November 14, 2026
When I go to concerts, movies, or even on vacations, I’m generally doing everything as a solo venture because my wife Margaret rarely strays from her TV and couch. I’m under the impression that she gets her power from the energy of the TV, but it is quickly absorbed by the couch in which she refuses to move from. Therefore it’s all a continuous vicious circle that keeps her in a constant state of couch potatoness (if that’s a word). With that being said, if I can find someone who wants to do something with me as a buddy, I generally jump at the opportunity! Such an opportunity usually comes when I get a text message from my buddy Bill!
Unlike my former co-worker buddy Bill, who will contact me to go hang out at local music clubs with him, this Bill lives in the Dallas area, and instead of hanging out in bars and clubs, this guy takes in as many concerts as I do. A few years ago, I met this guy at an Alarm concert at a Dallas venue called the Gas Monkey Grill. This is not to be confused with Gas Monkey Live, which was a really cool, small venue. Although the two are close to each other, Gas Monkey Grill was a restaurant that had a outside patio/venue that could only squeeze in a few hundred people. Roughly translated, a freaking great place to see a concert! And this is where I met Bill.
Excited about watching the band, the Alarm blast through their songs Sixty-Eight Guns and Spirit of ‘76, I got to the place really early to be one of the first in line, and this is where I found Bill sitting on a folding chair at the front gate. Because he had a seat, I just assumed he was part of the venue’s staff. However, he was a fan just like me. A fan who had packed his own folding chair with him to sit on during the wait in line, and we immediately hit it off. Bill is one of those sociable chaps who’s never met a stranger. He only has to say hello to someone to become their instant friend. I’ve never seen him snub anyone, and as fate would have it, we discovered that we were the same age which means we grew up with the same music. This of course means that we both loved the 1980’s alternative band the Alarm, and for that night we were the band’s biggest fans in the state of Texas!
Over forty years of going to concerts I’ve chatted it up with tons of people at shows, but these social times had always come to a quick halt as soon as the band played its final song. These impromptu friendships generally ended with a quick, “You all be careful getting home.” With Bill though, we exchanged phone numbers for a little future concert texting.
A few months later the guy shot me a text, telling me that he had an extra ticket to an upcoming Gin Blossoms concert. To be honest, I had just seen the band a few months earlier, but I took Bill up on his offer and we had a great time! What’s interesting about Bill is that he’s a kindergarten teacher. I don’t know why I find that strange, but I’ve just never met a man who teaches kindergarten. Okay, that’s probably a sexist attitude, but apparently, the guy loves his job and with his energetic and overflowing personality, I only wish I could have had a few teachers like him back in my early years. I just remember all my old elementary school teachers being sadistic, old battlelacks who were meaner than hell!
Bill teaches at a private school in a North Dallas suburb which means that he probably caters to the children of the well to do, local professionals. “Yea, I get some great Christmas gifts from my students,” he once told me. He’s also relayed to me how putting together a respectable kindergarten Christmas play can get a bit awkward, considering so many of his students come from either Muslim or Hindu families. Yea, I can imagine that could play havoc with the average Christmas program. Indeed, a lot of things have changed since I was in kindergarten. My kindergarten only lasted half the day and was held in a church basement. As for programs, my stage debut in kindergarten consisted of me carrying a cutout of a baby chick across a stage.
Bill himself is pretty religious and attends church regularly. When he used to be on social media, he’d often post photos of himself dressed up in costumes for different programs that his church was presenting. If the guy hadn’t been an education major, I’m guessing theater would have been his calling. I also discovered he didn’t drink alcohol when some lady at the Gin Blossoms concert offered him a shot. In her mind, the local teenage band who was opening the concert was so bad that we all needed a shot of booze. Because Bill doesn’t drink a drop, he handed the liquid encouragement off to me. I didn’t think the band was all that bad, but I downed the shot with gusto regardless!
Whenever the band, The Molly Ringwalds comes to town Bill always shoots me a text. This a cover band who dresses up like their favorite 1980’s rock stars and delivers an evening of retro tunes that takes their audience back to the 80’s for a couple of hours. To join in with all the good times during the last concert, Bill dressed up like Freddy Mercury of Queen. And as always, by the time the concert was over he was on a first name basses with half the people in the venue.
Although I’ve never gone to any sporting events with Bill, the guy’s a big baseball fan and during the summer puts on the uniform for some good time baseball. A few years ago he met a lady on Tinder, and they hit it off. Their wedding took place on a baseball field with them saying their vows right on home plate! His wife is super cool and usually comes to concerts with him. The scariest part about her though, is the fact that she’s a serious runner and has converted Bill into such. “We have to go to bed by 8:00 every night,” he once told me. Apparently, she gets him up at 4:30 every morning so they can start the day off with an eight-mile run. Okay, that sounds like immediate grounds for divorce to me, but he seems to love it! Along with their love of jogging, they are also both big fans of 1980’s and 1990’s music, and whenever something comes to town that Bill thinks I might like he shoots me an invite to join them. Sometimes concerts can be more than just good music. They can be a great place to make friends!
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