As you know, when Team Batgirl learned that Lee Greenwood, universally beloved by the entire BG readership, was to perform at Treasure Island Resort and Casino this weekend we leapt into action and prepared the Batbus for the first Batgirl readership fieldtrip! The Island was indeed calling. And yesterday’s first-ever BG community outing was a huge success.

The fun got started early. On the way to Red Wing, community regular Skorch led a trivia game in which the answer to every question was Kirby Puckett. It didn’t take long for the clever BG community members to start getting every answer correct! Nice confidence boost given the Twins’ recent unsteadiness.

Somewhere near Hastings Jeb produced four hotdogs from a thermos and announced the Hormel Row of Fame. The winners were Wendy, Kathleen, kw, and She-Ra P.O.P.. Did I say winners? I meant Weiner Winners!

Thanks to the activities and general good cheer the trip went by quickly, but everyone was eager to see the great patriot himself--Mr. Lee Greenwood. Soon we were there, and while Goober parked the bus we all filed in bubbling over with anticipation.

But as the house lights faded a hushed reverence came over us all. With all of the emotion in the room I think a lot of the Batgirl readership unknowingly clasped hands. Others produced cigarette lighters. There were some tears.

The curtain fluttered. And then he was there. As the roar went up from the teeming Treasure Island Coconut Cove Lounge Lee played the opening chords of his lesser-known anthem, “Almighty Look After these United States.” We were enraptured. We were like putty in his hands, swaying and singing along. If you have Greenwood’s greatest album, Lord Protect the Union you might have expected his next number to be “Creator Smile on the States,” but you would have been wrong! Showing just what a thrilling showman he is, Lee changed things up and next went with “Adonai Care for the Land of Liberty.” He followed these up with late-90s hits, “Dominus USA Protector” (dance re-mix version) and “Prime Motivator Sanctify America.”

By this time we had been whipped into a frenzy. The only thing that could give us sweet patriotic release now was the song itself. At that moment we thought of all of the thousands of you, Batgirl’s loyal and massive readership, who couldn’t be with us. You may not have been there in person, but you were in our hearts.

And then it happened. Lee sang the words, “From the lakes of Minnesota...” It was even more beautiful than we’d hoped, than we could have possibly imagined. Loyal Batgirl reader Ron Davis stood on his seat and howled. Mmmarkiep tried to rush the stage in his ecstasy. el diablo wept gently to himself.

He finished. We had been taken to another plane of existence by the rapture. There were a lot of hugs. There were a lot of knowing looks. We’d been through a lot together; this shared experience of nirvana had transformed us. You can leave the Treasure Island Coconut Cove Lounge, but it will never leave you.

So, silent but still glowing, we returned to the Batbus to make our way home.

Returning, but forever transformed.

Posted by Jeb at May 31, 2004 06:07 PM