A Gift From Taylor Hicks

Taylor's Angels has heard so many inspiring stories this past year and a half from so many different people in the Soul Patrol. So, we have decided to ask some of them if they wanted to share their inspirational stories with you. This first story that we have collected is from Judy, aka JSNorris. Thank you, Judy and I hope the rest of the Soul Patrol enjoys it as much as we did.

I guess you can say, Taylor Hicks has given me a gift…actually several gifts, but one tends to stand out among the rest. That gift is Courage.

Before Taylor came into my world, I was content to stay within a certain “comfort zone.” I was a certified homebody…rarely venturing away from home and my husband, except to go to work. Taylor entered my life and the next thing I knew; I was making plans to meet other Soul Patrol members and making plans to attend concerts as far away from Birmingham as Seattle, Washington. I was getting out and about and actually having fun for the first time in a very long time…and making new friends from all over the country and Canada.

Believe it or not, Courage played a big role in all of these experiences since I am basically a very shy, introverted person. It took a tremendous amount of courage to put myself out there like I did…BUT, I did it and I’m a better person for it. However, there is one event where this gift of Courage made its biggest impact. Taylor’s concert appearance in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 4, 2007…and that requires a bit of a back story to explain the importance of this one concert.

In January of 1977, my parents decided to go to New Orleans to visit some old friends, eat some good Cajun food and listen to some good music. They flew to New Orleans on Friday, January 14 and had planned to return home on Monday, January 17, but sadly, fate had other plans for my parents.

Late on the night of January 15, they had stepped out of their hotel room to go get a bite to eat. As they stepped off the curb to cross the street, a car that seemed to come out of nowhere, struck my parents, throwing my Mom 42 feet and my Dad 72 feet…killing him instantly. I received a phone call around midnight informing me of the accident, my

Mom’s serious injuries and my Dad’s death. I had been told that my Mom would not be informed of my Dad’s death until I arrived at the hospital to tell her. That drive to New Orleans, in the middle of the night, was the longest trip of my life. At the age of 23, I would be the one to tell my mother about my father’s death…the total opposite of what I had always envisioned. Since my Mom had been seriously injured and was unable to do so, the arrangements to bring my Dad home and plan his funeral fell to me. Seems I had a lot of growing up to do that week and I had to do it fast…and I had to do it alone! After his funeral, I returned to New Orleans to bring my Mom home to continue her recovery in a hospital here in Birmingham.

As I left New Orleans that final time with my Mom, I told myself, I could never return to this city again…the memories of that weekend were just too painful. For 30 years I held strong to that resolve. Over those 30 years, I turned down many opportunities to go to New Orleans, but, I would not allow myself to return. However, little did I know that because of Taylor Hicks, I would indeed return to the city where my Dad lost his life.

Early in the summer of 2007, plans were being made right and left to attend several of Taylor’s concerts. Going to Vicksburg? “Yep, you bet!!” He’s going to be in Biloxi, you want to go? “Of course, I do!!” Then, my friend sends me a PM…Taylor would be making a stop in New Orleans that same week Are you in??? That’s when I felt myself slam on the brakes…hard!!! Oh, no, New Orleans? I told my friend my story and why I had never returned and why I felt I could never return to New Orleans. As always, she completely understood the way I felt and told me that it would be okay if I didn’t want to go. As the PMs went back and forth about the trip, I began to hear a voice that kept whispering in my ear, “Maybe, it is time to go back, you CAN do it.” I sent my friend a PM, telling her that I did, indeed, want to go. I mean what better place to see Taylor in concert than the city where his American Idol journey began. It was time to go back…and it was Taylor who had given me the courage to finally say “Yes” to a trip to New Orleans. I could no longer allow the events of 30 years ago keep me from having a good time, being with good friends…and best of all, seeing Taylor in concert. After all, New Orleans had always been one of my Dad’s absolute favorite cities…he loved it there. I knew my Dad would wholeheartedly approve…perhaps, it was his voice I heard whispering in my ear that day.

It wasn’t until we were in our hotel room, in New Orleans, that I realized just how important this trip was for me. I stood at the window of our room on the 38th floor, looking out over the city of New Orleans and tears fell down my face…first, in sorrow, for what had happened there in 1977…then, in joy, for what was happening that day in 2007…this time a much happier reason. Silently, I thanked God for helping me return. Then I said a silent, “Thank you” to Taylor Hicks, for it was because of him that I was standing at that window on the 38th floor of a hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, getting ready to see him perform in a concert later that night. Taylor Hicks had given me the courage to do something I thought I would never, could never, do again. I was finally able to put a piece of the past, a very painful past, behind me…right where it belonged. I think my Dad would be rather proud of me. I know I am.

Thank you, Taylor Hicks, for giving me the gift of Courage…as well as the gift of your music and the joy you’ve brought into my life over the last year and a half. I can’t wait t see what you have in store for us in the coming months.

Written By:Judy Norris (JSNorris) Published by: Leslie (lmo4taylor)

Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Soul Patrol, Taylor's Angels