Little Richard

March 30, 2009

I was flying out of Nashville the other day. As I was walking into the airport I saw a big, black SUV parked out front and the driver was speaking to someone who was standing at his window. I looked closer and saw that the driver was Little Richard! I was truly star-struck. I waved and he waved back. There was a buzz all around the terminal as people realized Little Richard was there. He was wearing a bright lime green outfit and gold-rimmed sunglasses so it would have been harder to miss him that to spot him. It turned out that he was to be on our plane and since he's in a wheel chair now so he got on the plane first. He greeted everyone with a smile and a handshake and spoke a few words to each person who stopped to talk to him. All the passengers and crew on the plane were sort of awe-struck by him and he put everyone at ease by just being a regular guy (As much as a bona-fide Superstar can be!). One of the guys traveling with him gave me a book and an autographed photo of Little Richard. It was a Christian book telling the story of Christ. So I spoke with Little Richard on the plane and we chatted about his gigs and where he was headed. Then I thanked him for the book. He said, "You're welcome and God bless you." I said, "God bless you too." I started to walk on down the aisle and my wife was directly behind me. Little Richard looked up at her a split second after saying "God bless you" to me, saw my wife and said, in a low sultry voice, "Hey, how you doin', baby?" Now THAT was funny! He gave everyone on the plane some time and attention and we smiled all day because of it. Thanks Little Richard...