Look out Branson, here we come: A weekend on the town

(Howell County News - Willow Springs,MO,USA)

The envelope was small and it looked like it contained a card.

I assumed it was asking me to buy something, sell something, get a credit card or some of the other “quality” mail we get at the office.

I opened it, and the invitation told me that I was invited, along with a guest, to a VIP night for the Joe Diffie show, opening in September at Yakov Smirnoff’s theater in Branson.

I thought it was a joke, at first, and laughed.

“Hey Dave,” I called. “Wanna go to Branson? We’ve got free show tickets.”

I know my husband, and if anyone is more cheap than me, it’s him. Free was the key word.

We weren’t quite sure how being a newspaper family from the sticks qualified us as VIPs, but checked with the grandparents to see if they were interested in keeping our 1-year-old and 3-year-old daughters, who likely wouldn’t be able to sit still for two hours.

Soon enough, our plans were hatched, our reservations made and it was the day of the show.

We were on our way when Dave broke the news.

“I forgot my dress shoes. Should we go back?”

By that time, it was 11:30 a.m., and we had planned to leave at 10.

I assured him that the theater would be dark and no one would notice his tennis shoes. Besides, I said, we’ll never see any of those people again any way.

Allow me to explain something.

Though my husband and I were a few years apart in school, we both wound up graduating from college and leaving the great Show Me State for the military.

After his 10-plus years in the Navy, he returned to Willow Springs. I spent a few years in the Army, then working for different newspapers before winding my way back to the Ozarks.

During the years that we were gone, a certain phenomenon happened – Branson.

When I graduated from college, there still wasn’t much of anything in Springfield south of Battlefield Mall and Cox South was a new hospital sitting in a field by itself. And Branson, that seemed to be the home of Silver Dollar City and a show or two.

During the past few years, with jobs and various adventures – like having two children in our four years of marriage – my husband and I haven’t really made the time to explore Branson. We went last year to see the Christmas lights and went to see the Dixie Stampede, which our children absolutely loved.

Aside from a grand total of three trips to Silver Dollar City, that’s the extent of our Branson experience since the mid-1980s.

So, finally, we were at the theater.

“See,” I told my husband. “I told you there would be other people wearing tennis shoes. No big deal.”

He was still obviously uncomfortable, and that wasn’t going to get any better.

We made our way to our seats, checking out the theater all the way.

When we sat down, Dave decided to strike up a conversation with the couple seated next to us. While Dave is friendly enough he could have a good conversation with a stump, I prefer to be a little more low key.

As Dave was asking the couple where they were from and what they did for a living, I kept thinking he should be quiet and leave them alone.

When I heard the man say, “I have a music show here in Branson,” I knew we were in trouble.

As I was sliding down into my seat, Dave continued to ask questions – like the name of the show, the size of the theater in comparison to Yakov’s theater, and so forth.

We soon learned that we were sitting next to John Tweed, who sings at the Clay Cooper Theatre. Unfortunately, we had to admit we had never heard of him and hadn’t ever seen his show.

We weren’t exactly making new friends.

Thankfully, the lights went down and the show started. Led off by Yakov himself, the evening was packed full of Joe Diffie’s hits as well as great laughs by comedian Bob Nelson – someone we had heard of before the evening started.

The show featured some of Diffie’s hits including Third Rock From The Sun, Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox, Pickup Man, John Deere Green, Tougher Than Nails and more. Judging by the number of folks in the crowd – including us – who were able to sing along with the entire show, it’s certain the show will be another Branson success story.

But soon enough, it was time for Diffie to recognize some of the guests in the audience. Among the other guests were country music legends Larry Gatlin and Moe Bandy. Next, the spotlight shined on our new “friend” John Tweed – and my husband’s white tennis shoes.

We were beginning to think that our VIP invitation stood for “very insignificant peon” in comparison to the other folks in the audience, but somehow, we found it hysterically funny at the same time.

We also found ourselves seated three rows back from Joe Diffie’s parents, and were as thrilled as everyone when Joe’s dad took the stage to sing an impromptu arrangement of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” followed by his daughter Cara’s rendition of “How Great Thou Art” and his sister’s version of “Wayfaring Stranger.”

As Diffie’s show wrapped up and he launched into an encore, we decided to duck out. Yet on our way out, the theater usher insisted that we choose from the selections on a beautiful table of desserts and snacks.

I wasn’t hungry, but was thinking maybe being a VIP wasn’t so bad after all.

We were still lingering in the lobby when we heard Diffie announce from the stage that there were refreshments in the lobby and that he’d meet everyone there in a few moments.

Dave looked down at his shoes. “I think it’s time to go.”

I agreed. We could make new friends another day.

- For more information about Yakov’s theater, check out www.yakov.com. For information about Diffie’s show, check out joediffie.yakov.com or www.joediffie.com.