TURN UP THE VOLUME

As I was getting ready to enter the MRI, the technician asked, “Do you have a choice of music?”  I immediately answered, “Neil Diamond.”  When I came out of the MRI, the technician said, “I just knew you were not going to lie still when Sweet Caroline came on, but you did.”

It was hard to lay still!  I could direct almost every Neil Diamond song.  I know the breaks and when the verses begin.  I want the radio cranked up when Cherry Cherry or Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show or I Am I Said or Cracklin Rosie or … You get the idea.  I am a fan!

The first time I saw him perform was in 1996.  Bill and I had tickets to fly to Seattle and then I saw it.  NEIL DIAMOND WAS PERFORMING IN INDIANAPOLIS!  On the night we were to fly out.  (Big sigh.)  Things have a way of working out.  We changed our airline tickets.  Although the concert tickets were not the best, I GOT TO SEE HIM!!  Our tickets were almost behind the stage, I saw more of his butt than I saw his face.  I told Bill, “Doesn’t he have a great butt.”

The next morning’s headline, in the Indianapolis paper, read:  Women rate Neil Diamond’s butt a 10.  I am not kidding.  We saw him perform two more times. 

I turned a page in the Guideposts* and there he was.  A picture just like I remember him.  The story was about Neil Diamond raising $1.8 million to help the residents of Oak Island, a suburb of Houston, Texas.  What connection did he have with this community?  In 1966, at the beginning of his career, he flew into Houston for his first Texas gig and realized he had left his money in New York.  As he was trying to convince the rental car clerk he would pay later, his song A Solitary Man come on the radio.  He said, “That is my song.”  He sang a few bars and the clerk welcomed him to the great state of Texas and handed him the keys, no charge. 

Fast forward to 2008.  Neil Diamond returned to the area and saw Hurricane Ike’s devastation.  He donated the merchandise proceeds from his remaining shows, along with his own money, to help rebuild the community.

Often a kindness is given and there is no expectation of a reward.  I am sure the rental car clerk had no idea that her one act would result in a $1.8 million gift.

We are never sure when the smallest thing might have a big impact.  A smile might change a day for someone who thinks no one cares.  A card might give encouragement to someone who is grieving.  An invitation to church might save a soul. 

*Taken from the article: Solitary Man, by Kimberly Elkins and Adam Hunter, June/July 2023 Guideposts