Garth

I had forgotten what a fan of Garth Brooks that I am. I just finished watching his live special from L.A. on CBS. It was a benefit concert to raise money for the wild fires in California.

The first GB song I ever heard was "The Dance." I was a summer intern at State Farm that summer of 1990. I had gotten stuck with a bunch of guys moving storage boxes to a new location off site. Actually, I was suppose to be entering/archiving the boxes in the computer, but for some reason, I ended up with the guys. They were SO cute!! Mr. Burtram was the one that had the Garth cassette (no CDs back then) and I remember that they use to turn the music up really loud and sing. I didn't know the words to the songs, because I didn't listen to country music back then. The next memory I have of a Garth song was in a little later in high school at the pep rallies. Our football players normally walked into the pep rallies to either "We Will Rock You" or "We are the Champions." One week, it happened to be, "Friends in Low Places" and the whole gym went nuts (at least the white kids did)!! My last high school memory, was in senior AP English class. Mrs. Hill - for some reason - mentioned Garth's song, "Unanswered Prayers" during some stupid lit book were were reading. Man, I wish I could remember what book that was!

Graduation came and so did college. Carrie was dating Mr. Wheeler and he absolutely LOVED Garth!! The year after we graduated, Carrie, David and me rode over to Marshall, Texas together to go to the football game and I had to listen to the two of them sing all those Garth songs all the way there! Ugh! By this time, Garth had become a mega star and was beginning to have weekly (or so it seemed) specials on TV. I distinctly remember a TV special sometime around Thanksgiving one year while I was in college. Again, I was with Carrie at another one of her boyfriend's apartment. The TV was on and there were tons of people there watching the special. It was like a "Survivor Party," only Garth was the sole survivor of his own TV show!!

Are those crazy memories or what? But honestly, those are the things that I think about when I think of Garth Brooks. And would you believe that Carrie now lives in the same town as he does?....Owasso, Oklahoma! Her girls go to the same school as Garth's girls. How wild is that?

So tonight, after the special, I got online and began reading about Garth's career and an idea struck me. I read that he had a hard time performing and still having a family life. He officially retired in 1999 and said that he would not begin touring again until after his youngest daughter - Allie - turned 18. That's year 2015! But what got me was what is it in a person that says, "Let me walk away. Let me take a break? My family is more important than the money!" And I am referring to Brittany Spears and all the other actors and performers who are obviously struggling to draw that same line. Here you have a man that has topped all other performers before him - he is only third from Elvis (2nd) and the Beatles (1st) for records sold, who has won countless awards, and surpassed every sales record known to man and yet he stops. He pauses. He walks away. He promises his fans that he will be back and I think that is why he has been able to keep his fan base. They haven't had to hear about all his shenanigans and mess ups. Garth's actions haven't been all over the tabloids because he decided that his family (girls) were more important. The man doesn't even live in Nashville! He is totally removed from all the Hollywood hoopla and instead performs concerts to benefit others in need. To that, I say, "Thank you, Mr. Brooks!! Thank you for providing us with near-wholesome (you have to excuse some lyrics in his songs, but at least you never hear the f-bomb in one of them!)entertainment and for living a life that is so opposite of this new generation. Thank you, that the worst thing that we have to look at on you is your graying peach-fuzz head and that's only when you choose to take your cowboy hat off! There are no nose rings, no tatoos (that I know of). We don't have to check to see if he's wearing his boxers!! We don't care! Why? Because Garth is an entertainer. And I truly believe that that is his heart's desire...to entertain his fans and live a quiet and happy life with his family. Who can argue with that? Who can blame the man for deciding to walk away? I am just so thankful to be reminded that there are performers out there that can live a good and descent life outside of People magazine!