T's

  When one meets a politician, you can usually tell if they are genuine or not.  Whether they care or not.  Or, whether they just want your money.  I met two people, who I felt were really genuine people.

 The first was Tim Scott, who was the United States Senator from South Carolina.  He was speaking at my church as part of a celebration for our former pastor.  He said in his speech that his life verses from the Bible were Proverbs 3:5-6:  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding.  In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."  He said that he has used those verses in his everyday life to get through the challenges that come his way.  After the service was over, I went up to him and told him that those were my Life Verses, too.  They were the first verses I memorized after John 3:16. Those verses kept me going, when I was homeless.  We shared a prayer together.  He was truly a man of God.

 The second was Tulsi Gabbard, who was a United States Congresswoman from Hawaii.  She was in Columbia for the Martin Luther King Rally at the Dome in 2020.  She was running for President, although she dropped out of the race soon after.  I was standing on the side of the State House's steps, where the speakers were.  It was a very cold day.  After her speech, I saw that she was leaving, and I went up to her.  There were others who wanted to take pictures with her, but I just wanted to ask her something.  I introduced myself to her accompanied by a very firm handshake from her.  She had said in her speech that we needed to do more for the veterans.  I told her not to forget about the homeless veterans, and that I knew some personally.  She said that she never would, and then we hugged.  Despite her lack of name recognition like Biden, Sanders, Warren, or Klobuchar, she seemed to really care about the veterans and their needs.  

 Tim and Tulsi represented two different political parties at the time.  Later, Tulsi became an independent.  But, they had one common thread between them.  That thread was "caring".  No matter what one may think of their politics, and I may disagree with some of their positions, they both listened to me.  That is very rare in most politicians.  I never met Dick Gephardt who served in Congress from Missouri, but he ran for President in 2008.  On the campaign trail, he went to a small restaurant and saw a little girl.  He bent down to her and asked her name.  He didn't hear it and asked her to repeat it.  He then shook her hand and called her by name.  Then, he went on shaking hands with others.  I have never forgotten that moment.  He took the time to shake her hand and ask her name.  She couldn't have voted for him.  She may not even remember that moment now, but I do.  He wasn't looking for a photo op.  He just cared.  You can't ask for much more.

Bill

 When one goes to a political event these days, you can't just show up.  You have to register for the event, so that they can check you out to see if you are a terrorist or something.  You have to go online and get a virtual ticket.  Usually, they are free.  If they are not, then I will just stand outside and wait for a sighting.  

 One of these events was the South Carolina Democratic Party Primary winners rally in downtown Columbia at the Art Museum in 2016.  They were having it outside, because there were so many people attending.  It was February at night, and it was cold.  I couldn't feel my feet, and I was wearing several layers of clothing. When I got there, I looked around and saw a metal barrier that looked like that would be the entry and exit point for the winner who was Hillary Clinton.

 Before their arrival, I saw Star Jones.  She was just feet from me but was not shaking hands.  Then, the arrival of Hillary followed by her husband Bill.  They walked past me and headed up to a stage to welcome the folks who braved the cold weather.  After their remarks, they were leaving the stage and shaking hands with those around it.  Then, it came time to head for their car, so they had to walk right past me.  I put out my hand and told Hillary, "God bless you".  She said that she needed it.  It just so happened that a State newspaper photographer snapped a picture of me and Hillary at that moment, and it ran in the next day's paper.  

 Then came Bill.  The former President of the United States.  He was surrounded by Secret Service agents.  I stuck out my hand for him to shake, which he did.  I then said. "God bless you".  He thought I had said something else, I guess, because he looked at me kind of sternly and said, "What?".  I repeated it, and then he said, "Oh, okay".  I didn't want to get tackled by the agents.  I was going to say something like "Bill Belk says hello", but the agents would have come after me.  Belk and Clinton used to be good friends, until Belk said something bad about Hillary and Clinton cut him off.  

 So, I have actually shaken hands with two presidents.  Biden and Clinton.  Biden had a sense of humor.  Clinton probably does, but not that night.  And, no federal prison for me.

Republicans

  I have met a lot of Republicans.  Maybe even more than Democrats.  I don't know why that is, but it just seems to be.  Despite what some may think about me, I have voted for more Republicans for national office than Democrats, but I have voted for more Democrats in local elections than Republicans.  This story is about two Republicans who have both been on the national stage.

 Newt Gingrich used to be the Speaker of the House.  He was one of the most powerful Republicans in the country.  Much of what the Republican Party is now can trace its roots back to Newt.  He had come to Columbia to make a speech outside at the State House.  I went, because I wanted to meet him.  Not so much because of what he believed in.  He was a bit too extreme for me.  I saw where his bus was parked on the side of the State House, and I headed over there.  His security was a little tight, but I got to shake his hand and introduce myself.  There were only just a few of us there.  One of my former friends was right across the sidewalk from me, but he didn't say hello.  I was nice to him, but he looked right through me.  His loss.  By the way, Newt's handshake was very firm.

 Mike Huckabee and I were at Southwestern Seminary together, although he was a class ahead of mine.  At the time, he was studying to be a minister.  He became one before entering politics.  I didn't really know him then, but I think we had a class or two together.  When he was filing in South Carolina to run in the Republican Primary of 2016, I went to the Republican Headquarters to say hello.  I brought our seminary's picture book of the students to show him we were there at the same time.  The book is known as the "Funny Book", since the pictures can be hilarious.  Most of the students look so serious.  Just before he went before the cameras, I showed him my picture and his.  He turned to me and said that we both had more hair back then.  After the event, he and I were standing out in the parking lot chatting about the old days.  He said he remembered a couple of drama presentations I did out there.  He also told me how much the campus had changed since those days in the 1970's, and that I should go back.  Maybe one day.

 

Bees

  The next group has one thing in common, and probably only one.  Their last name begins with "B".  One was primarily a singer.  One was primarily in politics.  And, one was a professional golfer.  

 The first was Pat Boone.  He came to Columbia to make a personal appearance in opening a restaurant.  This was in the early 1960's, so I was just a kid.  I remember he smiled a lot and had a California tan.  He shook my hand and asked my name.  I told him, and he said he was happy to meet me.  I can't say he was sincere about that, but he seemed that way.  I also remember he was taller than me, but pretty much all adults at that time were taller than me.  

 The second was James Brady.  He had been President Reagan's press secretary and had been shot in the head during the failed assassination attempt on Reagan.  He and his wife visited my church in 1983 on the same day as the Marines' barracks bombing in Lebanon.  That is how I remember that day.  Brady was in a wheelchair.  He could talk a little, and he still had a very firm handshake.  I was an usher at church that day and helped bring him into the sanctuary.  His wife was very protective of his welfare.  Brady was known for his sense of humor, and he didn't disappoint.  He was an inspiration to us all for not giving up.

 The third was Mark Brooks.  I met him, when he was 16 in Ft. Worth.  His mother taught public speaking and drama at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  She and I developed the curriculum for a Communications major at our school.  She was a great teacher.  She invited me to have dinner at their home a few times.  Mark and his sister were there, along with his mother and father.  Mark was in high school and obsessed with golf.  He didn't want to eat as much as he wanted to hit golf balls outside.  At one dinner, he was squirming so much that his mother told him that he would have to finish his dinner before leaving to hit balls outside.  He reluctantly did so, and then he bolted out of the door.  Even in the dark, he was hitting balls.  He embarrassed his mother for not being more polite at the dinner table, but practice made perfect.  Mark went on to the University of Texas and excelled in golf.  He turned pro and won several tournaments including the Bob Hope, the PGA Championship, and more.  He came in second at the U.S. Open one year.  He also holds the PGA record for the most starts in tournaments (803).  I guess his being "rude" at dinner paid off.

 Three people who were famous in their own chosen fields.  And, all three knew that God had given them talents to share with others.  And, they did.

Cookin'

  When one thinks of the word "cooking", food comes immediately to mind.  I am not a cook.  I never learned how to cook.  I can boil water and make teriyaki spam, but that's about it.  If it were not for my microwave, I would starve.  If I read a recipe in a cookbook, it is like being in chemistry class.  I just can't do it.  Some people are great cooks.  Ironically, a recipe of mine found its way into a cookbook by Sanger Harris Department Store, when I lived in Fort Worth.  It was for Saltine Soup, which I learned to make in college.  It consisted of a cup of hot water; a packet or two of ketchup; and some saltines.  Use your imagination.

 As I have written about before, Sanger Harris had some famous people stop by to promote their products.  One such man was James Beard who had a new cookbook out, and he was autographing his books.  Since I worked in the Book Department, I had to help him set up and get him situated.  He had not only eaten a lot of food in the past, but he was also full of a lot of ego.  He treated me like a lowlife.  I tried to talk to him about writing and publishing, but he pretty much ignored me.  When a customer would walk up to buy his book and get signed, he was very gracious to them.  I guess one had to buy his book for him to be nice.  We even had him set up to cook a little food for the customers.  He piddled around with that, but I could tell he just wanted to get out of the store.  The employees didn't get to taste anything.  The food was for the paying customers.  He was a diva in all the meanings of that word.

