Taylor Hicks - Do I Make You Proud....YES!!!!!

American Idol is a mainstay in this household as well as with the rest of the family. Avid watchers, we have voted, screamed at the voting, and cheered on most of the idols. We voted for Kelly, Clay, Diana, Taylor, Carrie, and Jordan. We have seen most in concert at this point and last night, we added another to our list. Taylor Hicks (Dawson's fave from the audition stage) solo who appeared at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. We were fortunate to see Idols on Tour where he and the entire top ten appeared. We had track seats and were able to get many good pics of Taylor. What a ball of energy. Some artists look and sound different in person but not Taylor. The one big surprise was his loss of weight since the show and his new dancing abilities. That boy can keep an audience entertained. You never knew whether he was going to sing, play the harmonica, or break out the guitar. Afterwards we were going to leave but noticed that some had gathered on the side of the stage where the singer's buses were. We had a clue that possibly with the small group remaining that Taylor might stop out for some autographs. The crowd grew as we waited but luckily we had front spots just in case. Sure enough after a refreshing shower, Taylor came out. The rules were, no pics with him but you were welcome to snap away. He quickly made his way down the line rarely looking up until......he came to our little group. He stopped, looked up and discussed the show with us paying close attention to Dawson and what his mom was saying to him. After a while he moved on but not without little after smiles to the group and finally a personalized wave to us as he left the area. It was definitely one of "those moments" you will remember. All I can say is that we thought he was very good looking before the evening but after our up, close, and personal encounter with him, I can say with confidence that...no words can describe his looks and how incredibly nice he was. He signed Dawson's shirt..pictured.... What an awesome evening with the "Soul Patrol".