Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

Don't let 'em pick guitars and drive them ole trucks;
Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys;
They'll never stay home and they're always alone,
Even with someone they love.

I LOVED this song when I was a kid.

So, Monday, we saw Willie Nelson. He played with Merle Haggard and Ray Price (though Ray, who has to be nearing eighty...wait, I'll check...wow, 81, didn't sing much). He sang all the old good ones: Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain, Whiskey River, On the Road Again, Always On My Mind. Also, Good Hearted Woman, Crazy (which I had not realized he had done- I've always been partial to the Patsy Cline version) and Georgia, which- love ya Willie but- didn't even come close to the Ray Charles version for me. It was a good show, is what I'm saying. It was at Chastain Amphitheater, and we had some great seats. It was hot, which kind of sucked, the crowd was ready to party but not too rowdy, and there was all kinds of people watching to be done.

Notable moments:
- Merle Haggard at one point in his set said to the crowd, "I'd like to take a minute of your time to introduce the Strangers (his band)." He then proceeded to walk around to the 8 or so band members and you could see them shaking hands, smiling, etc. Having just been introduced, apparently. He walked back up to the mike and started a new song without another word.
- When Willie came on, it was apparently the signal to smoke up, because a large cloud of that distinctive smelling smoke wafted over us almost immediately.
- When the guy in front of us played air guitar, as he did during several Merle Haggard songs (he was a fan), he looked for all the world from the rear as if he were, uh, pleasuring himself (he's a really, really BIG fan, apparently). This caused Bruce and me no end of amusement.
- Bruce called his boss during the climax (tee hee) of You Were Always On My Mind and let it play into his boss's voicemail.
- On the somewhat long walk back to the car, I was nearly in pain for needing to empty my bladder (beer, plus water) but rejected a Port-A-Potty with a too-loud "No f*cking way." I also withstood Bruce's advice to just go in the deep shadows of the trees and shrubs of the houses we were walking past. It was tempting, though.

Anyway, that was the night. Bruce's mom was unable to make it as she wasn't feeling well, which was a bummer. But otherwise we had a lovely time. Yay, Willie!