“Gary, you really need to go to Lubbock,” my wife Arlene said to me one morning during our drive to the office. “You should try to meet some of Buddy’s family members face-to-face and visit the Buddy Holly Center.”
“I know, I know,” I responded a little more sharply than usual. “And I’m running out of time. I’m less than thirty days away from my deadline.”
“You have been talking about it for months. You better pack a bag,” Arlene said. “How can you finish this book and not visit his hometown in Texas?”
“I can’t, and I know that,” I sighed. There was so much to do and so little time. Resistance was futile. I was going to Lubbock.
We arrived at the office and within five minutes I was sitting at my desk calling Southwest Airlines’ reservation line. I always fly Southwest. It is hands down my favorite airline.
“Southwest Airlines, this is Peggy Sue. How may I assist you today,” said the chipper voice on the other end of the phone. (And as Dave Barry might say, I am not making this up.)
“Did you say Peggy Sue?” I asked.
“Yes, Peggy Sue,” she responded. “How may I help you today?”
I started laughing. Fortunately, the stranger named Peggy Sue laughed right along with me. And she knew why both of us were chuckling on the phone. “My parents were huge Buddy Holly fans,” she offered without me having to offer a word of explanation. “They couldn’t wait to have a little girl and name her Peggy Sue. That’s me!”
“You have to be kidding me. I’m flying to Lubbock, Texas, to finish up interviews and last minute research on a Buddy Holly book.”
“Really?” asked Peggy Sue. “Well, you called the right place. We can deliver you to Lubbock no problem, and provide all the peanuts you can eat,” she replied. I could almost see the smile in her voice.
We took care of business and booked my flight. When we finished a few minutes later Peggy Sue continued our conversation where we had left off. “I can remember my dad rocking me to sleep singing ‘Peggy Sue,’ softly to me,” she said with a special fondness in her voice. “As a gift, friends of our family took an old forty-five of ‘Peggy Sue,’ painted the black vinyl gold, and mounted it on a plaque with the words, ‘Welcome to the world, Peggy Sue,’ inscribed on it. My family—let’s just say we were big Buddy fans and we still are to this day.”
“Peggy Sue, I am delighted you answered the phone,” I replied with a genuine gush of enthusiasm. “Do you mind if I recount this story in my book?”
“Are you serious?” she asked before matching my own enthusiasm.
“Not at all! Just be sure to tell everyone Peggy Sue says hi!”
I thanked her and hung up. Buddy’s impact, large and small, is everywhere. No matter where I go, everywhere I turn I find Buddy.
I’m going to Lubbock.
Wish I could meet him.