On This Day: My Brother and Sister-in-Law's Anniversary and one of my favorite concerts

 Sometimes these days it’s hard to remember the good times, but October 13^th will always be one of my favorite days out of the Calendar year.  In 2012, my brother got married on this day and I got to be his best man.  He’s still married to my sister-in-law, a beautiful woman who kept me going through the trials of college and beyond and who I always can find good albums to buy for for her birthday or Christmas presents.

 

One of the artists we bonded over were the musicians of the Cyrus family, Billy Ray, Miley, Noah and Metro Station.  On their fifth anniversary, in 2017, I went to the Snoqualmie Casino to see Billy Ray Cyrus live.  On the bus ride down, the bus driver’s name was Jason, which I will always remember because it was Friday the 13^th. 

 

Billy Ray performed many songs I had heard in the last ten years at that point, opening with a rock version of “Where’m I Gonna Live” and continuing with songs like “I Want My Mullet Back,” “Tenntucky,” “Trail of Tears,” “Could’ve Been Me,” “Some Gave All” (A Song reminding us of the cost of our veterans for what we take for granted) “Words By Heart” (I made a whole routine to this one when I danced for Little Caesar’s) and of course, “Achy Breaky Heart.”  JJ Cale’s “Call Me The Breeze,” as made famous by Lynyrd Skynyrd was also played, as was Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time,” which he had covered with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry the previous year.  Yes, that is the reason I have a Joe Perry Funko Pop.  The set finished with a Southern Rocking version of Johnny Cash’s classic “Folsom Prison Blues,” which would be released in a bluegrass style in a little under a month.  Billy Ray also revealed “Where’m I Gonna Live,” “She’s Not Crying Anymore” and “Some Gave All” were written over less than a week in May starting on “late Tuesday…legally Wednesday morning.”  I was born on Tuesday May 16^th, 1989 at 11:31 pm PDT, suggesting I could’ve been born right around the time he started coming up with these ideas, making me love and appreciate these three songs even more.

 

Thinking back on this makes me thankful to know such good music and have such good friends.  Bill Watterson once wrote, through Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes, “Things aren’t so scary when you have a best friend.”  I am very thankful as I write this for my Church, my family and the music that has blessed my life.  Maybe we can get through this after all.