Kathy
14 Apr 2006, 02:56
... and how Meat Fixed My Car
(warning - long story ahead)
I feel like I've just gotten (fallen?) off a roller-coaster. The week preceding my trip to SC was both very busy and very emotional. I got home from my friend's funeral at 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, changed clothes, went to the bathroom, put my junk in the car and was on the road in 15 minutes. The first 400 miles were on I-70 and I-77, and it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon - my spirits rose, I began to seriously anticipate seeing Meat play golf (and possibly even sing!), and I enjoyed the drive - even the stretch just S of Charleston WV, which can be a thrill even during the daylight hours - I turned into the curves like you're supposed to and thought of Meat driving his race car :lol:
Then about the time I began to get tired, I-77 spit me out onto 300 miles of, shall we say, "lesser" roads - varying from actually pretty good to terrible little 2-lanes with curves, trucks, small towns with 35 mph speed limits, no lights and even fewer signs. At the slower speed that twangy buzz was more noticeable (and much louder than it had been) but my car seemed to be running fine, so I tried not to think about it. Just an aside here - I am not foolhardy when it comes to my car, and I had had it serviced last week - oil change etc. and new shocks, and they checked my brakes out (I don't ever want to lose one of my brakes on the freeway again).
I wasn't positive I'd make it all the way, but 14 hours later I found my tired self in North Myrtle Beach, SC :) Elated that I'd made it, but embarrassed that I might be waking people up with that weird noise coming from the right side of my car, I located my room, settled in and slept for 90 minutes, from 8:00-9:30 a.m.
At the golf course, I couldn't find the 13th tee (Meat's starting point) even after asking directions (the path I had been told to take was roped off), so two nice guys in a golf cart took me there via a "shortcut" off-path, up and down steep little hills at a fast pace and under two sets of ropes. When I got out I thanked them and said I hoped the golf tournament would be half as exciting as that ride :)
At the 13th, no one was there except a little welcoming party under a tent behind the ropes, making food for the golfers (smelled good - may have been brats). They wanted to know if I was the "bar lady" and I wished I could say "Sure, that's me!" but I went and sat down in the shade to wait. The "shotgun start" was to be at 10:30 a.m., and I wondered if we'd hear it all the way out here (I never did). Just before 11 the golf carts came zooming around the corner, with Meat in the passenger seat of number 33. He looked handsome as ever, and had a new-looking pair of nice golf shoes. They all went over to the tent and had a little snack. I heard Meat say "The onions are good!"
And so started a long and very enjoyable day of walking and watching them play. Sections were cordoned off, so instead of following the whole course sequentially, you had to backtrack a couple three times all the way to the clubhouse and start over again. Meanwhile they kept playing, so you'd look at your program and count how many teams ahead or behind they were, and head for that hole, and hope they hadn't got beyond it by the time you got there :roll: But it was just a beautiful day for walking, and a pretty golf course, and I met some nice people and had a good time. And you don't have to walk if you don't want to - what many people do is take chairs and park themselves at a hole close to the clubhouse, and watch each team play in turn.
One thing that just amazed me was how incredibly generous Meat was, all day long. He allowed his picture to be taken with dozens and dozens of fans and signed tons of autographs, gave hats to little kids, and answered all manner of questions (such as how is Pearl doing in Little League) with grace and equanimity.
Meat sank his putt at the 6th hole and again at the 9th, and made several really nice long shots - one down the middle of the 7th fairway I remember because it was one of the few I actually saw. A.C.'s parents told me it is something you have to train your eye to do - follow that little white ball through the air. A.C. (the caddie for Meat's team) is a nice 17-year old who apparently won against 100 others in a golf competition for caddie spots in this tournament. When he found out he'd won, he hoped to be able to choose Meat's team, because he's a fan! - and he was successful.
While playing golf and signing autographs, Meat was his usual funny self, joking with fans and the other golfers and harrassing the photographers. At the tent by the 3rd green the crowd was large and included a group of pretty young women who were quite taken with Meat. He was offered a tray of little tequila drinks (margaritas or punch) and he asked "Which one do you ladies like?" They said the punch, so he downed one. They thought he was great, so about six of them piled in a cart and followed him through holes 4 to 8, I think. At one point they started singing to him, and he sang a line back. When they said goodbye, Meat said "Yeah, you ladies go and cause some trouble." (they probably did :)
He gave the photographers a hard time :lol: After the 10th hole he was joking with the video photographer, who had a trailer with a boom-like thing behind, saying "So if I don't move out of the way, we're not going anywhere, right? Mmm-hmm, Mmm-hmm...." Earlier, he actually charged a photographer like a bull - scared the liver out of him, lol - the guy tottered backward and Meat laughed and said "I got you good!" Another time a photographer was standing right behind Meat, who suddenly turned around and roared at him. The guy acted like it didn't bother him, but I saw him trying to keep that big camera balanced on his shoulder. I hope it wasn't the same guy - he'll be scarred for life, lol!
