Rock Stars meets Country Western
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez meet a country western singer dropout.
1.
What these two babes were doing in the hills of western Colorado, God only knows but they were a sight for sore eyes. Dave Bennett was on County Road 7 west of Fort Collins, Colorado not paying attention to much except the road, the little bit of traffic and the CD in his right hand. He passed the car and a boy and girl standing beside the car, the hood up with steam spiraling up from the radiator, black fluid running out the back.
"Oh gimme a break," Dave said as he slowed his old 1978 Blazer to a stop.
He looked back to see the kids waving to him they needed help. He laid the CD down, pushed the battered straw Stetson back on his head, checked for other cars coming toward him and following, he swung the Blazer on to the shoulder and reversed the truck, the transmission whining as the truck sped back along the shoulder toward the stricken car. He looked again and could not believe his eyes when he saw the flat black car was a Ferrari F430.
"Somebody's gotta be kidding," Dave mumbled to himself. Depressing the parking brake to the floor as he shifted to neutral he started to open the door as the boy ran up to him. "Kid must have more money than common sense to drive that damn thing out here."
"Man am I glad to see you," the boy said, a big smile on his childish face, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his designer jeans his eyes barely even with the bottom of the window. "Um, thanks for stopping."
"Um, yeah, no problem."
"Um, I'm Justin Beiber." He offered Dave his hand which Dave ignored.
"Hi, David Bennett. Call me Dave if ya want."
Dave dropped to the ground beside his hiked up truck to look at the car again. In his mind it was little more than a "pregnant" skate board. Disappointed the boy looked from Dave, he considered little better than a mountain man, to the mud splattered truck and the rack of high power rifles. His eyes took in the detail of the truck: Long front end, winch, lights and spare fuel cans. He drew in a breath glancing at the other. Dave walked over to the car the girl, a dark haired beauty backed up a step as he stopped in front of the crippled car.
Justin was creast fallen that Dave merely gave him a passing nod of the head.
"Tried starting it?" Dave asked placing hands on waspish hips. He looked down at the engine an automotive engineer's worst nightmare.
Justin was greeted by the sight of a holstered weapon as Dave brushed the denim
jacket back. He could not help but swallow. He tried to carefully step past Dave keeping himself between the man and his girlfriend.
"Um, yeah," the boy said with a squeak to his voice.
"Bet ya ran the battery down in the process." He knelt to look under the Ferrari. He looked again taking out a small Mag flash light to shine under the car then stood to walk around the car to the back. His eye followed a trail of dark fluid from the road back to the car. "How long you had the car?"
"A month."
"Still under warrenty. But yer problem is goina' be, how to get it from here back to Ft. Collins – then finding a Ferrari dealer to work on it – maybe Denver if yer lucky."
"Can't we get a tow truck or something out here?" the girl finally asked.
Dave walked back to the front of the car then reached in to take the cap off the engine coolant tank. "Sure, but that may take a couple hours out here."
"A couple hours?" Justin exclaimed. "I gotta show to do tonight."
The girl nodded her head up and down. "Together."
Dave was not impressed. "No kidding."
He replaced the coolant tank cap then knelt to look under the car again.
Justin checked his cell phone again. The three bars that indicated reception was down to one bar. "I'm still not getting any reception out here."
Dave laughed as he stood up. "You won't. You're in a valley. The nearest cell phone tower is ten miles back that way?"
The rancher pointed south toward Fort Collins.
"What does that mean?" the girl asked with suspicion.
"Service area. We're on the edge of the service area for cell phones. Hang on." He walked back to the truck reached in for a microphone. He keyed the mic. "Breaker one-nine, Rosebud ya got ears on, sweet heart? Over."
"Ten-four, Stamper, hone. Go ahead, over."
The girl walked over to join Justin as they listened to the strange exchange between the two. She slipped her hands through his arm as they listened to Dave talk to a lady somewhere close by.
"Is Junior at your Ten-twenty? Over"
"Negative. Over."
"Oh great." Keying the mic he said: "Switch to channel one-five. There was a short pause as he signed back on then explained what he was doing. "I'll have to tow it to our location on a cross-draw. No choice. Get him off the road here."
"Ten-four, understand. Over."
"Stand-by. Over." He hooked the mic back on the dashboard
Dave drew in a deep breath as he looked back at the car a minute. "Okay, here's what's goina happen and not happen. I'm goina have to tow you up to my place another five miles that way, and then another mile or so over a gravel road."
Justin and the girl's face went pale at the mention of the gravel road.
"Don't have much choice," said Dave. "Only way or wait for the tow truck. I have most everything at my place. Problem is my brother has the flatbed trailer. He'll be at my place shortly."
