Because You Are

In my memory entitled ‘Mother Nature Rocks’ I talk about an outdoor concert with Bryan Adams, The Pursuit of Happiness and Paul Laine. During the break between Paul Laine and The Pursuit of Happiness, I was walking around and happened to see a member of Paul’s band. I stopped to talk with him and to compliment him on the show. He was a nice guy and treated me kindly. When I got home I sat down and wrote a letter to Paul. I told him how much I enjoyed his performance, especially the song ‘Doin’ Time’.

 

A few months later I had just settled down to watch a movie. I had also just taken a bite from an ice cream sandwich when the phone rang. I couldn’t chew the ice cream because my teeth are very sensitive so I awkwardly answered the telephone. This male voice asked for me and I said speaking. Then he said,

 

“This is Paul Laine.” I choked and spewed ice cream and chocolate wafer onto my light beige carpet. I didn’t have a cordless phone and there was no way I was going to miss this call so I stayed where I was and watched the mess soak into the carpet. For about an hour I spoke with Paul not concerned about what was happening to the floor. Hey, this was worth it.

 

A couple of years later when I was fortunate enough to meet Paul, I told him that story. He asked why I hadn’t just told him and then he would ended the call.  I looked at him incredulously and

very simply answered,

 

“Because you are Paul Laine.”