Before I start this 2nd part of the story let me give you a bit of my perspective on the concert experience.
When Paula and I got home on Saturday night (actually early Sunday morning) I had every intention of writing a post about what a "nightmare" the whole trip to Nashville was. But I've changed my mind.
What I'm going to do is convey how the night turned out to be a microcosm of the effect people can have on your life.
But I will integrated with the events of the concert.
We arrived in the heart of downtown Nashville about the time the first of a pair of opening acts, Danielle Bradbery, the season 4 winner of NBC's show "The Voice", was taking the Bridgestone Arena stage. It really didn't matter that we were missing it. We weren't at all familiar with her music.
Our seats were in section 303 Row P; on the end of the arena opposite the stage. We were four rows from the top of the building. Paula and I had the two seats on the aisle. I was glad that we had only paid $15 for the seats. But at least we were in the building.
By the time we got settled in Ms. Bradbery was finishing her set. An on-stage DJ played music between acts. That was something I hadn't ever seen at a concert before.
The next act was Chris Young. I didn't know him by name but once he started singing his hits I knew who he was.
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Now here's the part where the "microcasm" I mentioned earlier comes into play.
In the seats directly in front of Paula and I was a couple that obviously had been drinking for quite a while. They had cans of beer in their hands and were really enjoying the concert. Their "good time" turned out to be an issue for many of others around them.
The problem was that they were standing up dancing and blocking the view of everyone behind them; especially us. Now that was not the only thing that was bothersome about this couple.
They weren't just dancing they were "dirty dancing" redneck style. The longer they danced more lewd their movements became. They acted like they didn't care who was watching them or what they did. I couldn't see anything on stage. All I saw was the two of them gyrating in front of me. It was frustrating and totally embarrassing at the same time.
Here I was with my wife, my associate pastor's wife, her daughter, and her daughter's church friends and their was nothing I could do about what was going on in front of them. It infuriated me. I could have easily "lost it" if Paula had not kept me calm.
By the time Chris Young's act was finished I was ready to leave. Paula and I walked out of the arena to calm down and decide what we wanted or could do about the situation.
On our way out I asked a young girl who was the usher in our section if there was anything that could be done about the couple in front of us. She said all she could do was make sure they kept the aisle clear.
After talking it over out on the concourse my wife and I decided that going down to the ground floor and sitting in the lobby until Brad Paisley was finished was our best course of action. I just couldn't go back to our seats and endure what was going on anymore.
We couldn't leave because Patty was still in the arena waiting for the rest of the show to start.
At Paula's suggestion we decided to go back in and sit in some seats on the other side of the aisle in the same section. They had been empty the entire time.
As we walked into the arena, that same usher stopped us and directed us to some better seats close to the entrance way. We sat down just as Brad Paisley was starting his show. We texted Patty and invited her down to join us. She came down and watched with us.
The best part of the whole concert was what that usher did for us. I'm pretty sure her seating suggestions either broke or at least bent arena policy. But by allowing us to have those seats, she turned a horrible concert experience into one that was somewhat enjoyable.
While the actions of that rude, self-centered, drunk couple had ruined the concert for us the simple gesture of the usher turned our night around.
It is her actions that I will choose to remember from the concert; not that couple in front of us. I tried to give her a tip to thank her for her kindness. She refused it saying "that's okay sir, I was just doing my job."
It just goes to show that you can choose the you effect you have in this world. If you choose to be self-centered and inconsiderate you'll have a negative effect on those you come in contact with. But if you are kind and consider the welfare of those you come in contact with you can have a positive impact on others. A simple but very true observation.
I enjoyed Brad Paisley but not as much as I thought I would. There were good parts and not so good parts of his show. I'll go into that in a little more detail in part 3 of this series tomorrow.
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