Once upon a time In the 70's My dad, Grandfather, two of my uncles and a few cousins all worked
for the Hollywood bowl in Los Angeles ,California.Obviously Nepotism was at its finest at the Bowl
There jobs consisted of setting up the stage for all upcoming events and groundskeepers.
They would often come home with free tickets to one show or another. Most of those tickets were way too far from the stage but one day they all got tickets for us to see a show called " Nosotros ". It was a international concert and our seats were front row, box seats.
The Master of ceremonies was on stage. He was giving a shout out to someone in the audience and when that person got up from his chair it was Lorne Greene from the old Bonanza TV show and he was sitting some six rows behind me. I thought that was so cool!! :-)
The show had so many Super stars from Hollywood, South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Among the line up were Mexican greats Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre. The Actor Ricardo Montalban was one of the announcers.
The whole night was amazing but the two people that will forever stay in my memories were Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I was so excited to see them. I grew up watching "I love Lucy" reruns and I sure did love lucy.
It's been so many years but I can vividly remember how absolutely Beautiful she was. I was in awe of her. Totally starstruck. She has always been one of my heroes.
Desi Arnaz (AKA: Ricky Ricardo) sang and played his conga drums to his signature song Babalu. That was great but nothing can beat Lucy when at the end of the show she asked for everyone at the bowl to light up match or lighter at the count of three.
Well at the count of One all the lights went off and we were left in total darkness. On the count of three we did as she said. I immediately turned around to look up at the audience and I will never forget seeing
literally thousands of lights flickering in the night. That was so amazingly beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. I can close my eyes and still see it. :-)
I've been to many concerts and shows throughout the years but this one was without a doubt my favorite. This is the story I never get tired of telling.
P.S. Most of the greats I saw that night have passed away and sadly that includes my Father and Grandfather.
So I thank you for this contest. It made me relive that night all over again. It's a little bittersweet but I can't help but smile at the memories. They live on in me. :-)
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