 Another definition of "cooking" is when a band is on stage and treats the audience to some good music.  Such was the case with Micky Dolenz of the sixties pop group The Monkees.  He was in Columbia to perform at an outdoor concert downtown.  He had just recorded a cd for children and was there to sing those songs.  Then, he started to cook.  He did a lot of the old Monkees songs from back in the day.  He was great!  After the show was over, he was off to the side of the stage signing autographs.  I went up to him and shook his hand.  I told him how much his music had meant to me growing up.  He thanked me.  His hand was a little crumpled up though.  I don't know if that was from drumming or signing autographs, but he was very nice. Later, I corresponded with Mike Nesmith for a couple of years before he died.  We talked about songwriting mostly.  He was very encouraging to me and liked my lyrics from The Cobbwebs.  I had to keep that connection a secret, as he was a very private man.  By the way, Davy Jones had a horse farm near Camden, SC.  I had friends who would see him around town.  I wish I had known about it at the time.

 

Nobel

 It is not very often that one meets two famous people, who are also humble.  Generally speaking, a person has become famous because of a big ego.  I used to be like that.  My ego was as big as all outdoors.  Then, I became homeless, and my ego went away.  Any fame that I had went away, too.  Applause is a drug.  It can be very addictive.  But, as I have said before, fame is put upon you by others.  One cannot be inherently famous, unless one is born into a famous family.  One's work does not make you famous, unless someone notices you and declares you are famous.  Then, you say to yourself that you must be famous, because others praise you for your work.  The key is to not let it go to your head and do your work for the right reason.  The following two examples did their work to help others despite being famous to others.  

 The first example was Billy Graham.  In the summer of 1963, my father was leading a Sunday School conference at Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly in North Carolina.  He did that sort of thing for a week, and our family vacations were often times centered around those conferences.  One afternoon, the phone rang in our motel room.  My father picked it up, and the voice on the other end was Billy Graham.  Daddy knew Dr. Graham from their work in religious circles.  He had called to invite us to his house that night for supper.  Billy lived close by to Ridgecrest.  Daddy said that he was leading a conference, and we couldn't come.  He asked Billy if we could come the next night, but he said no, because he was flying out the next day.  When Daddy hung up the phone and told us about the invite that he turned down, my mother and I were livid.  He had turned down a dinner invitation from BILLY GRAHAM!  How often does that come about?  The next summer, we were in Atlantic City for the Southern Baptist Convention.  Our vacation that summer consisted of Atlantic City, New York and the World's Fair, and then back down to Washington DC.  It was going to be more of a vacation than we had done in years.  Billy Graham was scheduled to speak at the convention.  After his speech, my father took me up front to meet Dr. Graham.  He looked like a giant to me, and I shook his hand.  Daddy told Billy that this meeting got him out of the doghouse after he botched the dinner invitation.  Both of them laughed about that.  Billy Graham was known all over the world.  He counseled Presidents of the United States.  He was made an honorary Knight by Queen Elizabeth.  He had many accolades.  And, he was very humble.  He did his work for the glory of God.  

 The second example was David Beasley.  He was the governor of South Carolina, when I met him.  The State House had been renovated, and they were having an open house for the citizens to see it.  The place was beautiful.  The Governor was receiving people outside of his office to shake hands.  When I got up to him, I shook his hand, and he was very cordial.  Then, my first impression was that he hadn't done an honest day's work in his life.  His hands were very smooth like a baby's bottom.  Contrary to his Lt. Governor who was a cattle farmer.  I shook his hand, and it was rough.  You could tell he was a worker.  So years later, David Beasley became the head of the United Nations World Food Program.  He traveled the world helping to feed the hungry in third world countries, and those countries ravaged by war.  In 2020, the WFP (under his leadership) won the Nobel Peace Prize.  Despite the fame that came with his jobs, he stayed humble as a devout Christian.  My first impression of Gov. Beasley was very wrong.  

 Both of these men did the work they were called to do.  Any fame that came with that work just rolled off of them.  More people should look at their lives and see that it is all about the work, and not about themselves.  Fame is fleeting.  The work will go on forever.

 

Ute

  There are people who are in politics for the right reason, which is to represent others and give them a voice.  They want to make a better place, not just for the people who voted for them, but also for all of the people.  It is a noble calling.  Of course, there are others who get the bad press, because they are just in it to stuff their pockets with money and forget about the voters, until the next election comes around.  Everyone has an opinion on who is the good person and who is the bad person, but these next two were in the good category in my humble opinion, which of course is the right one.

 The first was Senator Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina.  He liked to be called "Fritz".  He was from the Charleston area, and he had a Southern drawl that identified him as such.  No matter what some people said about him, he was a gentleman.  My brother was on his staff, mostly writing speeches.  I could always tell if my brother wrote a speech, because he would put words in it with many syllables.  He said it made the person sound smarter, even though no one knew what the words meant.  Fritz didn't really need those big words.  He was smart without them.  I met him, when he was the governor of South Carolina.  I was just a kid, but I got to go to the Governor's Mansion on a tour.  He knew my family name from my relatives in Charleston.  He was very gracious.

 The other good man was Jon Huntsman.  His resume of service was long and distinguished.  He was the Governor of Utah.  He was the United States Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore.  He was a candidate for President in 2012.  I met him in 2011, when he filed to be in the Republican primary in South Carolina.  He dropped out of the race for President before the primary happened.  Mitt Romney eventually got the nomination but lost to Obama.  Huntsman was very personable and wanted to find out what people thought.  As they got off of their campaign bus, I met his wife and several of his children.  He had a big family.  He was certainly qualified to be President, but he just couldn't get any traction.  

 Sometimes, the voters don't want the more qualified people to be the President.  Fritz briefly ran for the job, but he had to drop out.  A lot of the time, it isn't how much you know about the job ahead of time; it is more about how good you look on TV.  It is about charisma.  We have had some presidents who had both--being qualified to be President and looking good on TV.  It is said that Abraham Lincoln could not have won, if TV was around back then because of his lack of good looks.  He wouldn't have looked good on TV, no matter how much makeup they used on him.  Maybe some Botox would have helped.  

Wannabes

  Why does a person want to run to be the President of the United States?  Maybe because he or she wants to make this country and world a better place.  That is a noble idea.  Maybe because their ego needs to be fed.  That is a misplaced idea.  Maybe because someone suggested that it would be a good idea.  That could not be a good idea.  Whatever the reason, it can be a grueling process and extremely expensive.  

 One of those candidates was Barry Goldwater.  He ran for President in 1964 on the Republican ticket.  His opponent was the incumbent Lyndon Johnson who became the President after the death of President Kennedy.  My parents and I were on a special tour of the U.S. Capitol.  Our guide was Senator Strom Thurmond who was a distant relative of ours.  It was the summer of 1964.  We were on a private elevator.  The doors opened, and there was Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona.  My mother almost fainted.  She liked Barry Goldwater.  He shook her hand, and she didn't wash it for the rest of the day.  He also shook my hand and asked my name.  I remember it was a very firm handshake.  Strom explained to Barry who we were, and why we were in the private elevator.  They had a laugh over it.  Barry lost in a landslide to Lyndon in the Presidential election.

 Another of those candidates was Nikki Haley.  She ran for President in 2024.  At this writing, she is in the race and running against Donald Trump for the nomination.  In my opinion, she is a long shot to get the nomination, but you never know in politics.  I met Nikki at the South Carolina State Fair in 2009.  I was working for Andre Bauer to be the next Governor of South Carolina.  Nikki was running 5th in a 5-person race to be the Republican nominee for Governor.  I won't go into detail about her candidacy, but I will say that she was very sure of herself.  I can't say she was very personable, but she knew what she wanted.  She and I have encountered one another for several years at various events.  I can't say that all have been pleasant.  We have had our ups and downs, but she does have a path to become the nominee for President.  Maybe after the primaries, I will write a postscript.  Maybe not. 

Spies

  When I lived across from TCU 1978-79, it was an enjoyable time.  I should have gone to a football game or two, because I lived near the stadium, but I settled for free programs.  It was there I saw Jim Dickey read his poetry and talked to him afterwards.  It was there that I went to the Van Cliburn International Piano Festival and see him there.  It was also there, where I had an interesting encounter with a man I really respected.  William Colby.

 He had been in the Central Intelligence Agency for many years and served as the Director under Presidents Nixon and Ford.  He had left the CIA, when Ford left office and wrote a book which was published in 1978.  He came to TCU to promote his memoir and to lecture on spying.  He was very interesting talking about his life doing spying during World War II and then later with the CIA.  I got him to sign my book afterwards, and then I told him the story about what happened to us five years earlier in Jerusalem.  I had been told at the time not to tell anyone about our frightening experience, but I felt I could tell the former director of the CIA.  After all, he had been the deputy director of the CIA, when we were in Jerusalem.

 He listened intently to my story, and then he had a wry smile on his face.  He told me that he remembered that operation that we were involved in.  He then said something that I will never forget.  He told me that the CIA uses civilians all the time to gather intelligence.  He also included journalists in that admission.  He then apologized to me for the stress and danger that the CIA put us through, but that our intel was very important at the time to thwart an attack on Henry Kissinger who was in Jerusalem at that same time as us.  He then told me never to tell anyone about it, which I didn't for another 13 years, until I told I guy I knew who was in Special Forces in Vietnam.  If anyone wants to read that story, search for it down the line with my stories about our 1973 trip to Europe and Israel.  Bill Colby was a bonafide spy for the United States.  I was a civilian spy for the United States.  Both were very dangerous jobs.  He got paid to do it.  They didn't buy any Alka Seltzer for me.  I still have that box.

