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Thu. July 03, 2008

The Night I Met Willie Nelson

Thu. July 03, 2008 The sun was hanging low in the sky. I can’t remember if I called him, or he called me, but Glenn Helm was a master at conjuring up good things. Tonight was no exception. The horn from his car sounded like some old air raid from out of the haunted past. There he sat grinning from ear to ear like some ol’ possum getting ready to follow his noise in whatever direction it took him. “So where are we going”? I asked. “I think it’s time you met Willie”. I don’t think I spoke a word for the next two miles. I knew Glenn was a man of word and I was sure it would happen.

We pulled up slowly, like Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid waiting for a train. We cut across a dirt parking lot and drove around behind Dewy Groom’s Long Horn Ball Room. It was getting dark by now and my eyes were wide open. I was definitely in my conscious mind. I counted three Silver Eagles. They were bigger than Dallas, as the saying goes, lined up one right behind the other like proud circus elephants waiting to enter the ring. The first bus belonged to B. J. Thomas. The others I wasn’t sure of, but I searched for Willie in all of em. Glenn suggested that I relax a little. He could sense my adrenaline was on the rise. “He’s not here yet”, Glenn said, “but they’ll be rolling in soon”!

The night was cool so I borrowed a jacket from Glenn. It was black with Willie’s name and picture on the front, and something about Nashville on the back. I wore a black gamblers hat and the rest that went with it. Somehow I felt like part of the “Family”.
Suddenly I found myself standing guard next to a #3 washtub at the back door of this famous honky tonk. It was packed full of Lone Star beer, and topped off with a mound of ice, a definite sign that somebody was going to show. Glenn had been a photographer for the Texas Country Music Magazine, and his plan was to get a picture of Willie and me, and then trade off a few stories about the good ol’ days.

There was a crowd of anticipating fans gathering around me. They seemed to be studding the situation, kinda like they were looking for someone that was lost. Glenn said in the dim shadows I looked a lot like Willie, and folks were wondering if I was him. I figured people were getting impatient. The night was filled with total excitement. The next thing I know some cowboy was asking me for my autograph. I said “I’m not who you think I am”. He was holding a picture of Willie, and assured me it was for his girlfriend. He pleaded with me to sign it. It was like he only had thirty seconds to do this in. I didn’t want to see a grown man cry, so I suggested that he get her a tee shirt with Willie’s name on it. He thanked me and ran off like some kid headin’ for Disneyland.

Without warning everything around us got quite. It was like standing slap-dab in the middle of a hurricane after all the up roar. There she was! Moving in at a slow crawl, like the shuttle on roller pads. It was big! It was beautiful! nothing else on the road like it. “It’s got to be special made “, I said. Glenn and I stood where we were and the bus rolled right up to our toes and stopped like we were the mark. One minute seemed like an hour. Five minutes went by and I was ready to rope that #3 washtub. Glenn and I were standing in line with the door when it opened. Willie stepped out and was standing right in front of me. I could hear my heart beating, and I wondered if anyone else could. “Hey Glenn, how’s things been going”? Willie asked in a soft voice. He then turned to me and locked eyes with mine. We were communicating, but neither one of us spoke a word for that time. I could feel his spirit moving through me. It was soothing to my soul.

Glenn got his picture and I got a lasting friendship, and for those of you that never stood beside Willie like I did, I can only share my experience with you. The night I met Willie Nelson has forever touched my life.

-Bo Rivers

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