The girls had an AHG meeting, and Davis had something to do with friends, which left me all alone on a Sunday afternoon. And I knew Sean had one last show in Columbiana, and wouldn't you know it, there was one last ticket...but that ticket was handicap. So what do you do? I bought the ticket thinking that if I get there and someone needs it, I will just sit outside, but at least I tried. Which seems ok, until I checked in with my ticket, and they quickly had me stand to the side and wait for help. Which is when I realized that the ticket I purchased was not an actual seat, but a spot for a wheelchair to roll. Yikes, but they were super friendly with my "mistake" and got me a seat that was open on the third row. You can actually see me to the left of the picture below from stage.
It was such a great show. Very similar to the one we attended the previous month, with lots and lots of music, and a few stories. This show, he had another band up there playing with him, and they were excellent. The big boy in the blue shirt could play....fingers jumping all over that guitar. The boy on the banjo was recently married, and Sean invited his wife up on stage to do some yodeling. But my favorite is when Bruce from SCAC played the harmonica with Sean as he played "Geogia on my mind", but changed it to Columbiana. Just a great show all around.
Sean's favorite joke it seems, as it was a repeat from last month, was in regards to his buddy Aaron Peters on the fiddle. He said the band is just never as good with "Peters out". A slight tap on the mic to make sure all caught his little joke, and the smiles turned to little chuckles...like a fart during church, sometimes you just gotta laugh. To end the night, he told about going to a Braves game and having good seats behind home plate. He said it was clear in that game that the Braves did not have it on that night, and in the bottom of the ninth, down by 2, most were already thinking it was over. But then he heard a kid in his section start yelling over and over again "Let's Go Braves...Clap Clap"..."Let's Go Braves...Clap Clap"...and then others in that section joined him, then the lower bowl joined in then the whole crowd together in unison screaming "LETS GO BRAVES...Clap Clap". Matt Olson stepped up to the plate and smashed one over the fence for a home run as the braves came back to win. Sean told the story of how the homerun ball was caught by a fan that ran all the way around to that one little boy that started the chant and handed him the ball. In hindsight, I second guess this story, but when Sean is talking, his voice holds all captive, it slowly draws you in, forces you to see it with all the imagination of a 11 year old boy in a big league park...and the world becomes a place where anything can happen. Then as he finished this story about the boy getting that home run ball, he talked about how each of us have been down...thought the game was over...and we just needed that one voice to ring out "LETS GO". It was a great story, a good lesson, and something that seems to flow so easily from my new favorite storyteller.
Of course I waited in line to see Sean afterwards, and was a little surprised that the first thing he said when he saw me was "Where are the boys?" looking for Sam and Davis. He wanted to know about Sam at Alabama, and really blows me away as I was trying to not take up much time, but he takes time for each fan to connect with them in a little way. And of course, I grabbed a selfie with his beautiful bride who was over selling books to the side. Had to tell her about how much I laughed reading about them both riding bicycles across Pennsylvania. I got him to sign my blogbook where I had written about our visit with him in 2022. He was surprised that I had gotten 4 pages about just a visit with him. I spoke with Bruce after the show also, and he said that Sean would be back with the same format next year also. He has now been on the Grand Ole Opry stage 3 times, so I feel like we will lose him to Nashville soon...but excited to see him again next year.
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