 

Impressions

  I have another confession to make.  I am bad about first impressions.  When I meet someone for the first time, I generally will have a first impression of that person that is usually wrong.  I have found that it is very important to get to know someone and not judge them on our first meeting.  Most people have some depth to them that surprises me.  I have heard that I am the same way to others.  One woman called me "deep" once.  I guess she thought of me as shallow, but then she learned to have more respect for me, and I for her.  Gert Weisberg was more than an old Jewish lady.  Her son was a championship bowler, and she survived the Holocaust.  To her, I was "deep".

 That brings me to the next two people I have met.  Another two who are very different by trade, but very similar in their trades.  The first was Mark Sanford, who was the governor of the great state of South Carolina.  It was 2009.  As I have said before, I try and find something that I have in common with the person I am meeting, so that we can have an actual conversation.  I was working the state Republican convention in Columbia for Lt. Governor Andre Bauer.  He was running for the office of Governor in 2010.  It was my job to greet people at the door, as they came into the convention center.  I saw Sanford come into the door with his entourage.  I stuck out my hand to him and introduced myself.  I told him that my cousin George was his doctor.  He brightened up and said that he loved George.  His entourage saw that I was working for Andre who was his rival, and he was whisked away.  A few months later, Mark would be embroiled in a scandal involving the Appalachian Trail, but that's another story.

 The next person was Pierre Cardin.  A famous French fashion designer.  I was working one night in the Sanger Harris record department.  Not too much was going on, when a nicely dressed short man came in with a younger and taller man.  I recognized the shorter man as Pierre Cardin.  He had been in town for a show.  Cardin spoke in French to the younger man, and then he came over to me to ask if we had an eight-track tape of "American Graffiti".  I told him that we did.  He told me that his boss would like to buy it.  All along, I heard Cardin speak things in French about me that were not flattering.  Thanks to my five years of French in High School and College, I knew exactly what he was saying about me.  His minion also knew what he was saying, but was pretending that it was just chit-chat, as he gave me the money for the tape.  As they were leaving, I told Monsieur Cardin that I knew what he was saying and that I understood French.  His face turned red, as did his assistant, and they scurried out of the door into their waiting limousine.  Thanks to Mrs. Busdicker, Mrs. Douglas, Miss Crocker, and all of my other French teachers, I was successful in putting this man in his place.  That felt good.  

 Both men got where they were in life by stepping on others' heads to get their way.  Sometimes, they can step in something else that they may have to scrape off of their shoes.  

Juniors

  I suppose it can be hard for a son to live up to the name "Junior".  One has to be thought of as a part of their father and try to live up to the name.  My brother was a junior.  He tried his best to be his own person, but our father would remind him that he was the junior in our family.  Thankfully, I didn't have that problem.  I was just the baby in the family.  

 I met two men who were referred as the "Junior".  One was mostly a military man with a touch of being a politician.  The other was an entertainer.  Both did well in their careers, but they were also compared to their fathers.  In this case, they were together at a hotel dining room in Columbia in the late 1960s.

 The first was Will Rogers, Jr.  He was a burly man whose father had been a famous humorist.  Junior had been in politics in California and served in the Army during World War II.  He was cordial to me, even though he seemed a bit rough.  He looked like a guy you could play poker with, and he would probably beat you.  Or, he would intimidate you to the point that you would have to lose.  His father was much more beloved than himself.  He had a hard time living up to that reputation.

 The second was Emmett Kelly, Jr. He was a circus clown like his father.  His act was much like his father's, and he lived up to his father's reputation.  He was truly a gentleman.  Since I was a teenager at the time I met these two men, Kelly took the time to meet me and warmly greet me.  He wasn't in his clown makeup, so I saw him as a real person.  He was warm to me in the brief time I said hello.  I could tell that he loved his life.

 Juniors can have a tough life living up to their fathers, if they let it consume them.  However they approach it in later life can be the difference between happiness and bitterness.  I got the impression that Mr. Kelly was happier than Mr. Rogers.  

 

Senators

  I have been fortunate, or maybe cursed, to meet a lot of interesting people over the years.  Politicians can be some of the most interesting.  After all, they can be your best friend and your worst enemy all at the same time.  Some can be inspiring, while others can be disappointing.  It isn't so much in their personalities, but rather in their actions.  Here, we have an inspiration and one not so much.

 It was 1959, and my father took me to what would be the last "Big Thursday" football game between the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.  Out in the parking lot stood a giant of a man.  He was Olin Johnston who was a U.S. Senator from South Carolina.  My father knew him, because we were somehow related.  I was 6 years old, and I looked up at him.  I could barely see his face.  It seemed like his face was in the clouds.  He leaned down to me and shook my hand.  He said he was glad to meet me.  I don't know if he really was glad, but he came across as he did.  We talked for a few minutes, and then we went into the stadium for the game.  He was the first Senator that I remember meeting.  It was a big deal for me.

 Through the years since that encounter, I have met other senators and congressmen.  In 2009, I met another one whose name was Lindsey Graham.  He also was a U.S. Senator from South Carolina.  I was working for Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in his bid to become the Governor for South Carolina.  I was getting ready to be in a parade and walk the length of it passing out stickers to children.  I saw Senator Graham getting into a convertible to ride in the parade.  I went over to him and introduced myself.  He was very warm in meeting me.  I told him that I was working for Andre Bauer, and he was very complimentary of Andre.  I went back to a fellow worker and told him what Lindsey had said.  My compadre told me that Lindsey would have said that about a dog catcher, if it meant he could get some votes.  

 Our paths would cross a few times after that day in 2009.  I talked with him again in 2018 at my church.  Lindsey and Senator John McCain were close friends.  We all knew that McCain was near death.  President Donald Trump had said some bad things about Senator McCain that didn't sit well with Lindsey Graham.  I saw Lindsey at my church and went up to him after the service.  He said he remembered me.  I guess he did.  I asked him to stand up to President Trump, and he said he would.  After McCain died, Lindsey went back on his word.  It really wasn't unusual for him.  

 Both senators in this story were good politicians.  They knew how to work the voters.  One had integrity.  The other maybe not so much.  Both could tell you what you wanted to hear.  One with respect.  The other maybe not so much.  One had strong convictions.  The other looked to see which way the wind was blowing.  That is the nature of politics.  

Joes

  In the political world, there are many personalities.  Some good and some not so good.  All have egos that need to be pampered by the voters.  One cannot be a politician without having an ego.  Another quality is that you need to be able to press the flesh.  You need to get out and meet the people.  Shake some hands.  Make the voters feel like you care about them, even if you might not.  After all, these people keep you in office, if they think you care about them.  Once they no longer have that feeling, you are out of a job.  That is why voting is so important.  In theory, it is to keep those who care in, and those that don't out.  That is also why you hear some politicians promise the sun, moon and stars to you, so you will vote for them, even though they can't deliver on those promises due to the system we live under.  Some call it "lying".  Others call it "deception".  Still others call it "smoke and mirrors".  It is actually just politics.

 Back in 2008, the senior senator from Delaware was running for President of the United States.  He was at the State House in Columbia to try and get support before the Democratic Primary in the state.  His name was Joe Biden.  I went to the press conference.  He made mention that he started his political life campaigning for George McGovern for President in 1972.  After the press conference was over, I went up to him and shook his hand while introducing myself.  I told him that my first campaign was working for McGovern in 1972.  He laughed and said, "That was the loneliest job".  We both had a laugh over that.  Nixon won almost every state that year.  In case you have lived under a rock for all these years, Obama picked Biden to be is running mate and then became Vice-President.  He later ran against President Trump and became the President of the United States.  He had a really good sense of humor.

 Another Joe on my list is Joe Wilson.  He represented the 2nd Congressional District in the House of Representatives in Washington for South Carolina.  You may remember Joe as the one who yelled out "You Lie!" while Obama spoke to Congress about Health Care.  I had met him on a few occasions throughout the years.  During the service for my pastor's retirement at First Baptist, he came to make a short speech about our pastor.  After the service, I went up to him to say hello.  He was very cordial to me.  I told him that I couldn't vote for him, even though his district was just a stone's throw away from where I lived.  He said with a straight face, that the Legislature should change the District lines, so I could vote for him.  That is called "gerrymandering".  I hope he was kidding, but it is hard to know with Joe Wilson.  I haven't seen him joke much.  

 Two Joes.  One is a Democrat and the other a Republican.  Vastly different politically.  Both Americans.  It would be nice if there was bipartisanship in Washington.  Like in the old days.  That's how things get done.  Politics can be a very messy business.  Votes count.  If you don't like someone, vote them out.  Just make sure that the one coming into that slot will be someone that will work for you and not for themselves.   How many politicians do you know came into office with nothing and left as a millionaire?  Why?  Because they stopped caring about the voters and cared more about the money from lobbyists.  As you are shaking your head and saying, "My vote doesn't count.  That's just the way it is.", it doesn't have to be that way.  We are Americans!  Let's act like it.

Junkie

  As most of you know, I am a political junkie.  I have been addicted to politics for most of my life.  My mother's side of the family had political lives, and I just grew up with it.  As I got older, politics were even more in my life, because I worked on political campaigns for folks from both parties.  I have never been a Republican or a Democrat.  I vote for the person and not the party.  I also believe that a person's vote should be a private matter in the voting booth.  It may be interesting for you to know that I have voted for more Republicans than Democrats who ran for President, but I have voted for more Democrats than Republicans in local races.  It has kind of worked out that way.  

