The Daver

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Sir James Paul McCartney walked toward me with his hand outstretched. His wife Linda was holding on to his left arm at the elbow, watching her footing on the snow covered drive. "You moost be Dave!" He said in that voice we all would recognize if we were blindfolded and hard of hearing. "I'm Paul.... this is my wife Linda". She glanced up, said hello more with her eyes than her voice. I didn't tell him how ridiculous it seemed that he introduced himself. "Welcome to Idaho" I said in a voice more solid than I had feared. Paul had put me at ease. “We’ve heard a lot about you!” Paul said. “Thanks for your hospitality. Loovly place you have here!” “Why thank you!” I responded chuckling at his joke that the estate belonged to the servant. “I’m glad you approve! Let’s get you settled.” Paul’s personal assistant caught up to us at that moment and our attention turned towards the usual orientation the guests required. The following 5 or 6 days in the recording studio have faded in my memory, but I have a very clear sense that Paul brought a bit of calm to the storm. All of the studio personnel were on high alert. Our boss was known for his keen attention to detail and none of us wanted to miss a beat. Paul was gracious enough on a number of occasions to mix humanity with the insanity. He returned several times in the following 2 year period. His son and daughter came with him on one occasion (and without him on another). One day I got a call, “Paul McCartney is coming in for a few hours today, I need you to drive him back to his jet after the meeting”. So, there we sat in the front of the Suburban for nearly an hour, talking about things you and I would talk about. “Do you have pets?” I told him about my 3 dogs, cat, and African Grey Parrot and he told me about his dogs, sheep, horses, and farm animals. He had such an affectionate way of speaking about the animals I began to understand that part of what we all love about him is his willingness to love “Out in the open”. Yeah, THAT”S IT!! He didn’t care who knew that he loved his wife, his kids, his music…. Whatever!! He shook my hand and said "Thank you" and "See you later" with the sincerity that I now took for granted. “Looking forward to next time!” I said. But that time has not yet come.