We took a vacation this weekend. It was a short one. I had seen a post on Facebook from Kathie’s high school friend about a Jimmy Fortune concert to be held in the big town (1000 residents) of Parker, SD.
I enquired about the tickets and found out some were still available. Now you are probably wondering who Jimmy Fortune is and why we would be willing to travel to the hinterlands of South Dakota to attend his concert. He was the youngest member of the Statler Brothers, the short one who always stood on the right of the other three singers. He was the tenor and reached notes that I only dream about.
Kathie’s old classmate, Susan and her husband Larry were kind enough to open their home to us for the night so we accepted the offer and drove down to Sioux Falls, SD the day before the concert. During our stay we discovered why the town was named Sioux Falls. Our hosts gave us a tour of the park surrounding exposed quartzite rock over which the Big Sioux River raged. The flowing water produced rapids and a variety of falls. It was a memorable and beautiful site to behold. An unexpected surprise and enjoyable experience added to our mini-vacation.
The following day the concert was scheduled to start at 2:00 pm in Parker. We were following our hosts to the event and Larry took us the back way to Parker which included several stop signs, several changes in directions as well as several road changes. I was fearful on the way back after the concert I would get lost and still be wandering the backroads attempting to locate the Interstate 29. I am writing this blog one day later so the suspense is over. We did make it back! 🙂
I always admire small towns that establish a celebration that becomes a yearly tradition and the Parker event did just that. This event is very unusual as it centers around the youth of the community who have successfully passed their gun safety classes. The county sheriff came up with this crazy idea to celebrate the young hunters successes and invite a country western singer to spend a day with them hunting pheasants. The next day the singer would put on a performance in the Parker High School. We attended that concert yesterday and enjoyed the country western and gospel music of Jimmy Fortune and two fine backup musicians that not only played the guitar, banjo and fiddle but could sing powerfully too. The harmony was awesome.
There is something wholesome and patriotic about middle America and it was certainly on display in the Parker gym on Sunday. The program began with a well known radio announcer from Sioux Falls as M.C. and he interview the nearly twenty young hunting enthusiasts. This was followed by the introduction of a member or past member of each branch of the service who walked to the stage carrying their designated service flag.
I was surprised that in our landlocked South Dakota that even included a past member of the U. S Coast Guard. A gentleman who had traded in the ‘sea of Dakota grass’ for the opportunity to serve our country on the seas bordering our great land.
The final flag that was carried to the stage by a young National Guard soldier of course was the American Flag. How refreshing it was to see the packed gymnasium rise, remove their hats and place their hands over their hearts as the flag was respectively honored. Nowhere in that gymnasium did I see anyone take a knee!
It must be Jimmy Fortune time I assumed but, no, one final ceremony remained. A National Guard officer dressed in his camouflaged clothing took the stage and announced some new recruits were going to be sworn in. With that another officer stepped forward and gave the military commands and around a dozen young recruits dressed in matching National Guard t-shirts marched crisply to the base of the stage. Raising their right hands they swore the oath to their country and the State of South Dakota pledging to honor and defend us. It was inspirational to see. All of us in attendance would have loved to gone down to the gym floor and shaken each of the young men and women’s hands.
And then the music began. Song after song, some familiar and some not. But all were beautifully done. I’m an old ‘hootenanny’ fan from the 60’s so I enjoyed the many sing-a-l0ng opportunities.
But the most enjoyable thing was the freedom of the performers to share their faith in song and word. Yes, several of them even mentioned the word Jesus and it wasn’t bleeped out. How refreshing to have our freedom of speech back even for those fun filled two hours.
We left Parker around 5:00 pm after the performance and were successful relocating Interstate 29, whizzed through the city of Sioux Falls and began the long, straight trek back to Wheaton. I know the speed limit said 80 miles per hour but I set my cruise for 70 and let all those speedy folks pass me. I will only travel 80 and faster when I am in a plane or being ejected from a canon! 🙂
The only ordinary part of the trip was when we stopped in Watertown on the way home for gas and picked up a convenient store pepperoni pizza. That was a sign that our day and a half vacation was almost over!
Until next time.