 My brother has been in politics most of his adult life.  He has done public relations for campaigns, and he has written speeches for elected officials.  His main desire has been to stay in the background and let the candidate get the glory.  When Jim Hodges was elected to be the Governor of South Carolina, he nominated my brother to be the director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for the State.  It was a perfect fit for my brother.  I went to the swearing in at the State House.  I wore my best suit, which was a little tight and worn. I found out later that one could see through it in the light.  Thank goodness for underwear.  The Governor was there.  He was very nice, and I have a picture of the two of us meeting one another.  

 A couple of months later, he and his wife opened up the Governor's Mansion for Christmas.  I was in line to shake hands with the two of them.  I shook hands with the Governor and told him my name.  He had remembered me from the swearing in.  He turned to his wife and said that I was John Durst's brother.  In her Southern drawl, she said:  "Hey, how are youuuuu"?  There was a TV camera there, and my interaction with Mrs. Hodges got on TV.  It was kind of funny and embarrassing at the same time.

 Then, there was Douglas Kiker.  He was a graduate of PC and had come to the school for a lecture on journalism.  He was a political reporter for NBC.  He told the story about being outside in the snow during the Nixon inauguration in Washington.  It was very cold that day, and he had an earpiece connecting him to the NBC control truck.  Doug was freezing, and he was hearing the folks in the truck telling him how warm it was in the truck.  Even though Doug was very mad at what he was hearing in his ear, he had to keep his concentration.  I remembered that story, because it taught me how to concentrate on the stage no matter what was happening around me.  Doug was very easy to talk to, and he had great stories about the human sides of politicians.  He left us too soon. 

Writers

  I have been a writer, since I was five years old.  I wrote a commercial for a cereal company and sent it to them.  They thought I showed promise, as they were just being kind, and told me to check back with them in 18 years.  I never did, mainly because they stopped making OK Cereal.  I started writing songs in the 4th grade.  I started writing serious poetry in the 8th grade, and I began writing plays in the 12th grade.  All that is to say, I like to write.  I also like writers.  My mother was a writer, as was her sister.  So, this story is about writers.

 I had an English teacher in the 12th grade named Mrs. Greene.  Her husband taught Theatre at USC, and she introduced us to James Dickey.  He was a world-renown poet, and he wrote the novel "Deliverance".  He wanted us to call him "Jim", so we did.  Jim invited us over to his house which was crammed with books.  Most writers have a lot of books.  He was very gracious to us, and we picked his brain on how to write poetry.  I already knew, or I thought I did, but he opened our eyes to imagery in poetry.  I also got to know his son Chris who later became a journalist.  He was the first American to be at the site of Princess Diana's car crash in Paris.  

 A few years later, I was a Senior at PC and was taking a class on Modern Poetry.  I hated the teacher, because I felt his interpretations of poems were way off.  I failed the course, because I rebelled against him.  However, he knew Jim Dickey and invited him to come to our school to read some of his works and have lunch with our class.  Jim remembered me from my class in high school, and he invited me to sit next to him at lunch.  He had been drinking, which was not unusual for him, and his breath just about knocked me over.  It was nice to see him, though.  He did sign a book of poetry for me next to one of his famous poems which was "Buckdancer's Choice".

 About three years after that, I was living in Fort Worth across from TCU.  I heard that Jim was going to do a lecture one night, and I went to say hello.  After it was over, I was walking up to him, and he called out my name and gave me a big bear hug.  He was surprised to see me, and we were able to catch up on his family.  His wife and daughter were there, too.  I found a spoken word record at a store of Jim reading his poetry.  I should have had him sign it.  Jim had his faults, but I learned a lot from him.  He was one of my writing mentors.  

 The other famous writer that I met was Alex Haley.  He came to PC to speak about his book upcoming book called "Roots".  We talked about Civil Rights, and the part that my cousin played as a Freedom Rider with Dr. King.  He was interesting to talk to, but his ego was pretty big.  There was just a small group of students around him, including me.  Little did we know that "Roots" would be a best seller and a TV mini-series, which was extremely popular.  

Flying

  The next two people that I have met are pretty different in their music.  One is mostly a gospel singer, and the other is mostly a folk singer.  One is probably only known in gospel circles.  The other is known all over the world.  

 In 2008, I was in Nashville working on the next cd for The Cobbwebs.  We had done a cd in 2001 that was well received, and then the band broke up.  Some would say we took a seven-year hiatus.  We had some new songs, and I had written some lyrics for the cd.  We were recording in Chris's home studio.  One afternoon, a woman came over for a visit.  Her name was Kimber Manning.  I had heard about her from Chris, but I didn't know her music.  As it turned out, she had sung in the Speer Family which was a gospel group.  She was wanting to branch out and record her own songs, and Chris was helping her with that.  She seemed nice, as we talked around the table in the kitchen.  It was obvious that she was a perfectionist in our music.  I guess that's why I liked her, because I have been a perfectionist in my work as an actor and writer.  I learned later that she was a little bit too demanding in her work.  As far as I know, she has released only one cd.

 In 1991, Chris and Del wanted me to go with them to a show at a club in Five Points.  The singer was formerly in a 60's band that became famous around the world.  That band was The Byrds, and the singer's name was Roger McGuinn.  He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Byrds.  Roger was in Columbia to do a show with his backup band called The Headlights.  We sat two rows from the front, and the show was great.  We had heard that he was going to sign stuff after the show in his tour bus.  Del and Chris had brought record albums for him to sign.  I couldn't find an album, so I brought an article from a Boston magazine about him.  His wife was not the friendliest person in the world and was a bit controlling about how many things he would sign.  When it was my turn, she handed the article to him.  He had not seen it, and he asked me where this had come from.  I told him that it was from Boston.  He asked me if I was from there, and I said no.  A friend gave it to me.  He signed the page and gave it back to me.  I had a one-of-a-kind piece with his autograph.  That was kind of cool.  He was very nice.  When I got back home, I screamed.  I saw the soundtrack to the film "Easy Rider" in my record collection.  Roger recorded a song for that record.  I could have had him sign it, but NOOOOOO!!!

 I kept in touch with Roger after that night.  He gave me some pointers on writing songs.  In 1997, Crosby, Stills & Nash came to Columbia for a concert.  Since David Crosby had been a founding member of The Byrds, I wrote to him and asked if he would be coming up from his home in Florida to see the show.  David and Roger had a falling out over The Byrds, but they were trying to reconcile.  Roger said he was sorry, but he said "Not this time".  We have corresponded a few times since then. When my father died in 1999, the song on Rich's muzak was "Turn Turn Turn" by The Byrds.  It was very comforting.  I told Roger about that, and his words of sympathy were heartfelt.   He was  very nice to me.  A true gentleman.  

Quarrymen

  Two guys from a little band in Liverpool during the 1950's crossed my path in 1995 in Chicago.  Their names were Rod Davis and John Duff Lowe.  You may not recognize their names, but you might recognize the names of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.  They were all in a little skiffle group called The Quarrymen.  Lennon started the group with Davis and Lowe.  McCartney and Harrison joined later.  The group later became The Beatles with Davis and Lowe continuing on as The Quarrymen along with a couple of others.

 I had gone to Beatlefest in Chicago in 1995.  I had also met Denny Laine there, as well as George Harrison's sister Louise.  There were mostly vendors there selling Beatles merchandise, but there were also famous and semi-famous people there, as well.  Rod and John were there promoting their new CD called "Open for Engagement" and signing copies.  Apparently, most people at the convention didn't know who they were.  I did.

 Rod was sitting at his table all alone.  I went up to him and introduced myself.  We talked for quite a while about the four lads from Liverpool and the history of The Quarrymen.  I told him about my connection with Yoko.  He signed a copy of the CD for me, and John walked up.  He was not as talkative as Rod was, but he still was nice.  He signed my CD, too.  We talked about how much John liked to party, and how much Paul was obsessed with the music.  George just wanted to belong to something and learn to play the guitar. I think they liked John more than the other two. He was more mature. It was great talking with them about the old days before Beatlemania.  Check out their music.  It is pretty good.

Barracuda

  Sometimes, you meet people just starting out.  Other times, you meet people who have been at it for a long time.  This next set are examples of that.

 The first was Gary Lewis.  He was the frontman of Gary Lewis and the Playboys back in the 60's.  He was also the son of the comedian Jerry Lewis.  Gary had a lot of hits back in the day, but now he was the solo headline act at a free benefit concert at the Township.  Believe it or not, The Shirelles were the opening act.  Then, there was a country artist called Andy Childs who stole the show.  Everyone was so tired of clapping by the time Gary took the stage, he did his best to do a good show.  My Cobbwebs friends, Chris and Del, went with me to the show.  We had really gone to see Gary, but the other acts were really good.  We had brought a tape of our music to give to Gary after the show, so we waited by the stage door for him to come out.  When he did, we were the only ones there.  We talked to him for a few minutes and gave him the tape.  He was very cordial to us and put the tape in his back pocket.  We made a point not to talk to him about his famous father.  He had heard that a lot growing up and was probably sick of it.  We wanted to talk about the music.  Later, we heard from Gary about our tape, and he told us how great it was.  Our original 60's rock and roll touched a chord with him.  He was a nice guy.

