Luke, Jason, Piercings and Khaki Pants

I made my way to the Classic City this past Saturday night to attend the Luke Bryan-Jason Aldean concert at Sanford Stadium, home of my beloved Georgia Bulldogs.

For the first time in the 83-year history of the stadium, the venerable venue on the banks of Tanyard Creek was host to a musical concert.

Previously the stadium had only been used for Bulldog football games, graduation and as the venue for soccer in the 1996 Olympics.

I am not a huge country music fan. Most of my radio listening is either sports talk or news talk. I was aware that like me, Jason Aldean is a native of Macon and that Luke Bryan hails from Leesburg down in the southwest part of our state. I also knew that Jason Aldean has family here in Monticello.

Considering that it is a short drive to Athens, the local connections and the historic nature of the event being held in a place I dearly love, I decided to purchase tickets for my wife, daughter, my daughter’s friend and I to attend the event.

I spent a couple of hours before the concert with friends just like it was a football Saturday. I even had the opportunity to see some of our dearest friends whom I had not seen since football season.

Soon it was time for the concert and my wife and I made our way into the stadium. Our daughter and her friend sat separate from us. My wife and I assumed our seats and I noticed the crowd around me was bit younger than the folks with whom I sit at the stadium on football Saturdays.

Based on the configuration of the concert stage the stadium could hold about two-thirds of the usual football crowd for the concert so there were around 66,000 of us gathered by the time Luke Bryan came on stage.

As Bryan made his entrance two young ladies who appeared to be sisters came and sat next to me. Both of the young ladies appeared to be in their mid-twenties. The young lady sitting next to me had a piercing in her nose that resembled a ring through a bull’s nose. She had four piercings through her bottom lip and three piercings through her tongue.

I’m sure my wife chuckled under her breath at the contrast. Here sat a fairly conservative, buttoned down, United Methodist clergyman and next to him sat a twenty-something year old young lady that had a piercing in her nose that resembled a ring through a bull’s nose along with four piercings through her bottom lip and three piercings through her tongue. I will be honest. I felt a little out place in a place I consider home.

However, as the concert hit full stride I really began to enjoy myself. I discovered that I did know a lot of the songs of both Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean and I enjoyed singing along. I won’t call what I did dancing but I did bop up and down with the music.

I even engaged the twenty-something year old young lady that had a piercing in her nose that resembled a ring through a bull’s nose along with four piercings through her bottom lip and three piercings through her tongue in conversation.

She and I laughed at the antics of a fellow sitting in front of us. A couple of times she would even point out to me someone in the stands who was making a fool of themselves. We enjoyed the same songs and laughed at the same things.

The truth is that once I got past the young lady’s appearance I discovered her to be a friendly, nice, respectful young lady, at least on this occasion. I wonder if after the concert she told her sister, “That was a nice old man sitting next to me but he was dressed a little weird in his red polo shirt and khaki slacks.”

In spite of my experience I would be very disappointed if my daughter decided to pierce her nose with a ring that looks like a ring through a bull’s nose or any other type of ring for that matter.

I would be disappointed if she had four piercings through her bottom lip and three piercings through her tongue. No, I wouldn’t be disappointed. I would be madder than a rhinoceros with an abscessed tooth.

Yet, I was reminded Saturday night that in the end we really cannot judge books by their cover. I was also reminded that when all is said and done we will discover that we have more in common with each other than we have differences.

Sometimes I can get a little arrogant and obsessed with my own self importance; therefore, God reminded Saturday night that “The Lord does not see what mortals see; they look on the outward appearance; but the Lord looks upon the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7b NRSV)

I am thankful for that because sometimes I can appear to be a little strange myself, particularly when I’m wearing a red polo shirt and a pair of khaki slacks.