Forever in Blue Jeans

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose mother loved Neil Diamond, so of course the little girl was taught to love Neil Diamond.  That little girl grew up and took her mother to her first ever Neil Diamond concert in Las Vegas, NV.  And mother and daughter still enjoy listening to Neil Diamond together…the end.

Needless to say I was the little girl and my mother happily indoctrinated me while growing up.  My mother was the custodian for our church building in our very small town.  My father was the Bishop when the plans were being made for the design of the chapel and cultural hall, and he designed the sound system in both areas.  The cultural hall had a setup where you could just plug in a tape player of your choosing and play music using the 24 speakers in the ceiling.  My mother, on certain occasions, would take advantage of this set up while cleaning the building. 

I was often at work with my mother as I was still very young when she had to start working, and I spent days with just me and my mom.  Anyway, one day I was in one end of the building when I heard the music start…and I ran to where she was.  The first time in my life I heard “Forever in Blue Jeans” while standing in the middle of that cultural hall while all 24 speakers were playing it.  It reverberated throughout my small body and changed my life forever.  This is when I understood 2 truths:  1^st, that Neil Diamond should never ever be played quietly.  And 2^nd, that while cleaning nothing is a better motivator than Neil Diamond.

When we moved to California we could never afford to go see him in concert…and time passed.  I was attending UNLV in Las Vegas when I discovered he was playing at the MGM Grand…around Christmas…and Mom and Dad were coming for Christmas.  It was my gift to her.  So 2 days after Christmas we went to be part of a 14,000 person audience singing “Forever in Blue Jeans” right along with Neil Diamond.  This is one of those moments in time that you never forget, and cherish always.

Recently my husband bought me a new speaker system for my computer and when we got it all set up with the rear speakers mounted on the ceiling, the first thing I did was bring my mother up and sat her in the chair to listen to “Forever in Blue Jeans” in surround sound.  We reminisced about the cultural hall all those years ago and then again about that concert at the MGM.

Here’s to you Mr. Diamond for bringing a mother and daughter closer, and for giving us “Forever in Blue Jeans”!