25 Years Ago: March 26, 1983 was a GREAT day!!

It was a Saturday. A beautiful Saturday. My Dad took me up to Charlottesville so I could participate in the Virginia High School League's Annual Forensic Competition.

Two weeks previously, just before NC State's miracle run to win the ACC Tournament, I finished a surprising second in the regional competition, qualifying me to go to the state tourney. I was pleasantly stunned!

So, I worked and worked and poured over my 3 X 5 cards containing what few notes you get, and it was best to do it from memory, so that you tell a compelling story and make a compelling argument as to whatever your speech's premise may be.

Mine was an expose on the trials faced by college sports regarding graduation rates, drugs, and the "failure" of the student-athlete due to outside forces (and sometimes inside).

The event was held at the University of Virginia.

NC State beat Virginia 81-78 two weeks earlier to win the ACC Tournament and get the automatic bid into the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

So I, a HUGE Wolfpack fan, give this speech, on the UVA campus, on THE DAY NC State and UVA face each other for the 4th time that season; this time in the West Regional Final with a trip to the Final Four at stake.

After the speech I remember listening to some of another game (Louisville/Kentucky)on the radio. Then Dad and I went to the award ceremony, and I was STUNNED to hear my name called as winning 3rd place in the Original Oratory category. I got up, went down the aisle and picked up my medallion (which I definitely still have!!!), then went back, sat down, and looked at Dad. He looked at me. It was a "proud" moment and neither one of us had to say a word. :)

Then, headed home, I'm trying to decipher Dick Stockton's call of the frantic final seconds of the game on CBS......then I hear the best sentence of the day:

"NC STATE WINS!"

I went nuts! We're going to the Final Four!!!!! AND BETTER YET, WE ENDED UVA'S SEASON AND THE CAREER OF OUR FOUR-YEAR NEMESIS, RALPH SAMPSON!!!!

To this day I've never taken credit for my presence at UVA that day having anything to do with that 63-62 final score. Don't plan to. I went to UVA and did my job, then THE CARDIAC PACK went on the same floor as UVA and did theirs, too.

What a great day. :)

Me??? Rascal Flatts??? In the same building?? Within feet of each other??

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!!

Rascal Flatts and Rob Witham in the SAME building.

Only a beautiful almost ten-year old freckled-face daughter could pull this one off. And what's even better, she never knew she was doing it!!

Here's the story, which has been a big secret for about four to six weeks.

--Daddy finds out Rascal Flatts, his daughter's favorite group, was coming to the new arena in Charlottesville. Dad was able to get two tickets for the show to be his present to Rachel for her 10th birthday. One catch.....let's NOT tell Rachel...make it a surprise.

--I get the tickets, and cannot believe the location. I hoped to be "in the building"; you know, Section 309....that's cool by me! What do the tickets say? "Floor. Row E." "Is this as good as I think it is?", I ask myself.

--So, the day comes, I call Rachel at work on speakerphone late in the day to inform her that her and Dad were going on a date. Her reaction......"what??" We meet at home around 530 and hit the road. Traffic was heavy all the way to C-Ville.

--Then the worst part of the night begins. I take the 3rd exit like the directions say, but the flashing sign on the road said take the second exit for parking. At this arena, you either pay lots and park close, or park for free and hoof it. 15 minutes worth of walkin'. Most nights, that's actually good exercise. Last night, with temps falling thru the 20's and Rachel having NO idea what was going on....she ended up cold and confused.

So, I take the third...wait in a long line of cars, then find what I thought was the right street based on the map....and was right. Went into an area of the University to park.....full; side parking lot...full---Rachel and I drive around for ten minutes, and SHE saved the day. We pass a building and she says, "Dad, you can park in there, I see stairs. And cars." I go around, get back to the other side of the building, enter the deck and the first parking place is open. I gladly take it.

--Of course, I'm in shorts. I'm always in shorts. Funny, the whole walk, my legs weren't really cold; it was the top half of me that was freezing! Okay, back to the really important part....

--I've taken Rachel up the interstate on a one hour, fifteen minute road trip and she knows nothing about what's at the end of the potential rainbow. We approach the building, she later said she saw how big it was and thought it must be some kind of show, but with no marquee or sign to announce to surprise, I take out the tickets just as we walk into the building.

"Rachel, tell me what it says on the tickets."

Rachel, who always reacts emotionally on a two-hour delay, looked, said nothing, then quietly said, "Rascal Flatts." Let the shock begin.

Then we have very nice UVA people (DID I JUST SAY THAT??) help ya find your seats.

The seats. Yeah, the seats that put you TEN FEET from the front walkway of the stage.

After a gaggle of teenage girls swooped in front of us to try to have their hand touched by the opening act, I told Rachel just before the main event, "...you better get up and stand at the end of that railing, or you'll never see the show."

So, she staked her claim to a slab of concrete, and proceeded to never sit down. Two solid hours of Rachel mesmerized by what was unfolding in front of her, fifteen chances to be "psuedo-crushed" by aforementioned group of teens, surviving one lady's "super-scream" just behind us, who I told Rachel after the show should join the military and become a drill sargeant, and having Rascal Flatts come up to eight to ten feet away from her.

(Rachel, by the way, never held her hand out to be touched. She got her maturity from her Dad.) :) :)

REVIEW:

1) The show? Well done; the stage was tremendously put together with a huge tall rectangle screen in the back middle showing some of their videos during their performances. The top is semi-circled with "little monitors" on them in checkboard fashion. Not overdone. I appreciated that. Sparks in the opening song; serious confetti at the end (before the encore). The best technical aspect of the night was when the threesome all came to within ten feet of Rachel, there was a hydraulic machine up high, they connected cables to the end of the stage, it rose high and carried them over the heads of the floor seating onto a small stage on the other end of the floor. The back upper and lower levels went nuts as they "brought the show closer" to them.

2) The group? They put on a pretty good show; quite entertaining for a general music fan like me, and apparently more like a worship experience based on the emotional reaction of many girls around me. Rachel later admitted to screaming twice and smiling alot. See, all I saw of her was the back of her head! She wouldn't look stoic alot when turning around to see me, and I asked her if she was smiling. She said yes. I told her I wanted to make sure the group didn't look down and think you weren't having fun!!

3) The music? Thank God they are musicians, and not just studio singers. The lead guy only sang, but another guy (Jay) really impressed me with acoustic and electric guitar work, a drums duet he had with the stage band's drummer that was nuts, then a virtuoso performance on the piano. When I see a group member sing, interact with the crowd, have fun, and show that much musical dexterity, I see worth in the cost of a ticket.

4) The final score? I enjoyed the show, I bounced up and down out of my chair taking pictures for my girl when good opportunities arose (and there were many) while holding her coat, and I enjoyed the people-watching.

Am I now a "Rascal Flatts fan"? No. Can I listen to their CD now in the van without thinking "yech!"? Yeah. Because that means Rachel's in the van, too, and I'll apparently use Rascal Flatts to any and all lengths to surprise my girl. :)

Like I said to some people yesterday and today:

"She's had me around her finger for ten years now, at least once I should be able to string her along!"

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

And, to Dee, the lady who put us in the seats that made my girl's surprise dream come true, I will kiss your feet when I see you. Thank you. :)