Genealogy Saturday

Saturday my friend, Kay, went with me to a Genealogy seminar, which was hosted by the Williamson County Genealogy Society at the Round Rock United Methodist Church. The presenter was none other than Josh Taylor, host of TV's Genealogy Roadshow.

There were at least 200 people in attendance. The Methodist Men's Group cooked and served lunch - homemade lasagna - and cleaned up afterward. Way to go MEN! The facility was a perfect place for a large group like this, and the outdoor grounds were beautiful. At every break Kay and I strolled around outside. The weather was sunny and warm.

Our own Bell County Genealogy Society had eight members who attended the seminar.

This massive tree gave shade to the courtyard

Both Kay and I fell in love with this statue of a little boy reading

Just Call Me "Admiral"

Friday, March 17, St. Patrick's Day, was a special day for me. In my mailbox I found my copy of the book that I prepared for the printer (See here), Minatare Memories: A Historical Account of the Tabor-Minatare Community of Western Nebraska. I was so relieved, after sending off a flash drive with the entire formatted book, to be told by the print shop that it was perfectly print-ready! And now I have the finished product in my hands.

The authors are having their book launch this coming Saturday, and they are quite excited. There will be book signings, newspaper articles, radio and TV interviews, and public meet-and-greets. They already have so many pre-sales that they believe they will have to do a second printing right away.

Along with my copy of the book came a surprise. It was a certificate, signed by Nebraska's governor, Pete Ricketts, appointing me an "Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska." This is an honorary title bestowed, by the Governor, upon individuals who have contributed to the "Good Life" of Nebraska. I consider it an honor :-).

The text of the certificate describes my authority this way:

And I [the governor] do strictly charge and require all officers, seamen, tadpoles and goldfish under your command to be obedient to your orders as Admiral - and you are to observe and follow, from time to time, such directions you shall receive, according to the rules and discipline of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska. 

Willie!

Last night we met for dinner, at Olive Garden, with two other couples from church and then went to the Willie Nelson concert at the Expo Center. In honor of the Bell County Expo Center's 30th anniversary, they sold all tickets for only $30 apiece. The tickets went on sale on December 2, and were gone 11 days later. Sadly, Dan and I were too late, and missed out on tickets.

But thank goodness for good friends! Andy and Kay had bought tickets for themselves and two other couples from church, but in the end, one of those couples couldn't make it, so we got to buy their tickets from Andy.

I was really looking forward to it. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of Willie, but over the years he's done some songs that I really love - Always on My Mind is at the tip of my list. And, as I've said several times, "He's almost 84 years old, and he's a legend who won't be around forever." 

I guess he's already been "killed off" by Facebook and the Internet a number of times over the past few years. Those hoaxes prompted him to write one of the fun songs that he sang last night: "Still Not Dead Again Today.":

I woke up still not dead again today

The internet said I had passed away

Well if I died I wasn't dead to stay

I woke up still not dead again today.

I showed up to the Expo Center with my compact Sony camera, with a fully charged battery and its incredible zoom lens. Willie stepped on stage and I pulled it out to take my first shot . . . and that's when my camera gave me the sad message: "No Memory Card." I had left it at home (not the first time I've pulled this trick). I was so disappointed. Our friend, Andy, overheard me tell Dan that I forgot my memory card, but apparently misinterpreted what he heard. He said, "I think Kay may have one in her purse." Yea! Strange that she'd carry one in her purse, but what a lifeline that would be. Andy leaned over to Kay and whispered to her, and next I saw her digging in her purse. In no time she proudly held up . . . an emery board! I actually started to reach for it, and then burst out laughing. That Emery board just wouldn't fit in my camera's card slot! Ha! It was sort of like playing "gossip."

So, long story made short, all I had to take pictures with was my iPhone. I didn't get any good pictures of Willie, but got a few rather fuzzy ones.

The concert was really good. I had come with fairly low expectations, but he definitely exceeded them. He sang song after song, with almost no break between them. It was over an hour's worth of pure Willy Nelson. He did sing my fav, "Always on My Mind," along with some other old favorites, "Georgia on My Mind," "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," "Funny How Time Slips Away," and, of course, "On the Road Again." I was tickled at how he juxtaposed some great gospel music alongside of "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die." LOL

I'm really glad we got to go. Thank you Bell County for selling such reasonably priced tickets to everyone. And thanks to Willie & Family for a pretty amazing concert.

The Expo Center was filled to capacity. We had pretty good seats, just to the left of the stage.

Our seats were just to the left of the stage. This picture was taken from my seat.