A Story of How Jan Was Right and I Was Wrong

Have you ever seen the film, Yes Man? Such a good film that works on different levels. One level probably gets overlooked more than it should. The film tells you why it is important to be open to opportunities.

Here’s a story that happened to me recently to show why I was wrong and why my wife, as is usually the case, is right.

Beginning of the year, perhaps the end of last, my wife, Jan, tells me that The White Buffalo is playing Liverpool, and asks if I was interested. I declined, stating that I had only recently started listening to their music and that I didn't know that many of his songs.

Jump forward to my birthday, the big 4-0. I get tickets from my son, Jacob, to go see The White Buffalo. I was made up. I had been listening to more of his stuff and really liking what I was hearing. So, off we went, me and Jan. A meal in a really nice burger place, Almost Famous, please check it out, and then off to the gig.

There was a support band, L.A. Edwards, who were great, and who clearly enjoy what they do. Then The White Buffalo, accompanied by an amazing drummer, nicknamed The Machine, and a talented and very enthusiastic bass player, Chris. I swear, no one in that room was having as much fun as Chris. The gig was one of the best I had ever been to. Since I am not a music critic/journalist I will not try to describe the buzz and the electric atmosphere of that gig, but will simply say, go see for yourself.

At the end of the show, Chris, the bass player, comes back on stage, picks up the three setlists which had been sitting on the floor in front of each of them, scrunches them up and throws them, one by one, into the crowd. The first sails clear off to my right. The second went off to my left. The third sailed high into the air, a good amount of force behind it. I thought, “that’s gone.” Headed to the back of the crowd. And then, all of the energy of the throw died, and that ball of paper just dropped out of the air. I reached up my hand and took it out of the air as if it had been purposely thrown to me.

Pulling the ball of paper down to my chest, I turned to Jan and showed her.

“Did you catch it?” she smiled.

So I handed her the ball of paper.

“You tall bastard,” she laughed.

When the show finished, we hung around for a few minutes. Letting the main brunt of the crowd leave. Jan had also said she had read that The White Buffalo sometimes comes back out to meet the fans. Great! So we hung around.

First out was Chris. We went up to him, thanked him for such a great show and told him how much we enjoyed it. Then came The Machine. A super-nice guy who was equally as appreciative of the fans. As he said, to paraphrase, “It works both ways.” Both guys signed our copy of the setlist, and we got a picture with The Machine.

But there was no sign of The Main Man. Eventually, I had to reason with Jan, telling her, “If he was going to come out, he would have done so when there were more than six people left.” Yes, we were two of the last six people in that room. We headed outside, turned from the door and started down the street.

No more than ten steps from the door, Jan stops, gives a small hop on the spot and says, “Oo, oo, it’s you.” To which the bearded man to my right, holds up his hands, guilty of the charge for being him, and smiled widely. It was The White Buffalo.

Jan apologised for interrupting his chance to get some fresh air after the gig, and told him how I had caught the setlist, and asked if he would sign it.

“Oh, you got one,” he said, genuinely pleased for us. He took a pen from Jan and signed the setlist. Then, he took a selfie with us. He operated the camera, took a few pictures until he was happy that we had a good one, and then thanked us for coming to the show, pleased that we had a good time.

The whole interaction lasted no more than a minute, and then we were on our way. That setlist was framed and put on a shelf in our living room by the end of the night.

What is the point of this story? Easy, had Jan listened to me when I originally said “no” to going to see The White Buffalo, then this would never have happened. Instead, we would have simply sat at home, watched Netflix until it was time to go to bed, maybe read for a little while, and then go to sleep. It’s a no-brainer which scenario is best.

So, if an opportunity arises, and you’re a little 50-50 on what to do, say yes. In doing so, you are giving yourself the chance for something awesome to happen. And, this story is the perfect example of how my wife was right and I was wrong. But don’t let her know.