A couple of weeks ago Collin Raye did a free concert at Draper City Days.  That's right - free, at Draper City Days. Make what you want out of that, but I grew up on Collin Raye.  When I heard about the show, I told my mom who became excited and started making plans to go.  I mentioned it to my friend, Talia who, to my surprise, also became overly excited.  She told me, "I love his song 'Meet in the Middle'.  I want to go, too."  I figured I better go with my mom and Talia in order to make sure things didn't get too weird, and that both of them went home to their husbands.  My sisters, kids and sister-in-law, Ana, also came with us.

It turned out to be a lot of fun with a lot of singing, dancing and audience participation - at least from our camping chair section.  At one point, my mom and Talia schmoozed a member of the AP and got to move the front row in the reserved section.  Maybe not as big a deal as it sounds seeing as how it was a free concert for Draper City Days.  I missed a lot of this part because I was back on our chairs holding a sleeping baby, but this is the story as it was told to me:

Talia, now right next to the stage, begins yelling, "Sing 'Meet in the Middle'", every time anyone in the band happens to glance her way.  The drummer starts staring at her, so she's sure he must have heard, but still, they don't sing her favorite song.  The concert ends and the everybody leaves the stage.  Then, the crowd calls them back for the obligatory encore.  Talia triples her effort in yelling for 'Meet in the Middle'.  A few times she even makes eye contact with Collin Raye.  He must have heard her but he just smiles at her and sings two differen hits.  Finally the band and singer end the concert for real.  The stage and crowd are relatively quiet and then Talia really starts in.  Thinking she's been deliberately and personally slighted by Collin Raye she starts saying, "Really?!  No 'Meet in the Middle'?  I can't believe this!"  Someone surely heard her this time because it is so much quieter and she is so, so loud.  Not just this time, but always.

A few minutes later, she and my mom are hanging out behind the stage hoping to see the singer walk from the stage to his trailer when Talia starts singing 'Meet in the Middle' out loud.  Maybe as a way to show how hurt she is, I guess.  My mom stops and says, "Oh Hon, Collin Raye doesn't sing that song,"

Talia booked it over to where the rest of us were waiting and starts asking all of us if it's true.  I have no idea, and tell her so.  Apparently neither did anyone else...except my mom.  Turns out she was right.  It made sense, though.  Talia wanted to die, and that was enough to make me laugh for days after.  It was the funniest thing that happened that night...except for maybe my dancing streak that Bailee caught on her cell phone camera.  And just in case you happen to see that blasted video that Bailee swore she wouldn't show anyone but everyone in my family's seen, I swear it would make more sense if you could hear the music in the background.  Way more sense.  You would all be encouraging me to try out for something probably.