Carpenters

  I had just graduated from college and was trying to save some money to get a car to go to Ft. Worth, but an act was coming to Columbia that I couldn't pass up.  The Carpenters.  I had been a fan ever since "Close to You" affected my life in 1970.  Their music spoke to me, as I was secretly in love with a girl a few years younger than me.  I couldn't tell her how I felt, so the music did it for me.  I also loved Karen Carpenter's voice.  

 My friend Jimmy's brother-in-law invited us to go.  Our seats were on the floor about six rows back from the stage.  It was a magical night.  Karen sang and played the drums.  Richard played the piano.  One bonus was their other drummer.  He was Cubby O'Brien who was on the original Mickey Mouse Club TV show.  They even had some local schoolchildren come on stage for the song "Sing".  We sang all of their songs from the audience with them.  

 Another friend named Sonny was able to get one of Karen's drumsticks and the cup she drank from after the show.  He sealed them in a plastic bag.  I wonder if he still has them.  They would be worth a lot of money now.  

 It is hard to believe that Karen died less than 10 years after that show.  She was a natural talent.  It is too bad that she felt she was never good enough.  Perfectionism will do that to you.  I know from experience.  People will tell you how great you are, but you know the truth.  At least, you think you do.  Creativity can be a positive force, or it can kill you.  That was Karen Carpenter.  

James

  The shortest concert I ever attended was James Brown.  He was being honored by the State of South Carolina for his contribution to the Arts.  The presentation was on the north side of the State House.  There was a jazz band entertaining the crowd.  When James got up to speak, someone from the crowd yelled out to James:  "Give us a song!"  He said that he had to get paid first.  Everyone laughed, but I think he was serious.  After all, he was going through some tough times financially with the IRS.  The jazz band was ready to accompany him.  Everyone in the crowd started yelling for a song.  The band played the first bars of a song, and James belted out three words:  "I Feel Good!"  That was it.  

 On a side note, I was in Augusta, GA one Saturday afternoon.  I had just been to my favorite record store down there.  As I was driving out of town, I saw a bus off to the side in a parking lot.  The door of the bus was open, and a man was sitting on the bottom step of the bus.  I recognized him as James Brown.  He was all alone.  I honked the horn and waved.  He waved back.  I didn't have the guts to drive up to him and say hello.  He might have been in deep thought about another song.  At least, that is what I told myself.  Another regret of my life.  

4427

  I have only been admitted 4 times to the hospital.  The first was a hernia operation, when I was three.  I basically had to learn to walk again afterwards.  The second was to reset my broken thumb in the 4th grade.  They put a cast on it, but I had to stay overnight a few days later to have the thing surgically reset.  The third was for a chemical dermabrasion right after 12 grade to help smooth my skin from acne scars.  The fourth was for a blockage in my colon.

 I was throwing up on Sunday.  I couldn't keep anything down.  Not even water.  I was getting weaker by each passing minute.  That night, I fainted while in the bathroom.  When I woke up, I crawled on all fours back to bed.  I couldn't stand up.  I got back to the bathroom to throw up some more and then crawled to the living room to get my phone and call 911.  The ambulance came rather quickly, and they took me to Parkridge Hospital.

 They told me in the ER that I was going to be admitted, but they didn't have any rooms, so I stayed in the ER for almost two days.  Sleep was impossible.  They brought in a device that was shoved down my throat and into my stomach.  Except for kidney stones, that was the worst pain I had ever experienced.  It worked like a vacuum to suck up my insides.  No food or water.  I had a day nurse who was very nice.  Her name was Hannah.  She helped me get through the trauma of the ER.  When they told me they had a room for me Tuesday night, I was overjoyed.  

 I was moved to room 4427, which was on the top floor of the hospital.  A private room with a TV and a bathroom.  Even though I still had that tube down my throat, they gave me some ice chips which helped.  When daylight came, I could see trees outside my window.  Every two hours, somebody would come in to take my vitals or blood.  David was a soothing tech for the vitals.  My brother came to visit and brought me a phone charger, so I could keep up with the world.  I had two other friends visit me during this time.  Mostly, I watched sports and game shows on the TV.  I also figured out how to install Spectrum on my phone, so I could watch some things not on the hospital TV.  

 By Thursday, the doctor told me that they could pull the tube out of my throat.  The nurse came in and yanked it out.  No pain.  I could breathe again.  I had a hard time swallowing, but I was free of that thing.  I was put on a clear liquid diet, so I was able to at least put something in my stomach.  I am now not a fan of beef broth.  By Friday, I was put on a modified liquid diet, so I could have Jello and pudding.  Still not solid food, but just a little better.  That night, I was trying to sleep, when the nurse came in to check on me.  My right arm and swelled up to twice its size.  That was where my IV was.  I had been getting nutrients for those days I couldn't eat.  She pulled out the IV and had me elevate my arm with pillows.  The swelling began to go down some.  That was a little scary.

 Then came Saturday.  The doctor told me I could try solid food.  If I tolerated it, I could go home.  I had chicken pie.  No problems.  Even though I was still weak with no exercise, I was released and sent home.  Almost a week in the hospital.  I was voted the nicest patient on the 4th floor of the hospital by the nurses.  All of my nurses were great.  One told me that it was her job to be nice.  I hope that she was just kidding, because they were all nice.  I don't recommend you having to go through what I went through, but at least they made it bearable.  When I got home, I slept twelve hours for two days.  No real sleep for a week will do that to you.  