 The second was a group called Heart.  Maybe, you've heard of them.  They were playing a show in Fort Worth in 1977.  I wasn't able to go to the show that night, but I took a guess what hotel they would be staying at.  It was the one closest to the venue.  It was also the same hotel that JFK had stayed on November 21, 1963, before being killed the next day.  I went to the hotel early that morning and hung out in the lobby until the band came down to leave.  They were travelling in an old beat-up van.  No planes or limos for them.  I liked them right away.  I held the door for them, as they loaded up the van.  Their drummer was very nice to me, as was Nancy Wilson.  Ann?  Not so much.  The guitar players said thank you, when I opened the door.  Ann?  Not so much.  It would have been a really good time to ask them for their autographs, but I didn't think to do that.  I was surprised that no one else showed up to cheer them leaving.  It was just me and them.  I was respectful, and I think they appreciated that.  Ann?  Maybe not so much.  

Winging

 I like to be around good musicians.  Creativity oozes from their veins.  Such was the case with the next two encounters I had.  And, they had something in common in a roundabout way.  One was mentioned in a Beatles song, and one played with a Beatle.

 The first was B.B. King.  I saw him in concert in Columbia.  A Blues legend.  A genius guitar player.  A very nice man.  After the show, he was backstage signing autographs for those lucky enough to have a backstage pass.  I waited at the Stage Door for almost 90 minutes for him to come out.  He loaded up "Lucille" (his guitar) in the trunk of his limo.  The case was specifically molded to the guitar, so there would be no moving about in the trunk.  He talked with me and three other fans who had stayed outside.  We got pictures and plastic guitar pins as a reward for our perseverance.  As his limo was pulling out of the parking lot, I was heading back to my car.  The driver honked the horn, and Mr. King waved at me from his window.  By the way, The Beatles song that he is mentioned in was "Dig It" off of the "Let It Be" album.  John Lennon sang the line.

 The second was Denny Laine.  I met him at Beatlefest in Chicago in 1995.  Beatlefest was a gathering of Beatle fans and collectors, along with some celebrities.  Before joining Wings with Paul McCartney, he was in The Moody Blues.  He had an autograph table there, and I had brought the Wings album "London Town" for him to sign.  He was very gracious.  He was very easy to talk to and seemed to enjoy the interaction with the fans.  Most people brought "Band on the Run" albums for him to sign, but the cover was just too dark to see the autograph.  He made mention to me that he didn't see many "London Town" albums.  Most people wanted to talk about Paul, but I spoke for a minute with him about The Moody Blues.  He seemed grateful to be recognized by something other than Wings.  

 Both men were nice in their own way.  Both were giants in their respective genres.  Both were amazing musicians.  Both were unforgettable.

Green

 The next two are actors whose roles were vastly different, but who both were very friendly and interesting to talk to.  One was pretty famous in the 1960's on TV.  The other was a character actor on TV and in the movies.  

 The first was Tom Lester.  You may remember him as playing Eb on "Green Acres" mostly in the 1960's. He was rather dim-witted on the show, but he was nothing like that in real life.  I met him, when he came to Southwestern Seminary to talk about his faith.  He visited my small Religious Drama class one afternoon to talk with us about sharing our faith through our work.  I sat across the table from him and picked his brain about Christianity in Hollywood.  He told us about the few Christians there were in the movies and TV who were willing to keep the faith without compromise.  He told us of his attempt to witness to those on the set.  He said Eddie Albert accepted Christ, but that Eva Gabor didn't want anything to do with it.  He was very easy to talk to.  It is very hard to stick up for what you believe in Hollywood, because most people will do anything to get a job or do anything the director tells you to do in that job.  I applauded Tom for doing the right thing, even if it meant not working in a part that would propel him further in his career.

 The second was Bo Hopkins.  His name may not be instantly familiar to you, but you have probably seen his work on TV and in film.  He played in films like "The Wild Bunch", "American Graffiti", "Midnight Express", and many more.  He did TV shows like "The Virginian", "Gunsmoke", "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Mod Squad", "Hawaii Five-O", "Dynasty", and many more.  He was also in the first episode of "Charlie's Angels".  He usually played a tough guy.  I met him at an event in Greenville.  He was looking for money to finance a film he wanted to make on Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was an early baseball player.  As was my custom, I thought of something we might have in common to start the conversation.  Both of us had worked with Burt Reynolds on movies.  He said he remembered me on "Semi-Tough".  He was just being nice, because there was no way he could have remembered me.  He did tell me that he would cast me in his new movie.  I thought that was very nice, but the movie was never made.  

 Both Tom and Bo were good old country boys.  Tom was from Mississippi, and Bo was from South Carolina.  Hollywood called both of them there.  It was good to meet them in a casual environment.  Both were very down to earth.  They couldn't have been more different.

Wonder

  There were two people that I met who couldn't have been more different visually.  Maybe because one was an actress and singer.  The other was a character actor known for his supporting roles.  One was rather serious, and the other was very funny.

 The first was Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman on TV and put out an album of her songs.  I was living in Fort Worth, and the word got out that she was coming to Six Flags over Texas to open a new ride and sign autographs.  It was raining that day and pretty chilly, but they said she would be there rain or shine.  Since it was raining, they set up her table under a gazebo, which was not big enough for the crowd that showed up.  We were packed in there like sardines.  You couldn't breathe, and people were passing out.  When somebody did, they either fainted standing up, or they were lifted up over the heads of others to be tended to.  Children were especially affected by this crush, and they ended up on the ground to breathe.  When Lynda arrived, she was with some childhood friends from Arizona, so she wasn't paying much attention to her fainting fans.  I was wearing an old Army shirt that I had since college.  When I got up to the table, she said hello to me and I to her.  She looked at my shirt and wrote "Peace, Lynda Carter" on her photo and gave to me.  She was much prettier in person than as Wonder Woman.  We had a moment, but I couldn't hang around.  The line had to keep moving.  I got the flu from being there, but it was worth it.

 The second was M. Emmet Walsh, who was an actor in "Chattahoochee".  You may not recognize the name, but you have seen him in many movies.  He was the doctor examining Chevy Chase in "Fletch".  He was the group sergeant in "Alice's Restaurant".  He was the madman in "The Jerk".  And, many more roles.  Emmet was the ultimate character actor.  One of the things you may not know about a film set is that there is a lot of waiting around.  One might wait for the crew to set up for a scene.  One might wait, because you aren't in a scene being filmed.  One might wait just to be waiting.  Boredom can set in.  Emmet created a way to pass the time.  He gathered some of the other actors around his chair and told jokes.  Most were pretty funny.  Some were kind of dirty.  Then, he would ask the handful of people around him to tell a joke.  We would all laugh.  For a few days, I got to be in that small group of joke-tellers.  Some of our jokes were pretty stupid, but the object was to make Emmet laugh.  If you did, it was a real accomplishment.  When it was time for a scene, he would get into character and perform.  Afterwards, we would be back to telling jokes.  He helped the time to go by faster.  We loved to hurry up and wait with Emmet.  He was a cool guy.

Western

  When I was a kid, I loved watching westerns on TV.  Shows like Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, The Lone Ranger, The Wild Wild West, and so many more.  Most of them came on CBS.  For some reason, I didn't care for most of the westerns on NBC.  They just seemed not as real as some of the others.  And, I wasn't allowed to watch Gunsmoke or Have Gun Will Travel, because they were too violent.  I did meet two actors who were on NBC western shows.

 The first was Lorne Greene.  He came to the opening of Richland Mall in Columbia.  He was on Bonanza.  I know that was a very popular show.  I just didn't watch it.  It came on opposite Perry Mason, which my mother loved to watch, and later opposite the Smothers Brothers, which I liked to watch.  CBS was big in our house.  When Lorne came to the mall, he was swamped by little kids.  He looked a little perturbed at that prospect, but he tried to be nice.  Everybody wanted his autograph, but he brought black and white photos with his printed signature.  I shook his hand and told him my name.  He had rough hands. You could kind of tell that he just wanted to get paid for his appearance and leave.

 The second was Leif Erickson.  He was on the NBC show The High Chaparral.  I watched a few episodes of that show, but not because of him.  He had come to Columbia to make an appearance at our Christmas parade.  After the parade, there was a luncheon for him.  My father was invited to go, and he took me.  I got to sit at the head table next to Leif.  When he turned to talk to me, his breath could have knocked the spots off of a horse.  He was drunk.  He could barely sit in his chair next to me.  I hadn't been around someone that drunk before.  He wasn't the guy I saw on TV.  He was a lush.  

 One thing I realized about both of these men.  The actors you see on TV or not always the same in real life.  They both should have tried to be actors with the public.  Instead, they were just two guys who would have rather been somewhere else. 

Named

  The next two couldn't be more different except for the fame part.  One was an actor who won an Academy Award.  The other was an actress primarily on TV.  One I met on purpose, and the other was by accident.  Both were very interesting people.

 Jack Palance had written a book of poetry and was at a book signing in Columbia.  He had won an Oscar for "City Slickers" and was the epitome of the tough guy on screen.  Before I meet someone famous, I think of something we have in common.  That way, we have something to talk about.  As I was standing in line to meet Jack, I thought of three things we had in common.  We were both actors.  We both knew Yoko Ono.  And, we had both worked with Burt Lancaster.  When it was my turn to get a book signed, I told him my three things.  I told him that Burt taught me how to dance.  With a wry smile, he said that he didn't know Burt knew how to dance.  I told him that he knew enough to teach me.  We had a big laugh over that.  Jack was a very nice guy in person and nothing like the characters he played on the big screen.

