What a Hoot!

My sister and I and our really good friend Linda decided to go to the Wildcat last night for their weekly Hoot Night, an open mic evening hosted by local country legend Jon Sarty. Our daughter Zia decided to come with us, making for a wonderful Ladies Night Out. At one point in the evening Jon asked if there were any other musicians in the audience, and my sister pointed to Zia. “Are you a musician?” he asked her. “I sing,” she told him, and then he coaxed her to the stage. After conferring about songs they both knew, it turned out that they had totally different repertoires and so Zia sang one of her favorites a capella. Naturally, I am prejudiced because I am her mom, but my bias counts for nothing when a beautiful voice speaks for itself. Zia stood up there in front of the mic singing her heart out on verse after verse in a clear, strong, sweet voice, so typical of my daughter since the day of her birth. Doing what I (and most others in the room) could never do if our very lives depended upon it, she stood up there and sang ---- by ----, garnering the attention of Jon and the entire room until she stepped off the stage to loud applause. She never made it back to the table, however, as the audience wanted an encore … and then another! I watched my ‘little girl’ fade away as I listened to this extraordinary, beautiful young woman expressing herself. I glanced toward my sister who was the beaming aunt, and to Linda who was clicking away photos on her camera and cell phone respectively, and I remembered back to a day when Zia was about 4 years old. We were at our (then) new church during the closing ceremonies of a 5-day Vacation Bible School program. Right in the midst of it she walked over to the pastor and asked him if she could sing a song! He said something funny and off the cuff like ‘There is no denying the leading of the spirit’, and this 3-foot-nothing, spirited little girl, proceeded to unselfconsciously belt out into the microphone every verse of ‘Jesus Loves Me’ that was ever written (and perhaps a few that weren’t), to an outdoor crowd of 150+ strangers! Talk about courage!! Her voice was as confident and sweet then as it was melodious and beautiful tonight. Sometimes you can be surprised the most by something that has been staring you in the face every day for the last 18 years. That happened to me tonight! I am the mother of a truly shining star, and the scales (if there ever were any) were certainly removed from my eyes! If you are a musician and you plan to ber here at The lodge on a Tuesday night, bring your instrument, and head over to the Wildcat Tavern (just through the covered bridge) where you can entertain an appreciative crowd.