I fulfilled a dream of many years yesterday and saw Garrison Keillor and his cohorts perform A Prairie Home Companion for NPR. I’ve loved Keillor as a writer since I was in college in the 1980s. I didn’t get into the show until later. Some of my friends find it too slow and languorous. Maybe that’s what I like about it.

I bought five tickets because I had friends who said they’d go. One of my rabbis and her rabbi husband (aside: if the wife of a rabbi is a rebbitzen, what’s the husband of a rabbi called? Seriously; I want to know) are fans. The other couple? Their plans changed, and I ended up with a couple spares. So I asked a friend of Mr. Right Now, Emily. She was excited because she and her grandpa had bonded over the show. So she loaded up grandpa and his wheelchair and we were off to Chateau Ste. Michelle winery in Redmond on a glorious sunny June day to see a man we all admired.

When I bought the seats, all I cared about was that they were reserved and actual chairs, not festival seating on the lawn. I’m not good on the ground. And Grandpa John might have found it difficult, too. Lucky us: We had chairs. Three rows back. If I yelled my love, Keillor would have heard me. And when Emily opened a can of soda? I bet it was heard nationwide on the radio broadcast.

The musical guests delighted: Seattle-based pianist Fred Kronacher, and Canadian duo Pharis and Jason Romero (from Horsefly, BC, where denizens are called Horseflinians, when we all know they should be called Horseflies) — I’ll probably buy the latter’s latest disc. It was fascinating watching the Prairie Home players make the sound effects that punctuate the Guy Noir stories and Ketchup Board commercials. It changed the experience for me. I’m sure I missed out on plot points during the “Fiction is Action!” skit while watching Fred Newman (with Tim Russell and Sue Scott) create the sound of a sperm whale in heat.

Nicest of all was spending time talking to Grandpa John. I’m not usually good with new people — the the point that I avoid situations where I know I’ll have to meet new people. But he was funny, engaging, and had great stories to tell about a life lived in three countries, on two continents. I’ll make it a point to hang out with him again.

As for Garrison and his crew? I was happy to learn that he is rethinking his decision to retire after this season. I’ll see him again next year if he comes. Maybe Grandpa John will be my date.

Interested in Garrison Keillor the writer? You can’t go wrong starting with Lake Woebegone Days, but Leaving Home and We Are Still Married are also great. Any of his books with the word “Woebegone” in it are good bets. Any of his books are good bets. Pick anything on this page.