"And we talked about some old times
And we drank ourselves some beers
Still crazy afler all these years
Oh, still crazy after all these years"
Thank you Paul, once again for your brilliant words!
This weekend was proof that the K-Team still has it. Luckily we haven't been sucked too deep into the world of work, responsibility, and insurance to do a little traveling and take on yet another town.
Enter St. Louis, Saturday afternoon. Neither of us had any previous Missouri experience (oh wait, that choir trip to Branson, MO seven years ago...) but St. Louis remained unchartered territory. In typical fashion, we arrived in sweat pants after the 7 hour drive, our excitement increased 10-fold from the carmel apple suckers that now accompany every road trip. Map quest brought us without incident directly to the bottom of the famous Arch in downtown St. L. Not quite dressed appropriately for this occasion, we transformed ourselves from grungy pajama-wearing slobs into classy, sophisticated 20-somethings ready for the town. All in 2.4 seconds. In our car. A few snapshots later, we had accomplished the feat of experiencing yet another worldly wonder (we have our own 297 wonders of the world) and declined a ride to the top in favor of beers at a nearby bar (the ride was sold out anyway...)
Walking through downtown St. Louis gave me a sense of downtown Sioux Falls- quiet and cute. Not what we were looking for. Especially since we had Paul Simon on our mind, and had been anxiously awaiting his live concert for our entire lives. Walking through, we couldn't find a place that was calling our name... Mutch says "hey let's keep walking and wait for a sign."
4 seconds later:
"Ladies! half price beers!"
That's all we needed. Into the bar we go. There was a sign of Rachel Ray on the front as this place's pizza was featured on her show. Must be a good place. Insert 4 U.S. Army men. they had gotten weekend passes of the base and we could sense their excitement/freedom.
"Girls! we haven't seen a girl in months!"
Creepy.... I thought. But Mutch was entertained, and I figured I could enjoy some entertainment as well. After conversation about Ninja skills, and their lack of female companionship, we set off, not willing to miss a second of Paul. And of course an exchange of numbers we would later regret.
Arriving in Fox theater prompted me to immediately text my mother and tell her to get her butt to St. Louis and check out all the dashing middle-aged men flocking the theater. Most of them were accompanied by equally beautiful wives or mistresses, but some were free agents. We quickly realized we were the youngest patrons at the event, and our creepy scope of the social hour only made us look like desperate golddiggers. Unless we wanted a lesson on colonoscopys or AARP, we decided to limit conversation with fellow patrons to just about Paul Simon.
Sometimes when experiencing something so great and anticipated- like a wedding, or graduation- it's hard to believe at that moment that you are experiencing it. Sometimes I feel like it's an out of body experience. Now, I adore Paul Simon and had many of his songs on my IPOD. Part of my drive to see him though, is his legend, and his influence on the music world as it is today. So when he entered stage, I couldn't believe I was seeing Paul Simon... it's sort of unreal. One of his songs has been on my most played for a while because of it's significance to leaving. It's the Father and Daughter song. I had decided long ago those lyrics must be given to my father upon my departure (don't worry, I am saving Billy Ray and Miley for mom!) When Paul started singing the words it brought the first wave of incredible sadness that I have about leaving my family. It reminded me how important family is. I couldn't do ANYTHING without the love of my family.
"I'm gonna watch you shine, I'm gonna watch you grow.
I'm gonna paint the sign, so you'll always know
As long as one and one is two,
there will never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you."
Mutch pointed out that whatever the reason, or the season, Paul has words which can bring you great comfort, or joy. Or in my case, great sadness. These words can put into meaning what I cannot do. Once again, thank you Paul.
The concert was a brilliant display of true talent that withstands the test of age. I hope some of the artists of today can continue to display talent well into their golden years like Paul has. Who knows, maybe we'll find ourselves going to Britney Spears 40 years from now....
We de-classed as quickly as possible after the show, and found ourselves in an equally unclassy part of St. Louis. "We went from classy to trashy so quickly." Stated Mutch. The pouring rain did not help "class factor" (frizzy hair), although I still don't understand how every other girl out had sleek and shiny straight hair...
Despite our drowned rat appearances, we painted the town red, in typical Kelli fashion. There is no away around it. And we got up early, started the long journey back to Nebraska. And also in typical Kelli style with the comment:
"If only Joan and Jean knew...."
