THE POET OF A COMMON MAN

As long as I live, I will never forget Roy Mitchell....

This past Sunday I was lucky enough to see Merle Haggard in concert. Merle was born in 1937 and I wasn't exactly sure what sort of crowd would be attending his show at the Amarillo Globe News Center. I had never been before and sort of expected a drunken mob of people screaming "You're Walkin'on the Fightin' Side of Me". Not so much. Justin and I sat in the balcony and we were surrounded by people at least 40 years our elder. There were two empty seats next to us for the first 30 minutes. Until a little man and his girlfriend (Justin said daugther) joined us. He had a very sharp suit on and a snazzy cane. He sang right along and new every single word to all of M.H.'s songs. Later, this strapping young man told me he was 91 years old and had listened to songs such as "Sing a Sad Song", "Mama Tried", "I think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" for decades.

I sipped on a margarita and pondered just how much life was in the room and marveled over Merle Haggard's 73 year old stamina and wit.

As the curtains were about to fall, my new friend began to fumble around for his glasses and had obviously misplaced something of importance. I asked him if he needed help and he turned to me with a toothless grin. "I thought tequila made your clothes fall off, not your dentures fall out," Roy Mitchell said.