 Julie Newmar was best known for playing Catwoman on the "Batman" TV series.  She was on other TV shows including "The Monkees".  She was living in Ft. Worth the same time I was.  I was with some friends to go to the premiere of the movie "Superman".  We got there kind of late and had to sit down front.  It was a big theater.  As being in some movies, I have a habit to watch the end credits to see if I know anyone on the crews.  When the movie was over, my friends left along with almost everyone else.  I looked over to see a woman toward the front looking at the credits.  We were the only two left in the theater.  I realized she was Julie Newmar.  As we were there, I started to get a bit uncomfortable.  I thought it would be best if I left before her, so I walked out.  My friends were running around outside with their arms stretched out like Superman.  I joined in.  I ran around the corner of the theater, and my fist went smack dab into Julie's chest.  It bounced off.  I was really embarrassed and apologized profusely.  She smiled and told me that it was all right.  She was wearing a peach-colored mini dress that was knitted.  She said she noticed me reading the credits, and I told her why.  She said she did the same thing.  We talked for a couple of minutes, and then I rejoined my friends.  She was nice in a lot of ways.  Outside and inside.  

Namely

 There have been many people I have met over my lifetime.  As you have seen so far, some are pretty well-known.  Politicians, musicians, actors, and more.  There were two that could have not been any different to me.

 One was Hope Olson.  That name might not be familiar to you, but she was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for October 1976.  She was the first model I had met, and yes I had seen her pictures.  I was working at Sanger Harris Department Store in Fort Worth, and she came to do a personal appearance promoting jeans. I was a little nervous meeting her, but she was very nice.  She was signing pictures of herself (just headshots).  I asked her to sign one for me, and she wrote:  "To Walter, Best of things to you always, Lots of love, Hope Olson".  The picture is on my wall in my bedroom along with other autographed pictures of folks I have gotten over the years.  I had a friend in seminary, and I asked if she could sign one to him thanking him for last night as a joke.  She did it.  I don't know if he still has it, but we thought it was funny.  The last I heard, Hope went back to her home in Wisconsin and got her degree in Early Childhood Education.  

 The different one was Halle Berry.  She was playing one of the female leads in "The Program".  I was working on that film as a football fan. She had only been acting in movies for a couple of years and not obtained the fame she would get later.  To watch her act was like watching paint dry.  She really wasn't very good, but neither was this movie.  At the time, she was married to David Justice who played for the Atlanta Braves.  David had flown up to Columbia from Atlanta to spend some time with his wife on the set.  It was during a lunch break that I saw him standing around, and I went up to him to say hello.  We started talking about baseball, when Halle walked up to us.  She yelled at him and asked why was he talking to me?  She then yelled at me for talking to him.  He tried to tell her that we were just talking about baseball, but she then said some choice words to me, which I will not repeat.  Needless to say, she basically told me to go away, and then she told him that he was there to see her and not me.  She was extremely unprofessional.  They divorced a few years later.  I knew who wore the pants in that family.  She later went on to win the Oscar for "Monster's Ball".  She deserved it.  Her acting had gotten better.  But, she was too much of a diva, when I met her.  I hope she has mellowed out.

Names

  In another installment of people I have met, we look at a couple of men who had similar jobs but from different angles.

 The first was Grady Nutt.  He was a Christian comedian.  You might remember him from his appearances on "Hee Haw" on TV.  I met Grady at Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center back in the late 60's.  Let me just say that Grady was a cool guy.  He used his humor as a way to get people to think about God.  He would say that God had a sense of humor, because He made Grady.  Contrary to public opinion, Grady's last name was really Nutt.  It wasn't made up, but you could actually call him a "nut".  He also used his humor in the pulpit, as God used him to win souls to Christ.  One night, he was preaching on prayer at Ridgecrest to a bunch of young people.  I was there.  He told the audience that he was going to pray with his eyes open, and that everyone should do it, too.  We had been trained to pray with our eyes shut.  As he prayed, I looked around the auditorium.  There were some who kept their eyes open.  Most had their eyes closed.  His point was that you don't have to close your eyes to talk to God.  You can walk down the street or drive a car while talking to God.  He suggested to not close your eyes while driving.  People laughed, but he made a point.  

 The other person was Gregory Walcott.  You may not know the name, but he was an actor in Hollywood.  He was in a lot of films and TV shows including "Mister Roberts", "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "Bill Wallace of China", "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot", "The Eiger Sanction", "Midway", "The Rifleman", "Bonanza", and many more.  He also used his name to preach in churches about his Savior, Jesus Christ.  I met Greg, when I was 13.  He was preaching in a church in Sumter, SC.  He and my father were friends.  He was one of the first Hollywood actors I had ever met, and I was in awe.  Someone took a picture of me shaking hands with him inside the church after the service.  My mouth is open.  He was very kind to talk with me as a real person.  I didn't think of these actors as real people.  They were on TV or on the big screen.  He said I could call him "Greg".  That was so cool.  When I would see him in the movies or on TV after that, I would say that he was my friend.  And, he was.

Drops

  Here is another couple of encounters I have had with names you might recognize.  Today, we have stories about two guys named George.  I do regret never having met George of the Jungle.  You know, he is a friend to you and me, but he has to watch out for that tree.

 In 1978, I was working at Sanger Harris Department Store.  They brought in a lot of famous people to do personal appearances to promote one thing or another.  One of those people was a man named George Hamilton.  You may remember him as an actor, or that he dated Lynda Bird Johnson.  He came to the store to promote a line of skincare products.  He was very famous for his tanned skin.  When I met him at the store, he seemed a little stuck up, but he shook my hand anyway.  We talked for a couple of minutes about acting.  There were a lot of women swooning over him, which he just ate up.  Ego will do that to you.  He smiled a lot.

 In 2008, I was living in Greenville, SC.  The movie, "Leatherheads", had been filmed in that area the year before.  George Clooney was the director and star of the film.  The premiere was taking place in Greenville, and Clooney was there to get the key to the city along with his co-star Renee Zellweger.  I knew there would be autographs available, so I had gone to a bookstore and bought a magazine with both of them on the cover.  When I got to the site, there was already a crowd of mostly women looking to get an autograph or two.  The film company had passed out mini movie posters for them to sign, but I had my magazine.  George started to wander into the crowd, and I was right there.  I presented my magazine to him to sign.  He looked at it with a smile and looked at me.  He signed it, and I said, "Thank You".  He looked at me and said, "You're welcome".  I didn't see him doing that to anyone else.  We had a moment.  Renee was having some issues with her high heels, so she stopped signing right before she got to me.  I begged her assistant to have her sign my magazine.  She did, and that was the last autograph she gave out at that event.  After the ceremony, Renee went to get in the car, but George stayed to sign some more autographs.  There was some chaos at that second signing for a group much smaller than the first.  In the melee, I signed a woman's arm who was in front of me.  It was an accident, but I bet she didn't wash her arm for a long-time thinking George had done it.  As I have said before, usually the bigger the star, the nicer they are.  George Clooney was much nicer than George Hamilton.  Case closed.

Droplets

  As I said last time, I have been accused of being a name dropper.  I don't mean to be.  I have just been rather fortunate to have met some people, whose names you might know.

 One of those was Dennis Hopper.  We met on the set of the film "Chattahoochee" in 1988.  Now, I know that there are stories about his drug and alcohol use, which was extreme, but by then he was clean and sober.  Dennis was a very interesting guy.  We were standing in a line together waiting for a scene.  He turned to me and asked if I knew anything about Charleston.  He said he wanted to go there for his off weekend from shooting.  It just so happened that I knew a lot about Charleston.  I asked him what he was interested in, and he said he wanted to see the history of the city.  So, I told him about the Battery, the Market, Charles Town Landing, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter, and Patriots Point.  The following year, he directed a movie called "Chasers" which was mostly filmed in Charleston.  All of the sites I told him about were in the movie.  I really should have gotten a credit for Location Scouting in that film, but I didn't.  Another guy heard us talking and asked Dennis if he wanted to go to a bar after filming.  Dennis was polite and told the guy that he just wanted to go back to his hotel room at Embassy Suites and watch ESPN.  He told me that he really liked to watch college sports.  He was a cool guy,

 Another was Gary Oldman who had the lead in "Chattahoochee".  Most everybody has a list of the best actors in the world.  Gary is on my list.  He emersed himself in any role he would play.  Gary has a Cockney accent in real life, but he was playing a guy from Florida and had to have a Southern accent.  The director had told us not to say anything to Gary, because he was concentrating on his accent.  We were standing around in a cramped space, waiting on a scene to begin.  I was next to Gary.  He turned to me and asked me what my name was.  I told him.  He then asked me if I was from Columbia.  I said yes.  So, he then asked me to tell him about the South.  He wanted to get an idea what someone from the South would do within his character.  We were chatting about that, when the director saw me talking to Gary.  The director wanted to fire me, but Gary spoke up and told the director that he had initiated the conversation.  I was allowed to stay.  Gary and I talked at lunch about the South.  He also wanted me in a scene with him behind a fence along with some other actors.  That made the front of the DVD cover.  I am on the far left in the artwork, even though I was right behind him in the shot.  

 By the way, who is on my list of great actors?  Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, Gary Oldman, and me.  That's the way it is.

