Sister Mercy, is this woman wordy, or what: Part Three
Finally: The coolest stop on this tour. The time is very late June, 2000, a little more than a year since we saw him in Richmond with the kids. The place in Interlochen Center for the Arts in northern Michigan. Five of us Little Criminals from the Detroit area are traveling Up North to see the show. Husband and I, Anthony, and John and his very pregnant wife, Nicole.
Only the cell phone rings on the way there, and we learn that Nicole's doctor has said 'no way' to the trip. All the signs say she is just too close to delivering. John is devastated, but also very happy to be a first time dad, so he's really okay with it. Husband and I do a little scheming with Nicole to set up something sneaky and cool.
So we meet up with Anthony, and my long-time friend, Tom, who lives in Traverse City, and wanted to join us for the show. When we go to the ticket window to pick up our fifth-row-ish tickets, we find out that the show was moved from the outdoor amphitheater to the indoor auditorium, and would now be general admission. Husband and Anthony kindly hold onto our place in line (first!), so Tom and I can stroll around the grounds for a bit. It is gorgeous, and there is a choral ensemble on one of the practice stages, so we sit and listen for a few minutes before heading back to the auditorium.
The doors open, and we end up in the front row, right in front of the damn piano. The show is terrific. At one point, Randy serenaded Husband for his birthday, "Happy Birthday, Dear Jay-meeee!"
We had used our usual Little Criminals connections hoping to get backstage after the show, but noticed that the security guys were very kindly, but firmly, turning away the people in front of us, "Sorry, Mr. Newman needs to leave right away, and we can't let anyone back tonight."
Preparing for slight disappointment, and not wanting to hassle the poor guy doing his job, Husband holds out the framed picture in his hand. Remember the first shot of the kids with Randy from the previous year? We had the boy and girl autograph an 8 X 10 of it, to present to Randy. "To our biggest fan," they wrote, and signed their names.
"We understand if you can't let us back," Husband said, "but if you could get this to Randy or his manager, Cathy, we'd really appreciate it."
Reading the signature, Security Guy said, "You're Wyatt? He wants to see you."
Gah! We're in!
What followed was about 30 minutes of pretty much a private audience with The Man, his manager, Cathy, and the four of us. The highlight was what we had cooked up with Nicole. We explained to Randy about John and Nicole's impending parenthood, and that they had had to miss the show. If we were to get John on the cell phone, would Randy be willing to say hello for a minute?
He would. And he did. We later found out that John had been suspicious when Nicole didn't want him to go to the Tigers game that night, so when he answered the phone and it was Randy, John said, "Oh my gosh! Is this Phil Collins?" The brilliance of this becomes clear when you consider that a few months previous, Phil Collins had beaten Randy for the Academy Award for the Best Original Song. A travesty, of course.
Now you know why I had to break this story up, it's very long! But of all our meetings with Randy, this one was the best.
Husband MAW (shy) Tom Randy Anthony