The tournament lasted for about 6 hours, and although I was sorry to see it end, I was looking forward to the Hootie and the Blowfish concert at the House of Blues that evening. I think I got there about 7:30. There were free drinks (those same little tequila ones, as well as shots) and TONS of food of all kinds, hot and cold. I found a heaped platter of huge peel-and-eat shrimp, and some wonderful lightly marinated vegetables (including eggplant), chicken wings and cold cuts, and sort of pigged out. There was a table piled with brownies and fancy little pastries, and I thought I would take one before I left but then I forgot.
The concert was to start at 9, so I went down into the Pit and got as close as I could to the stage, which was in the second "row" (there were no seats) next to a fellow Meat fan I had talked to earlier on the golf course, and right behind a young couple who were friends of his. The concert was great - I had never been to a Hootie concert and enjoyed it very much. Various golfers and people got on stage one after the other and sang with them. Well into the concert I began to feel light-headed - it got worse and I was close to blacking out so I just sat down and joined the empty beer cans on the floor. Now, when I was younger this would have humiliated me, but now the only thing that would bother me is if I upset anyone or ruined their fun - I did neither, so all was cool. And then - wouldn't you know it - I heard yells of "MEAT LOAF! MEAT LOAF!" The people I was with said "He's on, he's on!" and helped me up. Meat was there right of center, and he sang along with "Knock Knock Knockin on Heaven's Door" - and I've always loved that song ! .. He was great :)) ..and then he came around to the left side and sang "Ride, Sally, Ride" and the guy in front of me switched places with me so I could be at the railing - it was his idea - how nice is that?? .. Meat did the chorus with great long embellishment and such passion - he leaned forward and to his right, holding his left arm up and out - can you picture him? He put every single ounce of his powerful voice and body into it - I swear, he didn't need a mic, and could have filled a venue 3 times that size with his voice. It was just fantastic. He left the stage at the end of that song, so his bit was short, but gave me the shot of adrenalin I needed, and more.
To cut a long story short (no more Meatie parts), I didn't get back to my room until 2 a.m. I got a good night's sleep, and (here's the funny thing) the next day when I started up my car to head for home, that weird noise was gone! And it did not come back all 700 miles home. ... I can only come to one conclusion - my car is a Meat fan, and heard him sing, and was Healed. :))
-Kathy
(warning - long story ahead)
I feel like I've just gotten (fallen?) off a roller-coaster. The week preceding my trip to SC was both very busy and very emotional. I got home from my friend's funeral at 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, changed clothes, went to the bathroom, put my junk in the car and was on the road in 15 minutes. The first 400 miles were on I-70 and I-77, and it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon - my spirits rose, I began to seriously anticipate seeing Meat play golf (and possibly even sing!), and I enjoyed the drive - even the stretch just S of Charleston WV, which can be a thrill even during the daylight hours - I turned into the curves like you're supposed to and thought of Meat driving his race car :lol:
Then about the time I began to get tired, I-77 spit me out onto 300 miles of, shall we say, "lesser" roads - varying from actually pretty good to terrible little 2-lanes with curves, trucks, small towns with 35 mph speed limits, no lights and even fewer signs. At the slower speed that twangy buzz was more noticeable (and much louder than it had been) but my car seemed to be running fine, so I tried not to think about it. Just an aside here - I am not foolhardy when it comes to my car, and I had had it serviced last week - oil change etc. and new shocks, and they checked my brakes out (I don't ever want to lose one of my brakes on the freeway again).
I wasn't positive I'd make it all the way, but 14 hours later I found my tired self in North Myrtle Beach, SC :) Elated that I'd made it, but embarrassed that I might be waking people up with that weird noise coming from the right side of my car, I located my room, settled in and slept for 90 minutes, from 8:00-9:30 a.m.
At the golf course, I couldn't find the 13th tee (Meat's starting point) even after asking directions (the path I had been told to take was roped off), so two nice guys in a golf cart took me there via a "shortcut" off-path, up and down steep little hills at a fast pace and under two sets of ropes. When I got out I thanked them and said I hoped the golf tournament would be half as exciting as that ride :)
At the 13th, no one was there except a little welcoming party under a tent behind the ropes, making food for the golfers (smelled good - may have been brats). They wanted to know if I was the "bar lady" and I wished I could say "Sure, that's me!" but I went and sat down in the shade to wait. The "shotgun start" was to be at 10:30 a.m., and I wondered if we'd hear it all the way out here (I never did). Just before 11 the golf carts came zooming around the corner, with Meat in the passenger seat of number 33. He looked handsome as ever, and had a new-looking pair of nice golf shoes. They all went over to the tent and had a little snack. I heard Meat say "The onions are good!"
