OLD AGE, WILLIE NELSON AND SHERMAN'S KTXO RADIO

     I realized the other day, I do not look into a mirror that often.  When shaving, I study a portion of my face but do not take in the entire picture.  It is only when getting a haircut, when the barber turns the chair to the mirror upon completion and I take in the entire effect.  My haircuts take very little time and when I see my reflection, I again realize I am REAL bald and getting seriously older by the minute.  I have crinkly eyes, a grey mustache, and hair appears on and in my ears.  

     I still have a mental image that I am around 20 years old and am astonished how much older those around me are getting.  My bride and I went to see the band CHICAGO some time back and I was surprised how many “old folks” were in attendance.  Nancy pointed out they looked exactly like us!  WHAT!  I look like a 67 year old grandpa? 

     I have never been a good judge of women’s ages…anywhere from 15-55 they fall into a general category.  I was riding down the elevator with a young lady in our department at ANN TAYLOR in New York some years ago.  I asked what she was doing this weekend and she replied her family was throwing a birthday party for her dad, who was turning 60.  Like a fool I said, “You’re not going to believe this, but I am 60!”    She looked me over and said, “Yeah, I believe it”.    It was my own fault…but this woman could have been my daughter!  This does not coincide with my mental 20 year old image of myself.   

     I should have realized something was wrong when young ladies were offering me their seats on New York subways.  “What a kindly old geezer!”   “You remind me of my grandpa.”  Once I had a car picking me up and I forgot where I had told the driver to meet me.  I was walking around on a snowy evening, going corner to corner in the front of our building, looking for the identifying sign with my name.  One of the young maidens in my department came out onto Time Square.  She said, “Mr Sappenfield, are you alright?”    

     “Yes, I just forgot where the driver is picking me up.” 

   

     “Bless  your heart…do you want to wait inside while I find him?”  It would have been hateful of me to fire her…but it did pass through my mind.

    Recently Mizz Nancy and I went to a Willie Nelson concert.  Willie has still got it.  He is 85, was the only guitar player on the stage and even though he gets tired, he can sing/talk his way through his repertoire with ease, while knocking out some incredible stringed music.  But…he is 85!  He looks 95!  His older sister Bobbie plays the piano, is 86 and looks 20 years younger than Willie.  I doubt she has pursued many of Willie’s extracurricular activities over the years or suffered from the same life experiences.    

     I met Willie Nelson 50 years ago, when I was a 17 year old disc jockey at KTXO Radio in Sherman, Texas.  We were a 1000 watt, country western station that barely covered Grayson County.  ”1500 on your AM dial and number 1 in your heart!”  Willie and his band (The Record Men) drove into Sherman on a Saturday morning to play a dance at the VFW or American Legion that night.  They had driven all night from some south Texas honky tonk.  They were tired, dirty and smelled bad.  The dance venue was buying advertising time and wanted us to plug the event with an interview.  The only reason I remember the occasion was because he was the only white guy I had met in my 17 years named Willie.

     He was pleasant, looked like a country western singer of the time…trimmed hair, no beard, with a kind of “Nashville”  clean cut style.  He asked for coffee and we didn’t have any.  This was prior to my coffee drinking days and all we had was day old, cold coffee.  He drank it.  We went on the air, talked about the dance, he asked where he could get a chicken fried steak at 8AM in the morning and I directed him to the Travis Lunchroom.  I remember that because one of our sponsors was McCraw’s Restaurant and my employer was miffed I had not plugged them on the air instead.  Willie and his band left and I promptly forgot him.    

     I heard later he got fed up with Nashville, moved to Texas and retired.  There, he reinvented himself and the rest is history.  He is

now a legend, has grown those giant “old man” ears that seem to come with the male aging process and look like wings attached to his head.  He is balding (though not as fast as me), is stooped and is clearly tired.  But, he is WILLIE NELSON!  I doubt he could quit if he wanted to.  Judging from the crowd’s reaction, (again, it looked like a lot of old people to me) he could drag a Lazy Boy recliner onto the middle of the stage, sit, smoke weed, wave and the crowd would go crazy with joy…and still pay $100 a seat.

     Willie and I are both old, but we have made it this far…we both feel loved and are both grateful for the way life has turned out.  I hope you are loved by many.  The Lord loves you and I love you.