Meanwhile Back to The Quilt

This is the penultimate shirt on the quilt our friend Bev made for me from twelve of my favorite t-shirts. We got it at Neil Diamond’s 50^th anniversary concert here in St Paul. The rest of the tour was cancelled because he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He retired from touring but made a surprise appearance in March of this year when he took the stage at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas giving fans a rare show two years after announcing his retirement.

I have loved Neil Diamond’s music since our Tallahassee days in the 80’s. It is part of the music our kids grew up with along with Cat Stevens, John Denver, Johnny Cash, The Oak Ridge Boys, Willie, and many others. He is ten months older than I am (making him 79 right now) and has sold over a hundred million records. I love all his stuff. I don’t think there is one I don’t like, but my all-time favorite has to be “I am…I said.” It is the cry of so many of us, longing to be recognized for who we really are. 

One of his signature songs, “Sweet Caroline” is probably better known, with the added words from the audience “So Good! So Good” after Diamond sings “Sweet Caroline, Good times never seemed so good.”