Yesterday morning I was getting dressed for a luncheon and I decided to play some music while doing so. I asked good old Alexa to play some classic rock, and as usual, her idea of classic rock is not my idea. So I switched on my Bose speaker and started playing music from my phone. I picked Van Halen because (a) no one plays better guitar than Eddie and (b) Van Halen's music makes me happy. Anyway, while I was listening to "Can't Stop Loving You," I had a flashback to a time when I lived in Austin years ago. My neighbor, Alan Fitzgerald, of Night Ranger fame (and also Montrose, Sammy Hagar, Bruce Springsteen) was at the time playing keyboards for Van Halen while they were touring. He found out how much I liked Van Halen, so he started appearing at my door from time to time. One time he brought me a Van Halen crew t-shirt...something I kept and treasured for many years. Several times it was to invite me to meet the members of Van Halen and go to one of their concerts and sit backstage. I would have loved to have done that, but you see, I was afraid. I was afraid to meet them, afraid to sit back stage, afraid to be looked at as just another Van Halen fan or worse, a groupie. Somehow I saw them as larger than life when they are just ordinary people who have a lot of talent and took risks and did a whole lot of work to get where they are. Since then I have been to three of their concerts, and I really regret not taking Alan up on his offerings.
This fear has happened several times in my life. My friend, Bill Schoening, (the voice of the Spurs) introduced me to the owner of a pizza place in South Austin whose best friend was Tom Landry, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Bill did this because he knew that my dad played football with Tom at The University of Texas and was Dad's fraternity brother and sometimes roommate when they were on the road. I had always wanted to meet Tom, especially after he wrote to me after my dad died about their days at the university, etc. After that meeting, the owner called me on two separate occasions to tell me that Tom was in town and on the way to the restaurant and wanted to meet me. Both times I was in the middle of cooking dinner for my family, and used that as an excuse for not going, although it was really fear that kept me from going through with it. I thought there would be a third time, but Tom died before that happened. Tom was a great man, devout and family-oriented, and I regret not meeting him.
Then there was the Lyle Lovett incident. My friend, Beki McShan, was having a late lunch at our local TexMex restaurant, Rancho Grande. Everyone who lives in my town knows that Lyle loves that restaurant and he often eats there late in the afternoon when things are really slow. Lyle was there with his girlfriend, so Beki, knowing how much I liked Lyle's music, called me and told me to get myself up there and fast. Again, I was cooking dinner for my family...and since I was making fried chicken I was covered in flour and looked a mess. Meanwhile, Lyle and said girlfriend finished their meals and were about to leave when Beki approached them and asked them for an autograph for me. So he obliged. I drove up just as Beki was leaving the restaurant with the autographed napkin in hand. I rolled down the window and as we were (excitedly) talking about him, I noticed that the car next to us had two people in it and they were just sitting there, watching us. It was Lyle and his girlfriend! If I'd had my wits about me and a little bit more courage, I would have gotten out and knocked on his window and told him how much I enjoy his music. I hope I have a chance to do that some day.
When I think about these three lost opportunities and others that have occurred in my life, it saddens me. But it also makes me realize that if opportunities present themselves in the future, I have to find a way to step out and seize them. I should not be afraid or too shy...I can and should muster the courage to do the things that I find hard. I love this quote I found on Facebook from Dr. Michelle, Bengtson. "When fear knocks on your door, send faith to answer." One of my go-to verses is Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I have used that verse so many times in my life. I don't know why I didn't use it in those instances noted above, but I will next time, because it is on my refrigerator now.
Have you ever been fearful of certain situations? What did you do to muster courage to do the things that you find hard?
This fear has happened several times in my life. My friend, Bill Schoening, (the voice of the Spurs) introduced me to the owner of a pizza place in South Austin whose best friend was Tom Landry, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Bill did this because he knew that my dad played football with Tom at The University of Texas and was Dad's fraternity brother and sometimes roommate when they were on the road. I had always wanted to meet Tom, especially after he wrote to me after my dad died about their days at the university, etc. After that meeting, the owner called me on two separate occasions to tell me that Tom was in town and on the way to the restaurant and wanted to meet me. Both times I was in the middle of cooking dinner for my family, and used that as an excuse for not going, although it was really fear that kept me from going through with it. I thought there would be a third time, but Tom died before that happened. Tom was a great man, devout and family-oriented, and I regret not meeting him.
Then there was the Lyle Lovett incident. My friend, Beki McShan, was having a late lunch at our local TexMex restaurant, Rancho Grande. Everyone who lives in my town knows that Lyle loves that restaurant and he often eats there late in the afternoon when things are really slow. Lyle was there with his girlfriend, so Beki, knowing how much I liked Lyle's music, called me and told me to get myself up there and fast. Again, I was cooking dinner for my family...and since I was making fried chicken I was covered in flour and looked a mess. Meanwhile, Lyle and said girlfriend finished their meals and were about to leave when Beki approached them and asked them for an autograph for me. So he obliged. I drove up just as Beki was leaving the restaurant with the autographed napkin in hand. I rolled down the window and as we were (excitedly) talking about him, I noticed that the car next to us had two people in it and they were just sitting there, watching us. It was Lyle and his girlfriend! If I'd had my wits about me and a little bit more courage, I would have gotten out and knocked on his window and told him how much I enjoy his music. I hope I have a chance to do that some day.
When I think about these three lost opportunities and others that have occurred in my life, it saddens me. But it also makes me realize that if opportunities present themselves in the future, I have to find a way to step out and seize them. I should not be afraid or too shy...I can and should muster the courage to do the things that I find hard. I love this quote I found on Facebook from Dr. Michelle, Bengtson. "When fear knocks on your door, send faith to answer." One of my go-to verses is Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I have used that verse so many times in my life. I don't know why I didn't use it in those instances noted above, but I will next time, because it is on my refrigerator now.
Have you ever been fearful of certain situations? What did you do to muster courage to do the things that you find hard?
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