Justin looked at the front of the Ferrari then at the back end and tow hitch of the truck.
"I guess so." Justin knew he had no choice.
Dave turned to open the back of the truck. The kids looked in as Dave pulled out two twenty foot chains dropping them to the ground. The kids watched as Dave spread the chains out laid one across the other, knelt to look under the Ferrari for a place to hook onto.
"By the way, um Dave what's a cross-draw?" Justin asked looking at the chains.
"Combat cross draw. Used to pull combat crippled armored vehicles off a battle field. Fast, efficient, get-em-on-get-em- off."
Gritting his teeth to keep from swearing, he was able to get the chains hooked to the uni-frame, pulled on each one to assure it would stay then hooked to the truck.
The girl shrugged as Dave fastened the chains to the tow shackles on the truck. He stood checking his work. Dave proceeded to give them very explicit instructions what he was going to do, what they would do.
"…And I don't need ya slamming in to the back of me between here and my place. And ma'am that's where you come in. For safety you'll be in my truck. Watch the distance and signal me to keep up the tension on the chains."
The two nodded their heads in unison. They saw without a doubt David was all business and no joke. Justin knew he was in for a white knuckle trip whether he liked it or not.
As Dave was getting in the truck he watched the girl give Justin a kiss then the passenger door opened and she climbed into the back. Dave closed the door, signaled Justin he was going to take the slack out of the chain. The Ferrari jerked as the slack tightened, Justin made a face as the shock went through the car.
"Keep an eye on his front end," Dave called back to the girl. "Like I said, I don't need him kissing my back end."
Beside, that fancy car of his would look kinda' funny with my trailer hitch sticken' outta his front end.
"I'm watching," she said hanging onto the seat back. "You just drive."
"Gee, sounds like my wife. He, he,"
2.
Dave ignored the girl's back end sticking between the seats as he checked the mirrors. He waited for a semi to pass then gunned the powerful V-eight diesel to get the car rolling. He moved out on to the highway rolling north.
David keyed the mic:
"Breaker one-niner…This is the Stamper lookin' at ya. Looking for the semi on County Road seven northbound that just passed a Blazer towing a Ferrari…Over."
"Ten-four, Stamper, this is the Bull Dog, over."
Dave gave him the details but did not tell him whose car he was towing then asked the other to run interference until he reached his road. "Duchess Road…Over."
"Ten-four, Stamper, Bull Dog, over."
He followed the semi knowing it wouldn't stop any time soon. Then the last quarter mile Dave picked out the land mark he wanted and signaled Justin to begin slowing. He eased up letting Justin do the work in slowing them. The girl held her breath as Justin took the turn. He was able to take the turn with ease, the Ferrari followed onto the gravel road.
"…Thanks lots, Bull Dog, Stamper out."
Dave followed the road for another mile, gravel flying out from under the truck tires, the Ferrari was taking a beating. Soon Dave turned off Duchess Road on to a ranch road and into a series of open gates that closed off the road. A beautiful blonde haired woman with two young blonde haired girls began closing the gates behind them. A pair of German Shepards cavorted around them then followed the truck and car up the lane to the barns. The woman and girls got into a pickup to follow Dave and Justin up to the ranch yard.
They continued past the gates until Dave slowed then stopped beside a building with corrals on one side. The girl sighed as she opened the door to get out when she came face to nose with a horse.
Dave looked across as the girl hesitated. "Don't worry. That's the wife's mare. She won't do anything to ya. Okay, Blonde back off, babe."
The horse seemed to understand and turned away. A pair of black geldings looked over another corral curious as to what the humans were doing.
The pickup stopped beside the Blazer as Justin was getting out, his legs weak with fear as he leaned against the car taking deep breaths.
"We here? Wherever that is?"
The girl ran up to Justin hugging him. "Babe, you okay?"
"Yeah I think so." He put his arm around her more for the support.
Dave laughed at the two. "Now try that under hostile fire."
"Huh?"
"Dave…!" The woman seemed to scold him.
Dave held his arm out to the woman. "This is Rosebud, my wife Maryann."
"Justin Beiber!" the two young girls shouted. "And Selena Gomaez!"
"And the old man don't count anymore, huh?"
"Oh phoo!" they said in unison as Dave leaned down, they gave him a kiss on either cheek. "Yes, you do count, Daddy."
Selena said amazed: "I've never seen such identical twins before."
Maryann smiled as the two girls jumped up and down with joy at seeing their favorite celebrity in person, and on their ranch.
