My mother was a capital D Democrat and raised all of her kids the same way. One of my favorite stories about her was the time Kris Kristofferson called our house asking for her.
She was a HUGE fan of his my entire life. She didn't just love his music, she felt a deep connection to HIM. None of her kids, who grew up in the 80s and 90s, really got the allure until much later and we teased her endlessly about it. But because of her, he was part of her lives from our first steps.
Anyway, in the early 80s, she attended a concert of his and, although she was a married mother of four, she wrote him a letter and charmed a roadie into giving it to him. My mom was super smart, a great writer, and wickedly funny so I'm sure this wasn't just any run-of-the-mill fan letter.
A couple of days later, our phone rings during dinner. I answer it and a deep, gravelly voice asks if Paula was there. Thinking it was our realtor - our house had just gone on the market - I didn't bother to ask who it was. After what seemed like forever, she walks back into the dining room, leans heavily on the door as if she was afraid her legs would give out from under her, and says, "Guess who that was?" Sarcastically, my 15-year-old self shoots back, "I dunno. Kris Kristofferson?" She yells YES and then sinks to the floor.
Apparently he was so charmed by her letter that at their next venue, he decided to give her a call. My mom, stepfather, and her best friend had been able to meet him in person a couple of years before and she asked him if he remembered it. He said he didn't but before they got off the phone, he told her, "Next time, I'll remember."
Anyway, his death hit me especially hard since my mom died a number of years ago of early onset dementia at the age of 71. He was truly an incredible person and I'll always be thankful that he took the time to give her the thrill of a lifetime. I wrote about this call and my feelings about his passing here if anyone wants to give it a read: https://medium.com/@ambers628/the-day-kris-kristofferson-called-06b563ce6a83
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