Happy 71st Birthday tomorrow to the amazing Reba McEntire! You know that spunk that you see during her live shows and on her TV show? Yeah, that’s how she is in real life. Here is one of my Rena stories:
I had never had the chance to see her live. It never failed. Every time she came to town for a show, I was DJing a wedding or something. I finally had the chance to see her when she played a show at DTE (formerly, Pine Knob). I was lucky enough to go back stage and meet her.
When I walked up to her I told her I had been wanting to meet her for years, and she said (in her wonderful southern accent), “Well, darlin’, here we are and what took you so long?!” Talk about an amazing person – Reba is that person. We talked about her music and a mutual friend that we have. Reba was the reason for that mutual friend.
When I was working at the Moose, I received a letter from a mom who said that her daughter was a big Reba fan. Her daughter had spinal bifada and she had bought tickets to Reba’s show at one of the casinos. She was hoping that she could get back stage so her daughter could meet her. I made a few calls to some record folks I knew and explained that I didn’t need tickets to the show, just two backstage passes. They made it happen. Her daughter was very surprised and that moment led to our friendship which continues to this day.
Anyone who has been to a meet and greet knows that they try to get you in and out pretty quick. There are almost always a line of people waiting to get their turn. When it was time to take our picture together, she pulled me real close and said “let’s make this one look REAL good!”. She hugged me afterward and I was truly in awe of her. She was about as kind and genuine as they come.
If you ever get the chance to see her, do it – she puts on one hell of a show!
Happy Birthday tomorrow, Reba!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 
Sweet!
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