Dropping

  These next few stories will contain observations about some famous people that I have met over the years.  I survived homelessness in a shelter by telling stories about these famous people, especially movie stars.  You might call it bragging or name dropping.  I call it a fortunate time in my life.  It may also be eye-opening to you, but famous people are famous because of the brand that people put on them.  They don't go around (at least most don't) proclaiming they are famous.  They are just people like you or me that may be recognized more in airports or on the street.  Fame can be hard on some.  It sort of takes away your independence in life.  Some become recluses.  Others go to a lot of parties.  Most of the ones I have known do not let fame define them.  They are just ordinary people with extraordinary jobs.

 Burt Lancaster:  When I had got onto the set of "The Midnight Man" in 1973, I had already gone through an audition process.  Burt was the co-director of the movie.  He lined a bunch of us up in front of the dance floor and picked the ones who would look the best on camera.  I was one of those.  He then went up to me and asked me my name.  When I told him, he recognized my name, because his son had told him that I should be hired.  Burt told me that he wanted me to dance with the female lead, who was Susan Clark.  I confessed to him that I didn't know how to dance, so he spent 45 minutes with me teaching me how to dance.  He taught a slow dance to me that would work in the film.  He brought in Susan Clark to rehearse dancing with me.  It didn't go well.  Susan wanted to dance fast, but I couldn't keep up with her.  Consequently, we were tripping each other up.  She got mad and threatened to walk off of the set.  Burt came to my defense and told her that I was trying my best.  But, he saw that she wouldn't work with me, so I was assigned another dance partner.  In the film, it looks like she is dancing with someone else, but she is really dancing alone.  Burt apologized to me, and he allowed me to use his name as a reference for my future work.  I learned a lesson that day:  the bigger the star, the nicer they are.  That is usually true, but not always.

 Charlton Heston:  I was living in Fort Worth, and he had just written an autobiography.  He was doing a book signing at Walden's in the mall where I worked.  I got off work early to be the first in line to meet him.  I had taken one of my acting books for him to sign.  When I got there to the store, the signing hadn't officially started.  I had to buy one of his books for him to sign it.  After he did, I asked him if he could sign my acting book.  His agent said no, but Heston did.  There was no one else in the store at the time, so we got to talking about acting.  He wanted to know what I had done, and I told him about the plays and two movies.  We talked about my work with Burt Lancaster.  Heston was a nice man, and he told me I could call him "Chuck".  So, I asked Chuck if I could use his name as a reference like Burt had, and he agreed.  Chuck had a good sense of humor, and a strong faith in God.  We had a falling out years later, which is a story in my blog about the TV movie "Chiefs".  I would rather remember him for the nice encounter.  I gave his autographed book to my Mother for Christmas.  She was a big fan of his.  I still have my acting book that he signed to me.  

Loves

  I have alluded to this topic in other stories, but I thought it would be good to bring this subject to a close.  Despite being branded as gay by some people, because I have never married, I have to say that I have been in love at least four times in my life with girls.  One didn't know, because I was too shy to tell her.  One did know, but it ended badly.  One probably knew, when I said goodbye.  And, one sort of knew, because I was persistent.  I have had a couple of girls who loved me.  One I am friends with.  The other committed suicide.  I thought it was my fault for many years, but I had to just let that go.  At any rate, I am still single.

 The first was a girl I met at church.  She really seemed interested in me as a friend.  I had never had someone of the opposite sex care about me as a person.  I fell madly in love with her.  I was in high school.  She was incredibly smart in school and very creative.  I couldn't eat.  I had butterflies in my stomach.  She gave me my first kiss.  I just was too shy to tell her, even though there were people who knew my secret.  Maybe she knew too, but she was seeing another guy.  For about two years, I couldn't think about anyone but her.  When I went to college, I started keeping a diary.  I would end each entry with my declaration of love for her.  Years later, I began to be her muse.  She was doing plays, and I would promote her work.  She was in a bad car wreck that broke several bones.  I couldn't bring myself to see her, as she was pretty messed up.  My father would visit her, as he was in the clergy.  When I went off to seminary in Texas, she was going to graduate school in Florida.  I got the bright idea one Saturday to drive there.  It was only 12 hours there.  I got as far as Shreveport and decided it was a dumb idea.  After I got back from Texas, she had moved back home.  We went out once and later on a mission trip together.  A few years after that, she got married to a nice guy.  They are still together and living in another state.  We are still close friends.

 One thing I have found out about myself is that I am attracted to girls who are smart, classy, and have style.  So, when I met a girl like that at Anderson College, another love blossomed.  It was my sophomore year.  She was a local girl who was involved in Drama like me.  We did everything together.  One Sunday, I was home and called her.  Her mother picked up the phone and told me that she was out with friends.  That was unlike her to be out on a Sunday night. I found out later that she had met a guy who she liked.  At that point, I was in a three-way relationship.  I liked her.  She liked me and the other guy.  When she and I went to Europe as part of a college History trip, we spent just about every waking moment together.  I was extremely jealous of any guy who came in contact with.  On the train from Lucerne to Paris, she had her head in my lap.  She looked up at me and mouthed the words "I Love You".  I mouthed those words back at her, and she smiled.  I was prepared to pop the question to her in Paris, but the time wasn't right.  When we got to Barcelona, she wanted to call the other guy to tell him when to pick her up from the airport and to break it off with him.  I don't know what he said to her on the phone, but when we were in the plane heading back home, she told me that she had decided to marry him.  It was the longest eight hours of my life.  I went to PC, and she went to another school.  Every day, I would send her a letter.  They started coming back return to sender.  For a couple of years, it was pretty ugly.  She got married, but I wasn't invited to the wedding.  She told a friend that she was afraid that I would have objected in the ceremony, and I would have.  Years later, we began corresponding once again.  We are friends again.  I am glad for that.

 I have already written about my third love.  That was Kare in Fort Worth.  She kept me sane during a really crazy period in my life.  Search for Kare in my blog.

 The fourth love was a girl I worked with at Belk.  She was incredibly funny and extremely creative.  She was a writer.  She sort of looked like Steffi Graf for all you tennis fans. She loved horses, and she taught me a lot about those graceful creatures.   She ended up marrying a doctor, and she became a librarian.

 I have had feelings for other girls over the years, but these four were the ones I was serious about.  People keep telling me that I should always have hope of finding someone.  Never say never, I guess.  

Dates

  I have a confession.  I haven't dated girls all that much.  Whether it is because I have been very shy, or because I hate rejection, but I just haven't.  In fact, the first official date I ever had was as a senior in high school.  I asked a girl if she would like to go to Hardee's with me, and she said yes.  It was a spur of the moment thing.  I did hang out with girls during my high school years, but mostly at church and mostly in a group.  There was one girl who I was pretty close to, and we would have long talks as we walked at night, but it wasn't really romantic.  

 When I got to college, the number one thing on my mind was passing my classes and then having fun.  Once again, I hung out with girls but didn't really date.  Group dates were the thing.  Get drunk.  Get high.  Have fun.  That was kind of our mantra at PC.  Theatre people were a little different than the other students.  There were a lot of parties.  One, in particular, where I pinched a girl's butt with ice tongs at a fraternity party.  She couldn't sit down for several days.

 When I moved to Texas, the girls I dated were from work.  Kare, Charlotte and Alex were the main ones.  We had a good time.  Unfortunately, the seminary thought I was anti-social, because I didn't date any girls on campus.  They just didn't interest me.  Besides, my dates liked to drink.  Seminary girls were not as free.

 After moving back to South Carolina, I did go out some with girls from work or church.  There was a rumor going around Belk that I had dated almost every girl who worked there.  If that was true, I would be dead now.  My heart couldn't have taken it.  I did have a few girls I went out with.  Maybe 5 or 6.  One girl in particular I wanted to date.  I mustered up the courage to ask her out.  She said no.  That was the inspiration for the song "She Said No" that was recorded by The Cobbwebs.  The companion song called "She Said Yes" was a fantasy song about what would have happened if she had said yes, and I wasn't prepared for that.  But, she said no in real life.

 There was one girl I dated, when I worked at Rich's.  I took her to my high school reunion.  We went out to eat several times, but she would embarrass me by sending food back for not tasting right.  She did it to try and get free food.  I found out that she lied to me about many things in her life, so I had to break it off.  I can't stand lying in a relationship.  

 So, casual dating isn't really something I do.  Unless, you would call going to lunch with a work friend "a date".  You probably wouldn't.  

Posture

  I seem to have always had rounded shoulders.  I'm not sure why, but I can't remember a time, when I didn't.  When I got into elementary school, my posture seemed more pronounced.  I couldn't sit up straight in school.  I was always slouching in a chair.  I thought it was because my head weighed more than my body.  After all, I was pretty skinny, and I was pretty smart.  My teacher thought it was something else, and she told my parents that I needed to be seen by a doctor.

 I really didn't want to go to a doctor about this, but my parents were worried.  They did a battery of tests and x-rays.  They found I had scoliosis.  I saw the x-ray and the curving of my spine.  I had no symptoms, but it came as a shock to my parents.  The doctor suggested that I wear a back brace to see if my spine would straighten up.  My parents bought a back brace from a mail-order company.  It was made of stretchable material and was kind of like wearing a backpack.  Before going to school, I would put it on under my clothes.  I couldn't move around much, but it did force me to sit up straight in a chair.  I know that some kids wondered why I had changed my posture, but I never told them I was wearing a back brace.  I didn't want to be teased.

 It got to the point, where I didn't want to wear the back brace anymore.  It was just too confining.  I had difficulty breathing, especially at recess.  My parents insisted that I wear it, so I would put it on in the morning; take it off at school; and put it back on going home.  I know that it didn't do much good that way, and my parents didn't see any improvement, so they told me I didn't have to wear it anymore.  Success.

