So here is my Randy Travis story. I am not sure what prompted this. I think it is my habit of talking to pretty much anyone. You are not a stranger for long, when I am around. Oh well, here it goes.
When we lived in Southern California, one of our favorite places to eat was the Ruth Chris Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. The food at all Ruth Chris restaurants is amazing, but this particular one also had amazing service. There is something special about a restaurant that does it all well. When you take a fantastic menu and prepare it to high standards consistently. Then you add impeccable service to that, I for one want to support businesses like that. This is why I am also a fan of The 315 here in Coeur d’Alene.
When we visited this restaurant, I would often have a cigar afterwards. The restaurant was only a few blocks away from Rodeo Drive, and of course since we went there for dinner, all the shops were closed. We would walk, window shopping in one of the most expensive shopping districts in the world, and never spend a dime. I especially appreciated that part.
It was on one of these evenings I met Randy Travis. We had just finished our meal. Buffy went to the restroom, in preparation for our stroll down Rodeo Drive. I was waiting at the front door of the restaurant with my back to the door, when he walked in. He spoke to the maître d’ and I immediately recognized him by the sound of his voice. He spoke exactly as he sang. His voice was so rich and full. I turned around and there he was. I introduced myself, shook his hand and told him I really enjoyed his music. We then got into a conversation about how he and his wife had just bought a place in Universal City, to be close to his new record label. We were just standing there chatting, when Buffy started to come back.
Now for those of you who have not lived in LA, seeing ‘stars’ walk around becomes somewhat commonplace. I use to work at the Disneyland Hotel, and they came to the front desk all the time. You see them walking around shopping and just doing ‘normal’ things. I was never really overly impressed with the ‘stars’. If I ever really acknowledged who they were at all, it was normally limited to something like, “I really like your work.” I figured they did not want a lot of unwanted attention. For the most part, Buffy always reacted the same way, but not this time. Randy was special.
As she started to walk towards me, I could see that look on her face that said, “Oh God, who is he talking to now?” I noticed that look and just smiled back at her. As she got closer, a look of recognition came on her face. She saw WHO I was talking to. As she came near me she started to stammer. “I… I… I…” and then her final and only words to Randy were “I love you!”. I introduced her to Randy and he shook her hand. His table was ready, so he left us. We started out the door and I just smiled at her and she said “I can’t believe I just said that!” We had a more than normal jocular discussion that evening strolling down Rodeo Drive. 😉
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