Our 14-year-old daughter Emma wasn’t thrilled some time ago when I told her that she was going to see James Taylor in concert in Kansas City with my wife and me.
I can see that. I mean I wasn’t thrilled last year when my wife told me that I was going to see Taylor Swift in concert with her and Emma.
It must be a “Taylor” thing.
At first I thought Emma didn’t want to go see James Taylor because she had to go with her parents and because she didn’t like James Taylor. Turns out I was half right. Emma didn’t want to go to the James Taylor concert with my wife and me because she doesn’t think we’re cool and because she is 14 years old. When you are 14 years old you never want to go anywhere with your parents. But Emma does not dislike James Taylor. She just doesn’t know who he is.
Wednesday night Emma told me that she was happy that we were going to Kansas City. When I reminded her that we were going to Kansas City to see James Taylor, she said she knew that.
“I hope there are some cute boys at the concert who like classical music,” she said.
When I asked Emma what classical music had to do with going to see James Taylor, she gave me a puzzled look.
“Doesn’t he play classical music?” she asked.
I told Emma that while many of his songs are classics, he does not play classical music.
“What does he play?” Emma asked.
I rattled off a few of his songs and Emma gave me a blank look.
“Never heard of them,” she said. “Has Michael Bublé done any of his songs?”
Sigh.
Despite Emma’s lack of James Taylor knowledge, my wife and I are looking forward to the concert. We have never been to a James Taylor concert. We tried to see James Taylor in 2003, but we had to get rid of our tickets at the last minute. And, oddly enough, Emma was the reason we had to get rid of our tickets.
This is what happened. Several months after we purchased our tickets, we discovered that the James Taylor concert was on the night before Emma’s first day of kindergarten. We might not be the best parents in the world, but even we realized that it would be sort of tacky to go out of town the night before Emma’s first day of kindergarten, so we sold our tickets.
What we did, instead, was sit out on our three-season porch and watch a James Taylor concert on DVD. It wasn’t quite the same.
I wrote a column about that experience, and now all these years later I’m writing another column about Emma and James Taylor. It’s sort of like coming full circle if you can call the past 10 years a circle. I prefer to think of those years as more of a rhombus, but “coming full rhombus” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
When I wrote that column in 2003, I talked a bit about Emma’s worries about kindergarten and I mentioned the names of several of her soon-to-be classmates. In about a month, Emma will head off for her first day of high school, and she remains friends with many of those soon-to-be classmates I mentioned in the original column.
I’m not sure what any of this means. I just know that a while back Emma was heading off to kindergarten and in a few weeks she’ll be heading off to high school. The temptation is to be a bit sad by all of this. To be a little wistful about the passage of time. But I’m resisting that temptation. The way I figure, time is supposed to pass.
And my wife and I finally get to see James Taylor.
Do you have an idea for Mike Pound’s column? Call him at 417-623-3480, ext. 7259, or email him at mpound@joplinglobe.com. Follow Mike Pound on Twitter @mikepoundglobe.
Local News
Mike Pound: Fire and rain and classical music
- Local News
-
-
VIDEO: Restore Joplin designer stepping up to help Moore tornado victims
The designer of the Restore Joplin T-shirts who helped raise nearly a quarter-million dollars for Joplin in the wake of the 2011 tornado has put together a similar design to raise money for residents of Moore, Okla.
-
Carl Junction officials weigh cost of proposed skate park
The public facilities and planning committee of Carl Junction met Tuesday to discuss plans for a proposed skate park near the site of the old public works barn on Water Street. The committee reviewed a design from American Ramp Co. of Joplin to get what committee chairman Tim Smith said was a “rough idea of layout and cost” for the project.
-
Mike Pound: Bernie’s in Avilla a classic tavern
I have a fondness for taverns. When I think of a tavern, I think of a small place with a simple bar, a pool table or two, a jukebox and a kitchen.
-
Jasper County approves renovation, building plans
Work is expected to start within two weeks on a project to renovate a county owned building near the courthouse for the Jasper County sheriff’s office.
-
Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
-
Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
-
Hired hand won’t face death penalty in Vernon County murder case
The state has agreed not to seek the death penalty against Jeremy L. Maples in the murder of Belinda J. Beisly, but prosecutors have yet to take the option off the table for the victim’s husband, Bob T. Beisly II.
-
Families in Moore, Joplin linked by disasters
Zach Woodcock knew the storms were going to be bad on May 22, 2011, so turning on the Weather Channel was a natural. What he saw filled him with fear. The Moore resident’s family lived in Joplin, Mo.
-
Community gearing up for two-year anniversary ceremony this afternoon
With the playground full of children, it could be any other day at Joplin’s Cunningham Park, but the white tents popping up and neat rows of white chairs lined up nearby indicate something more is happening today.
-
SMB sets up fund for Moore, Okla., storm victims
Southwest Missouri Bank has set up an account so area residents can donate to storm victims in Moore, Okla., which was hit by an EF-5 tornado on May 20.
- More Local News Headlines
-
VIDEO: Restore Joplin designer stepping up to help Moore tornado victims
