this bird you cannot change

Every fall, the schoolchildren here get a Friday off for something that is not really a holiday anywhere else in the country, or the world for that matter. But here, there is a run, a parade, and "the worlds biggest student run pep rally" on that day. I definitely don't participate in the run, but since having children, have started attending the parade. I haven't attended the "pep rally" in years. I had no plans to attend it this year. Until Thursday. My good friend Meredith called me and asked, "Does your mom have plans tomorrow night?" I said, "Uh, why?" The ever savvy Meredith had won 6 tickets through a contest in the UF newspaper. She wanted to know if my mom could watch the kids so the Hubs and I could go. So that is how we ended up getting to see a live comedian and world renowned Southern rock band for free. The comedian, a man named Frank Caliendo, was hilarious. He does the best George W. Bush I have ever seen. If you close your eyes and listen, you'd think it was W talking. I was impressed at how well he handled the audience of 50,000. I mean, I have seen some better known comedians completely bomb at Growl. I would have been more than happy to end the evening there. But oh no, not this year. This year they got a band to come that everyone has heard of. I now have the privilege, no the honor, of saying I have been to a concert where people shouted "Freebird" and it wasn't meant as a joke. That's right, people. I saw Skynyrd. They only played 4 songs, but that was more than enough. The first song was some song about a swamp I'd never heard. The audience sat there. Then they played, "What's Your Name?" and people started to tap their feet and hum a little. I said to Patrick, "I don't think this is really a Skynyrd crowd." Then came "Sweet Home Alabama," and the audience was on it's feet. Patrick said, "I think it IS a Skynyrd crowd." That is really the only song by Skynyrd that I like, so I was happy that it was on the playlist. Then, the guy asked for any "requests," and 50,000 people yelled out "Freebird!" Well, 49,999. I didn't say anything. I actually don't care for "Freebird." Or "Stairway to Heaven" or "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" or any of those other endless songs from the era of unnecessarily long songs and cumbersome guitar solos. But I must say, it was real live Americana, standing there in the dark with everyone waving their lighters/ cell phones (no, really) and singing what I have been told is the most requested song ever (or something). For a minute, I actually thought, "Oh no, I'm becoming a Southerner."

Thank God that moment passed.