Classic Blog Post IV...the final entry

Post Date: Monday, April 21, 2008
An evening under the stars

So I realize that I have not blogged in a while...so I figured that a real good embarrassing story about me should be just thing for those that are starving for a little "Ryan Gage Humor!"
This past weekend I was honored to perform with the local symphony for a fundraiser dinner for the community college. The location was wonderful. It was at the community college campus which is slightly hidden from the main road surrounded by trees and small lakes, etc... So, since the theme of the event was "Americana" I was asked to sing "God Bless the USA" and a Tribute to the Armed Forces.
Of course, I was feeling pretty good about the song selections. And I decided to wear a striking Red shirt with black slacks...which some say that color combo is considered power colors... So the they introduce me for the first song! Overall it went well and of course the crowd really enjoyed it. But then it went downhill from there.
I forgot to mention that the stage area was this huge white tent that was anchored into the concrete by these huge screws and cables. So there were cables and connections everywhere (by this point you where this is going). As I was leaving the stage with excitement, I was not paying attention to the walking path to leave the stage. The next thing I know, my foot was caught on one of those stupid tent cables....and of course I go flying face first into the ground!
Believe it or not, there is some good news to this! I tripped behind a huge speaker wall, so the majority of the crowd did not see me fall. However, the bad news is that there was one table of financial donors sitting at the last table of the front row, which was positioned just right so that they could see me make my shameful stumble to the ground. Of course there were the classics responses of "ooo" and "ouch." Then there was the classy lady that clearly had paid one to many trips to the bar. As she knocked over three wine bottles on the table to see me rolling in the grass, she replies, "Looks like someone borrowed some of our magic sauce girls!" which followed by the classic drunk dirty smokers laugh(You know what I am talking about)!
For those of you wondering, I walked away from the situation with no physical injuries...but emotional it sucks to be laughed at...especially when you finished a great accomplishment. And what are the lessons learned from this experience? 1. I personally need to stop laughing at other people! 2. Drunk people really can not be much help! So whatever you do...when you trip on something...the goal is to fall with grace, quickly pick yourself up, and smile until your cheeks hurt!