Garrison

So, last night a life-long dream was fulfilled... Tuesday and I attended A Prairie Home Companion at the Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City. It was quite a night...

The weather called for severe rain storms and strong winds throughout the night... Not a good sign. We came prepared though... dressed head to toe in our best water-proof gear. We arrived to sit in line around 4:00... gates opened at 6:00. A substantial line had already formed when we got there. It was exciting to see so many Garrison Keillor enthusiasts in Salt Lake! We took our place in line and talked with a fella named Tim for the duration of our wait. I got goosebumps as I could hear the musicians on stage on the other side of the fence tuning and warming up. You could hear vintage organ and sound effects that A Prairie Home Companion is so well known for.

A huge line had now formed... I was amazed at how many people had come early. The storm came and went for the duration of our wait... The gusts were indeed mighty and the rain was heavy. At one point, a Red Butte employee came out and advised us all to wait in our cars. This meant giving up our place in line. No-one budged. They also announced that the show might be canceled on account of the strong winds. We wouldn't let ourselves believe this. By this point, we had become friends with all the folks sitting with us. The wine, whiskey, and scotch were flowing freely all around us... this kept the people around us laughing and inspired. We were all waiting nervously for a decision to be made... and then there was movement... the gates were opening! The clouds had broken up and the show was to go on!

We raced in and found a great spot right in the center of the seating area... Red Butte is a large grassy amphitheater. It's a beautiful venue, perfect for a show like this. The show started... it was all I imagined, hoped for and more. Dressed in his usual white, wrinkled suit, red tie, and red adidas sneakers, Garrison shared stories and poems that were marvelous. He poked fun at Utah and all the quirky laws and lifestyles here. At one point, he wandered off the stage and strolled through the entire audience singing a song and telling a story. He even walked right behind Tuesday and me!

A full moon had now come out as Guy Noir, The Cowboys, and Butter Milk Biscuits, and of course... The news from Lake Wobegon all made an appearance... The bluegrass musical numbers were wonderful. Sara Watkins was the featured musician and hit it out of the park.

I made a point to take a lot of mental pictures and appreciate the experience I was having. I had grown up listening to A Prairie Home. It was so extraordinary to finally see it in real life. There's no telling how much longer Garrison will be performing, so I made sure to take it all in.