Weekend was marked by concert, concern

Last weekend we attended a free concert in Muncie.

By the time it was over I was wishing that I had grabbed a light jacket. Oh, wait. I did bring a jacket. Too bad I left it in the car.

The performers were people I had never heard of. The band was called “Asleep at the Wheel.” They put on a good show. As it was 9/11, there was a moment of silence followed by a couple verses of America the Beautiful. They invited the audience to sing along. Later in the show they began a song with, “My pappy said, ‘Son, you gonna drive me to drinkin’ if you don’t stop drivin’ that’ then they paused while almost the entire audience finished the lyric with “ hot rod Lincoln.” Then they said we weren’t loud enough so the routine began again.

That should tell you the age of the audience. We fit right in.

It was an outdoor venue so there were few people who wore masks. I found it interesting that although people could put their chairs anywhere, the end result was that the chairs were in definite rows. The space between rows was enough that nobody felt crowded.

Toward the end of the show they sang “Happy Trails.” That instantly brought to mind all the cowboy shows that we watched as kids. Some of the shows were classics like “Bonanza,” “Sugarfoot,” “Rawhide” and “Gunsmoke.”

Although these were cowboy shows involving a lot of shootouts the people were not mean like they are on some of today’s programs. Nor did they insist on showing blood spattered everywhere. The good guys always won and the bad guys were usually run out of town.

An hour or so before we left the house for the concert we found a message online that let us know that our son-in-law was in the hospital. They did a whole bunch of tests that all came up negative. They wanted to keep him overnight but he would have to be in the hallway as all the rooms were full.

He and beth decided that he would be better off at home. She’s a nurse and more than capable of taking care of him. They do have a hallway where they can set up a bed if they want to pretend they are at the hospital. Nothing beats being able to sleep in your own bed when you don’t feel well.

Beth said he was a little better Sunday but still not back to normal. Perhaps they can find out what the problem is and fix it this week. He goes to the local Veterans Affairs hospital as he was in the service. He says that the VA he goes to has always treated him well without making him wait an unreasonable amount of time.

The weekend was a mixture of pleasant weather and good music. It ended with concern about a son-in-law. We know he is in good hands and that there is nothing we can do to make it better.

All I have to say is happy trails to you until we meet again.