Rhythm

  Presbyterian College had some good shows, when I was a student there.  Livingston Taylor (James Taylor's brother), Lester Flatt, Mac Wiseman, John D. Loudermilk, The Mission Mountain Wood Band, Uncle Walt's Band, and The Atlanta Rhythm Section.  

 The country artists all came on one day for a picnic.  Lester Flatt was the headliner.  He was getting kind of old, but he could still play the guitar.  I fell in love with traditional country music from those acts.  There was a rumor that James Taylor was coming to PC in concert, so some folks were disappointed to find out that his brother was going to play instead.  It was still a good show.  

 The highlight of my years at PC was the Atlanta Rhythm Section.  They had just released "Doraville", and it was climbing the charts.  Their bass player was fat, whereas everyone else in the band was thin.  He sort of stood out.  Some people in the audience made fun of his looks, but he could really play the bass guitar.  Just because someone looks different doesn't mean they aren't talented.  All of that lineup is now dead.  They could really cook on stage as part of the Southern Rock genre.  We had a good time at PC.  The beer flowed, and the grass permeated the crowd.  Pretty good for a "religious" school back in the day.

Climax

  Anderson College didn't have a lot of outside artists performing in concert.  The Marshall Tucker Band used the auditorium to practice for an upcoming tour.  A classical pianist gave a program, but no show for the students.  That all changed when it was announced that the band Climax was going to perform at our school.  

 They had a top ten record on the radio called "Precious and Few".  It was a big deal to get Climax to come to Anderson.  We sold tickets, which were like $3 each.  But for a show in 1972, that was about average.  It was a sell-out.  On the day of the show, a truck arrived next to the auditorium to unload the speakers and equipment.  The band arrived a little later and did a soundcheck.  

 At 8:00, they came on stage and the crowd went wild.  They had long hair and were from California.  They had just released an album plus their hit single.  They opened with "Precious and Few".  We sat ready for a great show.  They played all of the songs from their album including their hit single again.  During the show, they sang "Precious and Few" three times.  They also sang it for the encore.  

 A tip to any band out there who is planning a setlist:  have more than 10 different songs to play for a 90-minute show.  You don't need to play your hit four times in one show.  We got it the first time.  Even if you have to play rock and roll standards to fill up the time.  By the third time of "Precious and Few", many of the folks in the audience were laughing.  I don't know if anyone walked out having felt a little cheated, but I would have if I had thought it couldn't get worse.  The encore proved that it did.  

Who

  In 1989, The Who announced a concert at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC.  It was the closest they would come to Columbia.  A local radio station was chartering a bus to go there.  I just HAD to go.  They had performed at Woodstock, and I knew almost all of their music.  I invited my friend Del to go with me.  

 It was about a four-hour trip to get to Raleigh.  Even though I was into bootleg recordings at that time, I didn't bring anything.  A lot of people did, and all of the camcorders were confiscated at the gate.  There was a big pile of them.  We got there just before the show started.  We were sitting on the left side of the stage in the bleachers about halfway up.  It had rained earlier, but the clouds had cleared.

 The first half of the show was The Who performing "Tommy".  It was great!  They did an intermission and then came out for the second half playing all of their hits.  Pete Townshend was having to play acoustic guitar through much of the show, because he had hurt his wrist in a previous show.  

 There was one downside, though.  Because we were sitting in the bleachers, we had to turn toward the stage to see.  Del was on my left, and there was a guy I didn't know standing on my right.  He yelled the entire time right into my right ear.  I asked him to stop yelling, but he couldn't hear me.  He was yelling.  I was getting mad at him.  Also, the concert itself was very loud even being outdoors.  The Who had the Guinness Record for the loudest concert ever.  Louder than standing next to a jet engine.  Towards the end of the show, I could actually feel my brain moving around in my head.  I was getting physically sick, so I left my seat and walked up to where they were selling t-shirts.  I bought one.  I couldn't escape the noise, so I walked back to the bus and sat inside.  I could hear the encore plain as day.  

 Because of that guy yelling in my ear for almost three hours, I permanently lost some hearing in my right ear.  Was it worth it?  You bet it was!  It was an Amazing Journey. 

Gregory

  I had heard that James Gregory was the funniest man in America.  I have always loved comedians.  They are a special breed of people.  Anybody can get up and sing, but it takes a special person to make someone laugh.  And here is a tip to those people who think they can make someone laugh:  most people laugh at a joke within four seconds.  It takes the brain less than four seconds to tell the mouth to laugh at a joke.  If the brain doesn't think the joke is funny, then it won't communicate that to the mouth.  If no one laughs after four seconds, then the comedian needs to just move on.  That is a secret of the Theatre.  You are welcome.

 I had bought a couple of cassettes by James Gregory and played them in my car.  They were hilarious.  Country humor at its best with apologies to Jerry Clower.  There were times where I would have to pull off of the side of the road, because I was laughing so hard.  When I saw that he was coming to the Township Auditorium in Columbia, I just had to go.  He was very funny.  I can't honestly say that he was the funniest man in America, but my sides were hurting from laughing.  Check him out on YouTube.  Lawn Mower repair and Tax Service all in one place.