Green Alligators & Long-Necked Geese

Each June my extended family vacations together in Hilton Head, and we have many beach traditions.  The children are particularly fond of the Gregg Russell show in Harbour Town.  For those of you unfamiliar with Gregg, he is a “rock star” to the Hilton Head crowd.  For the past 36 years, Gregg has performed almost every summer night under a beautiful oak tree that has survived many storms and hurricanes.  Families dress up in their beach best - Lilly Pulitzer, hair bows, seersucker, smocking galore - and arrive early to get the kids good seats on the stage.

Lucy sings for Gregg and the crowd in 2007.

Because our rentals are in Harbor Town, we don’t have to drive in and plan our evening around Gregg.  We just walk out the door.   This can be good, but it can also be very, very bad.  For many years, my sister and I have taken the kids to “see Gregg”  four or five nights out of seven.  We have a frighteningly deep knowledge of his jokes and songs.  We MIGHT be a bit jaded about the whole thing.  Yet I still get chills when he sings the opening song.  "I love this harbor, and it means so much to me..."

After Gregg sings and gabs, he picks children to sing.  For the kids, this is both an honor and a rite of passage.  The younger ones usually sing “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” or “Twinkle, Twinkle.”  As kids get older, they might chose to perform “Take me out to the ballgame” or the fight song for their parents’ favorite team.  Right about the age that a child might sing an awkward version of a pop hit, or throw in some alarming dance moves, they transition to a new group – too old to sing; time to lead hand motions.   The regulars know the hand motions to several songs.  They practice to his CDs.  They are ready to be chosen.

Imagine my joy this year after sending Lucy, Macy and their cousins to the stage and taking my regular seat with my sis on the steps, to be rushed by non-other than Shannon Muse Baxter and her mom, Geri.  We have never overlapped vacation weeks, but the Muses moved their whole schedule around so that they could be in Knoxville for our reunion.  (That is devotion.  That is loyalty.  That should motivate you to show up.)

Shannon and I barely had time to chat before the show started.  But it was easy for me to pick out the Baxter girls.  They look just like Shannon (and their Christmas card photos).   I was so excited when Gregg Russell chose Meg Baxter to demonstrate “Green Alligator.”  She totally killed.

Shannon was pregnant with Meg at our ten year reunion.  She was healthy and glowing, stunning really, albeit chagrined to attend our event well past the baby-bump stage.  Watching Meg, I could literally SEE how much time has passed.  I was just buying her baby gifts and now she has two arms, two legs, can walk and talk and do a mean green alligator.  AMAZING.

Time is flying by.  Yes, reunion planning gives me a heightened sense of time, but the last ten years passed in an instant - ten trips to the beach, possibly 40+ Gregg Russell shows and Meg Baxter’s entire life.  I felt so blessed to have this unexpected time with Shannon, and to be present when Meg made a memory.  I can’t wait to see them again.

For those of you who need an extra dose of cute, you can check out Macy singing with Gregg in 2010.