Rock On Mama - Blog Off

One of the first rock concerts I ever went to was The Police.

It was in Winnipeg and I was oh about twelve or thirteen. I went with a friend of mine Lori. I loved Lori. She had fiery red hair, green eyes, and freckles and was older than me. She was street smart, funny, and she had a wild streak. That was the fun part of being around her. She was anything, but boring. The whole town constantly gossiped about her. But, it did not matter to me.

We made big plans. We were going to go parent free. Lori had connections and she lined up one of her buddies to fly us into Winnipeg. Cool.

However, the idea of going without supervision was soon squashed. My mom announced she was taking us and we were driving. Ugg.  

There we were for three solid plus hours my sister, my mom, in the front seat of the Jeep and Lori and I in the back seat. I believe mom let us listen to a rock station instead of Christy Lane but I really cannot recall. Lori smoked ciagrettes pretty much all the way into Winnipeg. I was too busy watching my mother. She kept looking at us with only that look a mother can give you in the rear view mirror. Happiness would not be a word that I would used to describe that look. (I just kept thinking one more false move besides Lori smoking her head off and the whole gig would be up.)

We stayed at the Viscount Gort Hotel right across from the Stadium. Mom gave us permission to walk across Portage Avenue by ourselves. That I could not believe, but what the heck when opportunity knocks, run with it.

It was not until we had crossed Portage Avenue when I turned around only too see my mother leaning over the balcony rail of our hotel room, with my sister standing dutifully by her side, that I had the feeling something was wrong. She had the look of terror on her face. I paused, waved, grinned, and kept going. Skipping across the parking lot I was on my way to my first real live rock concert and, Sting was going to be there. Yes!

Several years later I got tickets to Meat Loaf. For those of you know me I love Meat Loaf, Bat out of Hell is one of my favourites. I phoned my mom excited to share the news with her. Not having a clue about what I was talking about, she asked me, “Is that anything like that RCMP thing you went to that time?” I stopped dead in my tracks. In an instant. I flashed back twenty years, to the look of terror on her face while she clinged to the edge of the balcony. Oh Lord. “Yes, mom and that was The Police, not the RCMP.”

I got off the phone and burst out laughing. Poor mom, she thought we were going to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police event, probably the Musical Ride, and it was not until her first born was on her way that she realized that perhaps this was a little more than a celebration of civil duty. Too funny.

Regardless, mom had no choice but to find some trust. We did not get arrested and came back to the hotel in one piece. And, as solid as a rock, she never really let on just how worried she probably really was.

So, mama, this one is for you.

Be sure to head over to Busty's Blog Bust-a-Blog and see what she wrote about the picture I sent to her.