The Start of a Beautiful
Friendship
By Jan Lopreste
My second convention experience took place on the Royal Caribbean
Cruise ship Soverign of the Seas, for the 1st Annual Highlander
Clan Convention at Sea. It was my first trip away from my son for an event
and I was pumped!
Most of my time was spent with friends, or assisting the event staff as a
volunteer. I did have a great encounter with Mr. Jim Byrnes and it went
like this...............
I was soon to become aware that I was recognizable as someone
"connected." One of the other fans on the ship came to me to ask
a favor. She had a friend back home who was dying of cancer, and all this
friend wanted was an autographed picture of Jim Byrnes. This lady asked if
I would obtain that for her. I said I would be happy to, but that I was
certain that Jim would be happy to interact directly with her....she
didn't need a go-between! She
said that she was far too shy, gave me the picture and her cabin number
and thanked me for handling it!
I mentioned the exchange to Jim a bit later, just before he took the
stage for one of his kickin' shows, and he said to bring it to him
sometime during the weekend and he would be happy to sign it. We both
forgot about it for a time. It was not until *very* late that night ~
approximately 2am, when I was up on deck with some of the Staff relaxing ~
that the need was brought to my attention again.
Jim called to me from the group where he was sitting, using my uncle's
favorite nickname of "Janny" to catch my attention. He motioned
me over and asked if I had that picture with me. When told that it was not
ON me, he asked me to please go and get it. He was not able to get it out
of his mind and wanted to take care of it right there and then. When I
fetched it and came back to him just awhile later, Jim held out his hand
to me and pulled me down to sit beside him. He did not release my hand
right away. He asked me to explain the situation to him again, and just
thought about it for a minute.
"That's what she asked for? Just a signed picture of me?" He
was
dumbfounded. I said that this was, apparently, something that would make
her very happy. He squeezed my hand and said he was honored, but that he
had no idea what to write. I suggested that he simply write what was in
his heart, as he did with his music.....the same music that had also
touched this woman's soul. After he signed the picture, he looked at me
with what I swear
were tear-filled eyes (but it was hard to tell in the moonlight and dim
lighting of the ship's deck) and he thanked me for making this happen for
her. It was then that I realized what a sweet and caring man Jim Byrnes
really is. "Yeah, yeah, yeah" <g> he likes to play at
being a real curmudgeon, and says that he just "doesn't get it"
about why folks love him so much, but *this* is why. He is a real man, and
he feels with real emotions and real heart. I feel honored to call this
man friend.
Look for lots more Jim Byrnes stories to come, and one of these days I
will tell y'all about how my title of "Mountain Mama wif da GOOD
Hillbilly Hugs" came into being! ;-) Next time? My cruise encounter
with Peter Wingfield.....and a lump of coal. <g>
Watch for site updates, and visit again real soon!
