Joseph William Perry

A Humble Man

A few days before Christmas I went to the airport early in the morning to pick up Charlie and Mary coming in from Alaska. As I waited on the public side of the security gate I saw a guy with a guitar preparing to sing some songs. He took his place on the "Arts at the Airport" stage while a helper set the sound levels on the P.A. system. As he began his first song I thought, where does this man get the wherewithal to do such a difficult job? Fleeting passengers and distracted bystanders are not exactly my idea of the ideal audience. I leaned against a large round post across the way and listened. Doesn't he care that people are walking by without even looking at him? Doesn't he feel insulted seeing people stand up and walk away in the middle of one of his songs?
After the first couple songs the people warmed up and began to notice him. Eight in the morning is a little early for show business but this guy Jason was up for it. I studied the stand set up beside the stage, noting his name. I wanted to spell it right because I already knew I would write this story.
So the long and short of it is... Jason Parchert capably performed originals mixed with standards like "Blue Christmas" and I secretly admired (well, not so secretly really) the way he was serving the public, his city and the music industry.
Well, I had my little camera with me so I went around to the left side and, after one of his songs, asked him if I could photograph him. Jason Parchert turned and let me get a nice shot. I told him I wanted to get a picture of a humble man. And to my way of thinking I did.

Addendum one: I posted my first draft of this story on the 27th of December. Just two days later I got a note from a lady (a friend and loyal fan of Jason's) asking if I was serious or sarcastic. Did I really admire Jason and did I really mean humble. I answered her right away that I was sorry I was unclear; I certainly meant humble and I would edit the story for clarity, which I did.
Addendum two: I was amazed that Google had picked up my story so quickly and that it came up number six on the first page of results. Just goes to show the power of the internet sometimes.
Addendum three: I found Jason's home page and learned a lot about him. It seems that he is a Christian country artist and a brother in the Lord. Check out his web site: Jason Parchert Home Page.

Copyright © 2003 Joseph Perry, Greyfort Publishing

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