Forget Your Troubles

So a friend calls me at 6 in the evening and says, in an excited whisper: "They still have lawn tickets for Anita Baker!" 

I tell her that I am on my home and I have papers to grade and stuff to do and I'm on a tight budget and blahblahblah. 

And she says: "Really? I mean Anita Baker for $25?! And I've got your ticket covered, so all you have to do is come on and go!" 

So I U-turn in the middle of the road and drive into town to pick her up. Meanwhile, she dashes up the street to a little boutique on Georgia Ave. and quick-buys something to wear cause she didn't dress for Wolf Trap when she left home this Thursday morning ... and neither did I but I'm just going for it. 

We stop at Panera, pick up some sandwiches, and head for Route 66! I feel like I'm in my teens or 20s all over again, when it didn't matter whether it was a school night or a work night -- if Earth, Wind, and Fire was in town, you just went!

Now we're on our way to see Miss Anita, and Judy Garland is singing in my head: "Forget your troubles, come on ... get happy!" Yeah!!

So, naturally, Anita kills!!! Black hankerchief dress, her signature styling. The voice is richer than ever (altos rock!). She's all relaxed and warm and fuzzy, and we give it right back to her.

A full moon lights up the Wolf Trap lawn and the air is not too anything, but just right. Anita does love songs because, she tells us, "That's all we got!" Well that is more than okay with the audience. We know all the words anyway. 

I'm singing along, and screaming out requests, swoooning, laughing ... and cryyyying!