And so started a long and very enjoyable day of walking and watching them play. Sections were cordoned off, so instead of following the whole course sequentially, you had to backtrack a couple three times all the way to the clubhouse and start over again. Meanwhile they kept playing, so you'd look at your program and count how many teams ahead or behind they were, and head for that hole, and hope they hadn't got beyond it by the time you got there :roll: But it was just a beautiful day for walking, and a pretty golf course, and I met some nice people and had a good time. And you don't have to walk if you don't want to - what many people do is take chairs and park themselves at a hole close to the clubhouse, and watch each team play in turn.
One thing that just amazed me was how incredibly generous Meat was, all day long. He allowed his picture to be taken with dozens and dozens of fans and signed tons of autographs, gave hats to little kids, and answered all manner of questions (such as how is Pearl doing in Little League) with grace and equanimity.
Meat sank his putt at the 6th hole and again at the 9th, and made several really nice long shots - one down the middle of the 7th fairway I remember because it was one of the few I actually saw. A.C.'s parents told me it is something you have to train your eye to do - follow that little white ball through the air. A.C. (the caddie for Meat's team) is a nice 17-year old who apparently won against 100 others in a golf competition for caddie spots in this tournament. When he found out he'd won, he hoped to be able to choose Meat's team, because he's a fan! - and he was successful.
While playing golf and signing autographs, Meat was his usual funny self, joking with fans and the other golfers and harrassing the photographers. At the tent by the 3rd green the crowd was large and included a group of pretty young women who were quite taken with Meat. He was offered a tray of little tequila drinks (margaritas or punch) and he asked "Which one do you ladies like?" They said the punch, so he downed one. They thought he was great, so about six of them piled in a cart and followed him through holes 4 to 8, I think. At one point they started singing to him, and he sang a line back. When they said goodbye, Meat said "Yeah, you ladies go and cause some trouble." (they probably did :)
He gave the photographers a hard time :lol: After the 10th hole he was joking with the video photographer, who had a trailer with a boom-like thing behind, saying "So if I don't move out of the way, we're not going anywhere, right? Mmm-hmm, Mmm-hmm...." Earlier, he actually charged a photographer like a bull - scared the liver out of him, lol - the guy tottered backward and Meat laughed and said "I got you good!" Another time a photographer was standing right behind Meat, who suddenly turned around and roared at him. The guy acted like it didn't bother him, but I saw him trying to keep that big camera balanced on his shoulder. I hope it wasn't the same guy - he'll be scarred for life, lol!
The tournament lasted for about 6 hours, and although I was sorry to see it end, I was looking forward to the Hootie and the Blowfish concert at the House of Blues that evening. I think I got there about 7:30. There were free drinks (those same little tequila ones, as well as shots) and TONS of food of all kinds, hot and cold. I found a heaped platter of huge peel-and-eat shrimp, and some wonderful lightly marinated vegetables (including eggplant), chicken wings and cold cuts, and sort of pigged out. There was a table piled with brownies and fancy little pastries, and I thought I would take one before I left but then I forgot.
The concert was to start at 9, so I went down into the Pit and got as close as I could to the stage, which was in the second "row" (there were no seats) next to a fellow Meat fan I had talked to earlier on the golf course, and right behind a young couple who were friends of his. The concert was great - I had never been to a Hootie concert and enjoyed it very much. Various golfers and people got on stage one after the other and sang with them. Well into the concert I began to feel light-headed - it got worse and I was close to blacking out so I just sat down and joined the empty beer cans on the floor. Now, when I was younger this would have humiliated me, but now the only thing that would bother me is if I upset anyone or ruined their fun - I did neither, so all was cool. And then - wouldn't you know it - I heard yells of "MEAT LOAF! MEAT LOAF!" The people I was with said "He's on, he's on!" and helped me up. Meat was there right of center, and he sang along with "Knock Knock Knockin on Heaven's Door" - and I've always loved that song ! .. He was great :)) ..and then he came around to the left side and sang "Ride, Sally, Ride" and the guy in front of me switched places with me so I could be at the railing - it was his idea - how nice is that?? .. Meat did the chorus with great long embellishment and such passion - he leaned forward and to his right, holding his left arm up and out - can you picture him? He put every single ounce of his powerful voice and body into it - I swear, he didn't need a mic, and could have filled a venue 3 times that size with his voice. It was just fantastic. He left the stage at the end of that song, so his bit was short, but gave me the shot of adrenalin I needed, and more.
To cut a long story short (no more Meatie parts), I didn't get back to my room until 2 a.m. I got a good night's sleep, and (here's the funny thing) the next day when I started up my car to head for home, that weird noise was gone! And it did not come back all 700 miles home. ... I can only come to one conclusion - my car is a Meat fan, and heard him sing, and was Healed. :))
-Kathy