FAME!

A few years back, Dave and I went to pay our respects to a deceased friend at one of our local funeral homes in the neighboring town of Kaysville, UT. It was pouring rain as we walked out of the building. I found myself huddled with two other women under a small awning, waiting for our husbands to bring our cars around and save our hair from the torrential downpour. We stood there face to face, we three strangers. I broke the silence by introducing myself:
“Hi, I’m Cori Connors”, I said, extending my hand as I spoke.
One of the women responded rather timidly.
“Oh, I know who you are. You’re famous.”
“Oh my,” I laughed, “Seriously!”
“No really,” she said, “Everybody knows who you are.”
“Goodness, I’m sure I’m famous in Kaysville Utah.”
Her eyes were set on mine.
“No! No!” he went on, “I’m sure you’re famous in Farmington, too!”

Truth is, if I have any fame in Farmington it’s because I had an amorous relationship with Farmington’s mayor. (I still have a thing going with him…the former mayor, I should say).
I love my hometown. I love her tree-lined Main Street, her sturdy old courthouse, and the way she tucks herself into the rolling foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. Her beauty is polished by the goodness of the people who live here. We travel nightly through the heart of town to visit my mother’s grave, there under the restful arms of a sycamore tree.
A few weeks ago we visited her after the last of our Christmas concerts at the Farmington Arts Center. I missed her. How I missed her…singing along to every tune, her fingertips dancing to the rhythm, her eyes sparkling up at me on stage from her wheel chair in the audience. I am grateful to have this little piece of earth where her body rests; where I can ring the bell that hangs from the Christmas wreath over her grave. It’s like touching home base as we chip away at this game of life. I know she’s not there, in that cold Farmington ground. She is warm and moving and very much alive…somewhere. Just not here. I’ll join her one day. But for now, I am doing what I do the best way I know how…with the people I cherish…in a place that I love.

Thanks to you all for giving me a voice. For wanting to hear what I have to say. For at least humoring me. I know how rare it is, seriously, to have anyone in Kaysville…OR Farmington…or anywhere else, lend their ear to my music. And thanks to the Maker who gave me words and notes to sing.

I hope you love your hometown like I love mine. Follow the link below to read and hear Steven Kapp Perry’s podcast about our Hometown Concert this year, on The Cricket and Seagull Fireside Chat. Picture yourself at one of our concerts in the Farmington Arts Center. It features a song I wrote about my friend and neighbor, Jay Hess, who spent 5 years as a POW in Vietnam. It also features Merlyn Schofield, Mark Robinette and Kelly DeHaan. Who gets to be so lucky to play with these folks?!

Oh, and I’ll write later about the incredible evening I spent with Governor Herbert and First Lady Jeanette Herbert, where I received the Governor’s Mansion Artist Award. I loved having my kids, sisters, and that cute former mayor of Farmington with me that night! Wow, what a great month this has been!

A blessed Christmas and joyful New Year to you and yours. God bless us, every one!

Click HERE to read and hear the podcast, A Hometown Christmas.