By Jan Penton Miller
Columnist
When I saw that the Doobie Brothers were performing at the Niswonger Performing Arts
Center in Greenville, TN, I immediately hatched up a plan to attend.
Melinda grew up listening to my music from the 70’s and beyond so she was all in, and
sweet Dewayne graciously signed on to chauffeur us for a Mother’s Day outing.
I purchased tickets as a gift to my sweet girl, and we listened to Doobie Brother's songs
to get us ready to rock and roll with the band. We gleefully put outfits together that
looked like the seventies. This was such an easy thing to accomplish since so much of
today’s fashion is reminiscent of this era.
On the evening of the concert Melinda and I squeezed into our bell-bottomed jeans and
tried on piece after piece of jewelry to find the funkiest possible look. Finally, with our
hair and makeup done I felt as seventies ready as I could be almost 50 decades later!
As we rolled along the highway singing along to “Jesus Is Just Alright” Dewayne
innocently mentioned that we were going to see the Brother’s Doobie, a tribute band.
Just like that I felt the air seep out of my balloon.
“Oh no! I thought I bought tickets to see the Doobie Brothers.”
“Me too, Mama! I bet they will be just as good, though, maybe even better.”
I felt like sulking, but decided against that idea. We just rolled with it, and Melinda did the
same because she too was pumped about going to see the original band. Soon, we
arrived at the lovely Niswonger and took a picture or two to chronicle our adventure.
On our way to our seats in the balcony we met the sweetest lady. It’s hard to explain
how a chance meeting can lead to an open door to a new friendship and an opportunity
to share part of her story, but that’s what happened. I’m meeting her for coffee tomorrow,
and I’ll share later.
The theatre was almost filled to capacity, but fortunately the seats behind us were empty
so we didn’t block the view for anyone when we stood up to dance. Melinda and I
danced the night away along with one lady in the front row.
My girl laughingly said that we were in the 1 percent for having fun, and I had to agree.
We burned a few calories and enjoyed every moment of the music. Maybe some musical
genius could have determined that the sound was different from the original band, but I
couldn’t.
Several times I thought about how much fun it would be if the whole house were on their
feet, but we just kept doing our little thing. I chatted back and forth to a beautiful lady to
my left, and we exchanged information before the evening ended. I whispered to her that
everyone needs one friend who will dance when nobody else will.

Toward the end of the evening the band played China Grove, and the whole house
including my new friend was on their feet!