Strait Talk

When I was in high school I listened to a mix of different kinds of music. I had a nylon zippered cassette case -- you know the kind I'm talking about -- it looked like a little briefcase and had slots to hold cassette tapes. It was filled with Bon Jovi, Journey, Night Ranger, Boston, U2, etc. I also had cassettes by Debbie Gibson, the Go-Go's, Cyndi Lauper, and of course, Air Supply. And I can't forget the Christian music I listened to -- Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Wayne Watson, Rich Mullins, and as much as I hate to admit it now, I even had three Petra cassettes. Yes, three.

What I didn't have was any country music. Unlike Barbara Mandrell, I only became country when it was cool. I didn't start listening to country until I was in college, and of course since it was the late 80's the country singer I listened to the most was George Strait. My friends and I would sit in our room at the Tri Delt house and sing along to "The Chair" over and over. We knew every word of nearly every George Strait song. Good memories.

I also went to a few concerts in high school and college -- the pinnacle of these concerts was the Rick Springfield concert I went to in 1984. Nothing could top that. Until this weekend -- when I went to the George Strait concert with my brother, his wife, and Lillie.

It was a great concert. He played lots of oldies and lots of new songs, but of course couldn't play everything. I heard some of my favorites -- "Ocean Front Property," "Amarillo by Morning," "Marina Del Rey," and "I Saw God Today." I missed some that he didn't sing -- "You Look So Good in Love," "Run," and "She Let Herself Go." Martina McBride, who is also one of my favorites, was on tour with him. It was a great night out!

Lillie and me

My beautiful daughter and beautiful sister-in-law

My brother and his wife

George Strait

He may be older, but he still sounds exactly the same.

In the car on the way over to the concert we were talking about the last concert we'd each been to. The last one I went to was when I was teaching and took my seventh grade class to the Amy Grant concert. That was a long time ago!