 As time went on, I continued to slouch and be hunched over, but I just learned to live with it.  When I got to college, I found that it was an advantage to hunch over.  I would be walking to the mall at Anderson, and some nice lady would stop and ask if I needed a ride.  Of course, I did.  It worked especially well, when it was cold.  Yes, I manipulated people back then.  When SC had a governor who bent over, I would be mistaken for him.  We kind of looked alike.  I got a free cheeseburger at Wendy's because of that.  

 As far as I know, my spine is still curved a little.  I have done exercises in the past that have helped me get straighter.  But, I will probably always slouch.  It feels good.  And, I actually think I look cooler than those old sticks in the mud who have to sit up straight all the time.  I have learned one lesson, though.  If someone offers you a ride, you had better know who they are.  Times have changed.  A word to the wise.

Diversity

  From an early age, I was taught to treat everyone equally.  The concept of "diversity" didn't enter into the picture for me.  Why were people diverse?  Aren't we all just one people?  I learned the hard way.  

 First, it was after Dr. King died.  I was riding my bike near Five Points and was attacked by some black kids.  They threw rocks at me.  I asked why they were doing that, and they said I had killed Dr. King.  I told them I hadn't been anywhere near Memphis, but they said white people killed Dr. King.  They were judging me, because I was different than them.

 Next, it was in my Senior year of high school.  There was some construction going on at Flora.  A black worker was digging a trench, and the dirt caved in on top of him.  His fellow workers tried to get him out, but they couldn't.  He died.  A rumor started going through the school that a white worker had purposely buried his co-worker and killed him.  Of course, this was untrue.  But, it was enough to start off having some black kids fight some white kids.  We didn't have many black kids at Flora at that time.  Busing had just started in Columbia.  The fights got out of control, and the police had to be called in to quell what became as a riot.  There was some broken windows and damaged property.  Some of us tried to bring the temperature down some.  I really think some of the rioters were doing it to get out of going to class, but it just got worse.  Finally, the administration stepped in and cancelled classes for a week.  We went through a series of seminars on race relations and respect for one's school.  It was called "Give A Damn".  We learned a lot about others, and what they dealt with at home and in school.  After the week of training, things kind of calmed down.  The coroner said that the worker had died from the loose ground caving in all top of him.  His supervisor was cited for not realizing that the soil was loose and could be dangerous.  The damage was repaired.  

 Fast forward to my time at Rich's Department Store.  There was an issue brought up about some people being marginalized or discriminated against company wide.  Our store was not as bad as some others, but Rich's felt that we needed to go through diversity training.  I have to say that most of us did the training to be able to get off of the floor for an hour.  

 As I have stated before, I am not a racist.  I have known many people who are, and they make me sick.  Most of them were taught that from their parents or grandparents.  Some just never knew the difference.  I have seen Klan rallies.  I have seen burning crosses.  I have seen people with different skin colors be pushed around.  I have seen people with different economic backgrounds be ridiculed verbally or physically.  I have seen people with different sexual orientations be laughed at.  I have been accused of being a racist by people who don't know me.  The bottom line is this:  we can all be proud of our heritage.  Mine happens to be German, English and French.  We can all be proud of how far we have come from our ancestors and their sacrifices.  We are a diverse culture.  We should embrace that.  On the other hand, we should always work to be one people with a common goal, and that is to love one another.  Or at the very least, accept one another for who each person is.  Life would be so much simpler.

Phone

  As I have said before, I have been known to do phone pranks.  There is something about not being seen that appeals to me.  And, the one you call can't reach through the phone and hit you.  That is a plus.

 At Anderson College, each suite in our dorm had a phone in the hallway.  If you wanted to use it to call out of the school, you had to go through the switchboard and get an outside line.  Any long-distance call had to be collect, because the school wasn't going to pay for it.  Our parents got a lot of collect calls.  Then one Sunday night, things changed.

 One of my suitemates picked up the phone, but the school's switchboard didn't answer.  He dialed a number, and it went through without help.  Then, another one of my suitemates did the same thing.  He could call his parents without it being collect.  We had a phone that could bypass the switchboard.  And as it turned out, our phone was the only one that could do it.  We went around our dorm and told other students.  We had a free phone.  The line formed down our hallway.  

 After the novelty wore off, we started to make prank calls by ordering pizzas to non-existing addresses.  We spent almost the entire night on the phone.  The next day, we found it didn't work anymore.  The school found out and repaired our phone line.  No more free calls.  The nice thing was they didn't make us pay for the calls, since they couldn't be sure who was calling whom.  Good thing.  We might still be paying that bill 50 years later.

Stitches

  When I was a kid, I had a large mole on my upper thigh.  The thing was about the size of a dime, and it had a bump on top of it.  It wasn't really sore to the touch, but it was somewhat worrisome to my parents.  At first, they thought it was a birthmark, but the thing grew a little over time.  They decided that I needed to have surgery to have it removed.  It could be cancerous.  The surgery was pretty painful, but the tests showed it was benign.  I got stitches and was told to be careful.

 Of course, the word "careful" is not in a kid's vocabulary, especially in the summertime.  You hear it all the time from your parents.  But, a kid wants to have fun.  Whether one is careful or not.  

 The stitches hurt when I walked.  The sharp edge of one end would stab me in my thigh.  Thankfully, they told me that they wouldn't be in me for very long.  Maybe a couple of weeks.  I could deal with that.  Some friends asked if I wanted to go to the roller-skating rink, which was about a mile from my house.  I asked my mother, and she said I could go, but I would have to be careful.  I could watch others skate, but I couldn't skate myself.  After all, she wanted me to be careful.

 When we got to the rink, I sat down to watch the others skate.  My friends didn't know about my recent operation.  They saw me just watching them and asked me to come out on the floor and skate with them.  I had skated before.  I had a problem in stopping.  I knew that you were supposed to point your toe toward the floor to let that rubber thing slow you down, but that was just hard for me.  Thanks to peer pressure, I started skating slowly.  I was being careful.  I felt the stitches rubbing against my thigh, so I decided to quit.  Trying to stop, I saw a metal pole near the side of the rink and tried to grab hold of it.  The pole hit my stitches, and they broke.

 I started feeling blood on my leg.  I knew I was in trouble.  I left and got back home.  My mother saw the blood on my pants and then saw my underwear soaked in blood.  She gave me a chewing out about not being careful, and then my parents took me to the hospital to get stitched up again.  Another two weeks with stitches.  I didn't go anywhere until the stitches came out.  I have a small scar from that surgery, which my parents hoped would remind me of being careful.  It never did,

 

Concerts

  I love going to concerts.  Listening to live music is something I like to do.  And, I need to confess something:  when I go to a show, I will sing to the music and sometimes even dance.  It isn't really dancing.  It is more like moving to the beat.  I would never win an award for dancing.

 I have been to all kinds of concerts.  Rock, Country, Blues, Classical, Pop, Comedy, Soul, Religious, and combinations thereof.  Among the artists I have seen (sometimes more than once) are:  Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, Elton John, Chicago, Bob Dylan, George Carlin, BB King, Ray Charles, Micky Dolenz, Richie Havens, The Who, Goose Creek Symphony, The James Gang, Willie Nelson, Delbert McClinton, Climax, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, Andrae Crouch, Mountain, Canned Heat, Judie Tzuke, Billy Grammer, Gary Lewis, The George Shearing Quintet, John D. Loudermilk, Lester Flatt, James Gregory, Peter Frampton, James Taylor, Mac Frampton Triumvirate, Mac Wiseman, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Steel Pulse, The Shirelles, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Tom T. Hall, Jerry Clower, Wet Willie, Three Dog Night, George Jones, Dr. John, Roger McGuinn, The Carpenters, Barry McGuire, Gene Cotton, Crosby Stills and Nash, Tiffany, Minnie Pearl, Boz Scaggs, Earl Klugh, John Mayall, Steve Martin and Martin Short, Sam Bush, Aretha Franklin, Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca, Maurice Evans & Helen Hayes, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, The Rolling Stones, Billy Preston, Johnny Winter, Silers Bald, Styx, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lee Greenwood, Little River Band, Living Colour, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Seinfeld, Irma Thomas, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Five Blind Boys, Sheila E., Morris Day and the Time, Bonnie Raitt, Kiss, David Lee Roth, and more.  In fact, the first concert I sort of went to was Ike & Tina Turner.  I parked outside of the Coliseum in Columbia and listened to their show from a block away.  It was that loud.

 There are a few regrets.  I wish I had seen The Beatles in concert.  Although, the crowd would have been so loud that one couldn't have heard the music.  I also wish I had seen the solo concerts by George Harrison and John Lennon.  That would have been cool.  The loudest show was The Who.  The music was loud, but so was the guy next to me screaming in my ear.  I could feel my brain move around in my skull, and I got ill.  I had to leave during the encore and throw up.  After that, I would sometimes bring ear plugs.  Most of the shows that I go to now, one doesn't need ear plugs.  The music is for old people.  

 And, what was the best concert I have ever witnessed?  A hard question to answer.  It would be a toss up between Elton John 1973 at the University of Georgia; Bob Dylan 1997 in Columbia SC; Paul McCartney 1993 in Atlanta GA; and everybody else.  Except one.  Judie Tzuke was booed off of the stage, because we wanted to see Elton John.  I felt sorry for her, but she just wasn't very good.