yet!
Sunday, we had an afternoon concert the Riders did to benefit Abintra,
the Montessori school where Slim and Bert's daughter Alice attends. As
you might expect being an afternoon show to benefit a school, it was one
of their famous kids' shows, and it was fantastic! Rope tricks, kids on
stage singing with the boys, face-playing, and some great songs made for
a super concert. Afterwards there was a cookies 'n' punch reception to
which we were invited. While taking pictures afterwards, I got a kiss on
the cheek from Woody, purely for the shock value is my guess. I can just
see him afterwards: "Boy, I really got her good! Did you see the look on
her face?" It was wonderful, though, I must admit! And I have signed 20th
anniversary posters from the Abintra concert, a new signed RITS baseball
cap, a Grand Old Opry sipper mug with the Riders' names on it, a new
signed long-sleeved Henley RITS T-shirt, a new University of Tennessee
jacket (hey, I love the Volunteers and I always have!) and tons of pictures
and memories to last a lifetime.
Well, I've gotten notification from WPLN that our tickets to the 20th
anniversary Riders' Radio Theater are on their way, so I'm looking
forward to another great week in Nashville, and it's coming up soon! It
might not be too late if anyone else wants to go to this one. You have to
make a donation to WPLN to get tickets. I think you can get the phone
number from the schedule part of RITS's web page. Hope to see you there!
donna j.
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All photos and material © 1997 by contributing cyberpals.
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