Sillly Putty (~THC~)
YoNewbie
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Registered: Oct 07, 2008
Posts: 1
Tue Aug 15, 2017 5:54 pm
A Squirrel, A Wheelchair & the Coolest Mom Ever
My overall, best concert was Uproarfest in Kansas City, KS. More often than not, half the fun is getting there…and our adventure began when we left her house. As soon as we walked outside, we found a baby squirrel that had fallen from the tree. We didn’t want to leave it for a likely demise, so we contacted animal control, who referred us to a wildlife refuge. You could tell it was frightened, but it was also so tired that it was passing out-cold. The refuge would not take the squirrel, but advised us on how to care for it until it could be released into the wild. Concerned about her dog, she spoke with her neighbor, who was to take the tiny squirrel and raise it. Off we went…although a bit behind schedule.
While at the show, although we arrived late, we were able to work our way up to the front row in time to see Stained. About halfway through the set and fighting to maintain our spot on the rail, we heard someone from behind ask if they could squeeze in. Our reaction was, “Heck N….” until we looked back and saw a kid in a wheelchair, and it wasn’t just any kid. This kid had been made a local idol after a picture of him had been circulated of him crowd-surfing in this wheelchair at Rockfest (the largest one-day rock festival in the nation, held in KC, MO). It isn’t every day that you see a crowd-surfer in a wheelchair, so we knew we were in the presence of a die-hard rocker! We happily packed in tighter to pull him up to the front…after our nostalgic selfie with him, of course.
One of our favorite parts of shows are the people we meet along the way. This show was no different. Before the main act, Shinedown, a woman with her 7 year-old son had worked their way up behind us. This kid was so excited to the see Shinedown, which he referred to his favorite band. He knew all of the words to their songs, which he was belting out during their set. When my friend and I had had enough for the night, we pulled them to our spot on the rail, so he could have the ultimate front row experience at his first show. His face lit up with so much disbelief and excitement, it will never be forgotten. Heck, I wish my parents had taken me to a rock show when I was his age! That mom deserves a Cool-Mom award.
I have been to more shows, collected more set-lists & guitar pics, and met more interesting people than I can even begin to describe, but this concert was THE most memorable. People Rock!