Randy Travis is Not Dead
We settled back comfortably into our airplane seats, smiling at the hubbub and whispers around us. At the front of the plane, a country singer obliged selfies with strangers. His presence on our airplane was causing quite a stir. Things like that always make me curious. Do you suppose famous people enjoy the recognition that they always receive?
Featured photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gpKKqV2aDn8ov1vZA
February 20th, 2024 - TexMex Day 5
To be entirely transparent, I didn’t know who Randy Travis was when he boarded our airplane. When the whispers began flying around the plane, I Googled him. It seemed that many people believed that Randy Travis is dead. Numerous articles from disreputable Internet sources claimed that the country singer, once the victim of a catastrophic stroke, had recently passed away. If that was true, then who was the leather vest-wearing man sitting in the front row of the airplane? He looked very alive to us. How strange. It’s almost as if you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
The flight attendants loved Randy Travis and with good reason. The older man readily supplied smiles, kind words, and selfies to anyone who asked. As we shamelessly eavesdropped from our seats, one thing became abundantly clear. Randy Travis was a sweetheart. Tyler thought it might be neat to get a picture with him, especially since so many other people already were. This resulted in a whispered debate between our seats. Always a people pleaser, I didn’t want to bother the country singer. Many people had already asked for photos and I figured he was probably sick of them. Tyler pointed out that if he’d already granted selfies, he probably wouldn’t mind one more.
“Okay, but how are we going to get up there? Everyone is boarding right now.”
Tyler, ever the clever one, snagged a flight attendant as she walked past. “Is there any way my wife and I might be able to go get a quick picture with Randy Travis once boarding is done?”
The blonde flight attendant lit up. “Oh sure, of course! I’ll take you up there myself! He’s such a sweetie. We’ve heard that he flies from Dallas to Nashville pretty often, but this is the first time I’ve seen him. It’s so exciting!”
Sure enough, the bubbly stewardess escorted us to Randy once everyone had been seated. Randy was wonderfully gracious. His wife even offered to take the photo for us. We knelt down beside the country singer, assuming the sort of awkward angle that airplanes necessitate. It was hardly a flattering photo, but the act of obtaining it was an experience in itself. We had met someone famous! Even better, they weren’t a rude famous person! Truly, it was a lovely moment.
Earlier that morning, we had spent time learning about people much less famous than Randy Travis. In fact, if it weren’t for the efforts of the museum we had visited, the memories of many people may have been lost to time. Pecos, Texas was a town saturated in history. The town featured its own visitor center located in an old train depot. A yellow caboose still sat outside. Down the street, the West of the Pecos Museum brimmed with memories. When we swung open the thick old door of the museum -once the Orient Hotel of Pecos- the caretaker seemed surprised to see us. Standing behind an ornate counter that had once belonged to a drugstore, we could hardly see much more than the short woman’s wide eyes and fluffy hairstyle. I couldn’t blame her for her surprise. It was 10 AM on a Tuesday in February. Who expects museum visitors on a Tuesday? Despite her surprise, the woman slathered us with Texas charm. She was very excited for us to tour the museum. She wasted no time filling our arms with bumper stickers, paper fans, and memorabilia from the museum. Then, with another big Texas smile, she sent us into the museum.
The historic Orient Hotel stood adjacent to a classic Old West saloon. The museum had taken pains to recreate the saloon, complete with an animatronic barkeeper that began moving when we entered the room. Just like any proper saloon, there had been gunfights there. Carefully labeled bullet holes still adorned the thick wooden doorframes. A bronze plaque on the floor marked where a man named John Denson had died from a gunfight in 1896. In one of Tyler’s favorite shows, Gunsmoke, a man dies from a gunfight nearly every episode. Standing in a place where somebody actually died, however, is much different than TV. I found myself searching for traces of blood trapped in the wood grain of the floorboards. There was none, as if the gory reality of John Denson’s death was too much to display in a museum. We often make light of death, quickly throwing it into storylines and false Internet articles. In real life, death is a somber thing. It is good that museums exist. They help us to restructure our reality.
I find my reality most impacted by historical photos. There is something particularly interesting about seeing the faces of those long gone. It makes time feel more tangible to me. In the West of the Pecos Museum, there were many photos. There were photos of trains and old-timey cars. There were photos of big men wielding big pistols and bigger hats. There was a man standing in front of a cart of enormous squashes. My favorite photo showed a row of quarter horses wearing bridles and saddles. Atop each saddle was a cowboy. In the middle, a cowgirl squinted at the camera. Her jaw was firm, her lips tight, her hair softly tossed in the breeze. Her white shirt disappeared into the bright sky, as if even the photo itself was trying to erase her existence. A female cowboy, preserved by history for us to remember.
In short, what I mean is to repeat a platitude I’ve written before. If you find yourself with extra time before your flight home, find a meaningful way to fill it. I’d suggest a museum! Spending the morning in memory of generations before was a humbling way to gain perspective on our position in life. We are blessed to live in an era with air conditioning in the desert and cars instead of horses. We are blessed to have massive grocery stores instead of carts of squash. We remember those who have died in order to appreciate those who live. Sometimes, those who live might be a very kind country singer on your airplane. You just never know how life will go!
The story of John Denson, the dead man: https://www.legendsofamerica.com/john-denson/
The story of Randy Travis, the living man: https://www.randytravis.com/about
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