A couple of years ago Pop met this fella that has been singing songs for a long time. Pop said he’s even got a cassette tape of his music so that tells ya how long Pop has been a fan.
Here’s the story of how he and Pop met and a little message to all of us on the potential rewards of determination and persistence.
Pop has been working with an organization that maintains a very special city park dedicated to fallen military veterans. Those folks needed to raise money for their foundation so Pop suggested they have a big whoop-de-do dinner and show. The first year they did it was pretty successful so they decided to do it again. Through a series of happenstance circumstances, Pop managed to line up this afore mentioned fella whose music Pop’s been enjoying for years and get him to come here to perform. His name is Mac McAnally.
Mac’s been a solo artist but is probably best known for being Jimmy Buffett’s right-hand man on stage with the Coral Reefers Band for many years.
Anyway, this big, burly, red-headed, bushy-bearded, humble troubadour comes to town with his percussion accompanist, Eric Darken, and a dude to run their sound. The three of ‘em are nice as can be and Pop & the Missus really want ‘em to feel at home here. They had the pleasure of picking Mac up from his hotel and carting him to the event. After their sound check, Mac and Eric retired to the makeshift green room so Pop tagged along just to make sure they had everything they needed.
It’s important to know that this little concert took place less than 3 months after Jimmy Buffett passed away.
It was a little bitty room. Even so, there was an hour or so to kill and the fellas invited Pop to stick around. Mac and Eric asked questions about the organization that would benefit from the concert so Pop told ‘em all about the park and their mission to honor the fallen. They kinda made friends with each other in a way that those who will likely only ever be one time acquaintances sometimes do.
During that laid back time, conversation wandered and Mac was comfortable enough to eventually share some intimate thoughts. You see, he and Eric were still grieving from the sting of Jimmy’s passing.
Mac shared that he was gonna try to sing the last song Jimmy recorded called Bubbles Up. (It evolved into a life lesson after Jimmy had the opportunity to be in the helo dunker. Pop said that’s one of the training devices that Navy, Marine and Coast Guard helicopter pilots and crews get trained in.)
Anyway, Mac said he had never performed it and it would be his first time since Jimmy died and he knew it was probably gonna be very emotional. Pop said it was, indeed.
During their conversation, Pop had shared some snippets of his career as an aviator (which the fellas probably feigned interest in out of politeness) and made the comment that they were all lucky to get paid to do something they loved. Mac mentioned that that reminded him of another of the songs on their set list, It’s My Job. And then, Pop said, Mac got real quiet.
In that tiny, dimly-lit room, Mac was sitting in an easy chair and reflecting about his buddy. He said that when he visited Jimmy for the final time, Jimmy asked him to grab a guitar and play that song for him. So he did. It was the last song he ever sang for Jimmy.
When you listen to Mac’s beautiful guitar picking and absorb the lesson the lyrics impart, it’s easy to understand the messages Mac was trying to convey. First, do your best at whatever you do because no matter how much drudgery is involved it can be the stepping stone to something better. Next, how blessed some of us are that we get to make a living in a wonderful way.
My job is to help Pop in whatever ways I can. I feel pretty blessed that I get to do that because, despite the drudgery of cutting a pasture in the blazing heat or doggone near freezing my tail off during our wintertime chores, I love bein’ with Pop whatever we do. I reckon that makes me a lucky dog . . . just like Pop and Mac.