Negative into a Positive (michael)

Negative into a Positive We arrived in Greeley, CO, we had a dark day (a day with no shows) so we wanted to be close to the next show and visit our dear friends Ann and Herb that live there. Greely RV Resort did the trick. I drove into the spot, hit the brake, perfect. Level? Check! Bay doors aligned for utilities? Check! Aligned to concrete slab? Close enough! We are good to go. I did the hook up ritual and removed the toad and Christi did her thing inside the bus. In record time we were ready to go to town. Christi handed me some stuff and out to the toad I went. About 30 secs. later it happened. Christi let out a blood curdling scream! She was on the ground and in pain. I rushed to her side and found that she had mis-judged the last step to the concrete slab and caught the edge of it and heard a crack in her foot and went down. OOPS, not close enough! Long story short, server sprain to her left foot. It appears that she tore the cartilage between her metatarsals. That means 4 to 6 weeks of hopping around. We are thankful it did not break a bone. So Christi was on her back and I had to figure out what was best for her and the show. We need to stay put for her foot to heal. We had called Loveland RV Resort a few days earlier and offered them a show, I found a voice mail from them saying they would love us in Loveland! I called back and booked a 2 show stand with them. Mr. and Mrs. Jones met us at the office. Chuck Jones is the manager for the park system, they have 5 or 6 parks. We checked in and I gave them a complimentary album and went to set up. We got settled in and I got called over to the Jone's house to talk about more shows in the other parks. After listening to the album Chuck stated that our show would be perfect for the lodge in Estes Park, CO in the summer season of 2010. We talked a little more and Chuck said we should go up and look at the resort. We did and it was beautiful! The Lodge, the park and the town was indeed "perfect" for our show. We got back and talked terms and Mr. Jones said we should get a final approval by October 1st. We did the 2 shows at the Loveland RV Resort with great reviews. Then we were off (40 miles) to Terry Bison Ranch for our next gig. I did some more calls in the greater Denver area so we could stay in one place. I received a call from Mr. Jones asking for a meeting. The owner of the resorts want to see us in person. We set it up for the following day. The meeting went well, then took an even better turn for us. They offered us an 8 show stand in their lodge in Estes Park, CO for the month of Aug. 2009. That's next month! When the gods offer you something to help, don't ask! Just take it and be grateful for it, and we did. We are very excited and can't wait to start setting up the new stage. I'll post some picks on the next post. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Jack and Bea Good (Christi)

Jack And Bea Good (Christi) We've fallen behind in our blogging since we haven't had internet access for about a week. Our experience this past few days, and lack of TV, has inspired me to sit down and blog. We spent the last three days in Denver with our dear friends Jack and Bea Good. (I love her name.) Michael has known them for many years. I've only visited with them about three times in the last five years. The story of Jack and Bea's friendship with Michael started many years ago when Michael was working as the general contractor for Western Horizon Resorts. Michael was working up on a roof and singing, as he often does. A lady came by with her little blind dog and stood listening. When he finished the song he was singing, she asked him if he knew anything by Ray Price. He did and started singing again. This went on for a quite some time. After awhile, the lady said she was on her way to the ice cream social, but if it was OK she would come back later and bring some of her friends to hear him sing. Well, what could he say? Before long she was talking to the Activities Director and he was doing shows in the clubhouse. The Michael Hargis Show was born, thanks to mama Bea Good. I met Jack and Bea about 5 years ago in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Michael and I had been married only a short time and there was a whole group of his friends meeting down there, so we joined them. We only stayed a few days but had a great time. If you watch Michael and Bea together, you see their connection clearly. These are two souls who love each other dearly. Jack calls it their love affair. She's his biggest fan and he adores her. We learned at this time that Bea had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Since then we have seen them twice and have witnessed the slow destructiveness of this disease. We just spent three days with them in Denver. Bea's face lit up when Michael walked into the room and he told her he was going to do a show in her honor. She still tells how she got him that job singing at Blue Mesa so many years ago. As I spent some time with her while Michael and Jack ran errands, I realized how far advanced the disease had gotten since we last saw them. We talked about her grown children as if they were still running around the house making a mess with their toys. She told me about people and places and things that must have happened thirty or forty years ago, but to her it was yesterday. At times she just seems to stare into space. Michael's show was at Jack and Bea's church. We didn't know what to expect, we've never done a show in the part of the church where they actually hold services. Jack wasn't sure if anyone would even show up. About 60 people attended, many of them walking up to Bea, giving her hugs and reintroducing themselves. It truly was a sight to behold. Michael dedicated every song to her, which got pretty funny after awhile. The show was mostly upbeat and at times thoughtful. It spoke to the heart. From where I ran the music, I was able to see Bea's smiles. As I watched Jack lovingly care for Bea, I can't imagine what it must be like to watch the woman he has spent 58 years of his life with just slip away. He takes care of her day in and day out by himself and worries that if he had to put her in a home, it would kill her. That kind of love is rare these days. When you look at the big picture and see what millions of people like Jack and Bea deal with everyday, you realize that truly, you just can't sweat the small stuff. It really is small stuff. No TV? No internet? So what! Michael and I have each other and we are both in good health. We are travelling in the bus we built together. We are seeing beautiful places and Michael is singing and making people smile; if just for an hour. We are visiting old friends and making new ones. We are truly blessed for all that we have and for knowing Jack and Bea Good. We love you Jack and Bea. All the best and don't sweat the small stuff, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/