A Prairie Home Companion Indeed

For my 30th birthday, Marty gave me two tickets to go see Garrison Keillor on tour at Red Rocks. The worth of his gift did not sink in until Wednesday night, when the Great American Storyteller's voice washed over us. After having a drink at my boss' house in Golden, we headed to Red Rocks. The sun was setting, the air warm, and the wind just right. We were both starving and each got a bbq sandwich as we entered the venue and then found our seats. Keillor was already in action. Soon, he was extemporaneously telling a story while "Sound Guy," on the fly, did sounds for it. Keillor got closer and closer to Sound Guy, as the story got more and more animated. Keillor took his hand from his mouth and then stretched his arms out, as if his hand were literally pulling the hilarious words from Keillor's brain. Amazing. If you've ever heard Garrison on the radio, he's twice as good in person. His voice is so melodic, and he's actually very animated, which you never catch on the radio. After telling a hilarious story about how men and women pee, it was time for Intermission. But Keillor didn't take one. Instead, he told the crowd to go pee if they have to, but for those who didn't, he asked them to stand up and "sing with me." And sing we all did. Keillor first led us through America the Beautiful as if he were a conductor, then "I Can't Help Falling in Love," and then two more songs. At one point, Gayle turned to me and said "This is so Lessmann." Yes, my mom's been doing some of what Keillor does for years. Of course Keillor ended with the Lutherans and Lake Wobegone. Unfortunately, he still had energy after 3 hours and our babysitter didn't. We heard most of the monologue, but missed my favorite part: "That's the news from Lake Wobegone, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are - above average." Thanks, Moose, for letting me see the best storyteller we've ever known.