Billy Joe Shaver.

Really?

Yep. We were shopping in the same music store, but I didn’t know it. I was too busy asking the young lady at the cash register if I could take pictures for my blog. She said sure, and did I know that Billy Jo Shaver just walked out? I managed to get this picture of him walking down the sidewalk (I had to shove Banjo Man out of the way).

It was exciting.

He wrote one of my very favorite songs in the whole world, “I’m Just An Old Chunk of Coal”. When I was barely 30, with three little kids and living in my town of 273 people, I would sing this song every day and get psyched up to become a romance writer. I sang that song at least 1825 times before I signed my first contract with Harlequin.

But I wouldn’t have told Billy Joe Shaver about that. No matter what my sons think.

Unlike the time I met Willie Nelson in an elevator in Tahoe and told him I’d named my son after him. 

I lied to Willie.  I could get kicked out of Texas for that.

In my defense, my son’s name was Willie, but he was named after his paternal grandfather.  And I was lactating at the time.  It was my First Great Vacation in five and a half years of motherhood and I hadn’t recovered from the excitement of discovering a television and a telephone in the bathroom of our Harrah’s hotel room.  Cornering Willie Nelson in an elevator was just the icing on the cake.

So if I’d had a chance to lock eyeballs with Billy Joe Shaver, I like to think I would have been cool.

Man, I like your work. 

You playin’ at Antone’s this week? 

Where do you get all those denim shirts?

Got any advice on buyin’ a lap steel?

Meet my son.  His name was Willie, but we call him Billy now.