When I was a kid and we went on vacation or to family reunions, we always drove. It didn’t matter if it was 5 hours to the beach or 12 hours to Texas, we would pile up in my dad’s Fleetwood Brougham and make the trek with stops every few hours to pee.
The soundtrack to many of these trips was Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion“.
As a child I used to roll my eyes when my dad would change the channel from Z-93 to NPR. This was before I had my own Walkman so I was a prisoner – trapped in the back seat, forced to endure, gasp, talk radio! Except when A Prairie Home Companion came on. Even as a 6 year old, I loved the show. There was something about the combination of comedy, music and storytelling that always had my attention. My favorite was always the “Lives of the Cowboys” and I often quoted their jokes (not always realizing some of the double entendres behind them and not understanding what would make my grandmother gasp in shock in the retelling!)
I also loved the music – bluegrass, hymns, folk music, gospel – such a spectrum that wasn’t the normal listening tastes of a kid in the early 80’s. But as I loved singing, I would use the songs’ harmonies to develop my own abilities.
When I entered high school, APHC went off the air, and we spent less time taking long road trips. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I rediscovered Garrison and his friends again.
When Keillor had a stroke in 2009, I got the idea in my head that I needed to see the show live. I was so excited to hear that they would be coming to Atlanta on tour, but when I went to get tickets they were sold out! The idea stayed in the back of my head for some time, so when I put together my Big Adventure List, “See A Prairie Home Companion Live” was at the top of the list.
Then I decided to go crazy with the idea. Not only would I see it live, I would make the trip all the way to Minnesota to see it in the Fitzgerald. And why not just get completely wacky and do it in February! In Minnesota! This Georgia girl is going to experience a Minnesota Winter.
So, the tickets have been bought, plans have been made to join my friends Joann and Matt, along with my husband Matthew to head to St. Paul, Minnesota for the February 11th show.
Now, how to convince Garrison to let me get up and sing with him on the show… ?
Kristie's Big Adventure! 
I think you should send him your story. : )
[…] Prairie Home Companion” at the Fitzgerald theater. If you’ve read my blog, you know how obsessed I have been with seeing this show live. It was a music heavy show with guests Ann Reed, My […]