"And just like their mother," said Dave proud of the woman and girls. "Come on, let's go in the house and rest. It's not every day you do something like that."
"Yeah, no kidding." Justin leaned on Selena as they crossed the farm yard to the house.
The two kids looked around at the ranch realizing they knew nothing of ranching or farm life. This was all new to them yet they realized just how tranquil the setting was.
They found themselves entering a spacious kitchen. Dave excused himself walking to the back of the house. Justin listened for a moment then recognized the sound as coming from a radio that was tuned to a country western station.
"Country western?" Selena asked as she listened to the tune.
"Yes. Ice tea, milk, water. Sorry, we're not the alcohol types." Maryann opened the refrigerator door.
"Ice tea will be fine, ma'am." Selena said. "Hone, our show tonight…"
"Show?" Maryann asked as she poured them the ice teas. "Girls?"
"Yes, mama."
The girls were beside themselves they were entertaining Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Their father returned to the kitchen sans the belt of hardware and revolver.
"What are we going to do about Justin Bieber's car, Daddy?" Mary asked peering up at her father through her dark rimmed glasses.
"Well its goin' take two of us – Hopefully Uncle Eddy will be here with his truck and flat bed in a few minutes. We can put the car on that and tow him back to Denver."
Justin and Selena listened to Dave talk with his daughters about what they would do to get him and Selena and the car back to Denver.
"Um, excuse me, sir." Justin stood, "Um, how much do I owe you for towing me off the road here – and back to Denver?"
"Nothing. It's what we do out here. Help each other when someone needs a helping hand."
Maryann was standing with her back to the sink. She shook her head too.
Selena was shocked.
Dave straightened up from beside his wife. "Let me see if I can get a hold of my brother on the radio?"
Justin and Selena followed Dave through the house to a large study with two desks, with display screens, CPU's, and other attachments. The walls were adorned with pictures, plaques and awards. The first thing that caught Justin's attention was four gold albums; the next was a chrome axe in a shadow box.
Dave crossed the study to a set of radios. He tuned one then used the call sign: "QOK, this is QKL, what is your Ten-twenty? Over."
"QKL, this is QOK, almost to your twenty now. Over."
Dave estimated the time to his place. "About twenty minutes." He thought again then said: "Two hours for a tow truck from Fort Collins or twenty minutes for my brother?"
Justin and Selena looked at each other worried. "Bob will wonder what happened to us."
"Roger, QKL stand by, over." Dave looked at Justin.
"Yeah. Can your brother help us?" Justin asked still worried about their excursion.
"Sure." Dave gestured to the phone on his desk. "Call him. Might as well tell him you're hurrying back as fast as you can."
Dave signed off the radio then stepped out of the study.
"Thanks." Justin picked up the phone to dial the other's cell phone. He waited a few seconds then it was answered. "Bob…?"
"Where the hell are you two – ya got a show tonight!"
"The car broke down…" He proceeded to explain what happened. He made faces as he tried to explain what happened. Selena and the two Bennett girls giggling as Justin twirled a finger around in the air. "I know, Bob… Yeah. We'll be there. I guess this is the quickest way…"
Justin hung up the phone. "Guy's a tyrant."
Selena looked around the study again, her eyes fell on a series of pictures and one, a medal by itself. She took a closer look reading the inscription below.
Congressional Medal of Honor
Master Sergeant David Bennett
February 1990
War with Iraq
Selena looked back at the two girls closely watching her. Justin was reading the inscription, then looked at the four gold albums. To him something didn't add up.
"Your father was in the Army?" he asked also noticing a gap in the dates on two of the albums.
The picture beside the displayed medal was of a group of men gathered in front of armored vehicles titled: Scud Busters, Team Three.
The girls nodded their heads. "He was in the hospital too for awhile. Mom was really tore up by the whole thing."
"Mama would cry herself to sleep thinking about what happened." Mary said looking at the displays.
"We almost lost him. He was badly wounded in the battle for one of the scud bases they said." Teresa wiped at a tear at her eye remembering that period of time.
Selena asked: "Does your father have a band?"
The girls brightened up. Mary said: "The Bennett Brothers. Country Western."
"That's where." Selena said remembering where she heard the name. "A couple of the guys on the stage crew were talking about them."
"Want to see the studio?" Teresa volunteered.
"Sure," they said together.
The girls led them through the house; Teresa grabbed the keys from the key cabinet. They led Justin and Selena across the yard to what looked like a barn, but was a pre-fab building. Teresa unlocked the door.
"This is the air lock section," she said as Mary opened the inner door.
They stepped in to the cool interior of the building as the girls turned on lights.
Justin and Selena's breath was taken away as they looked over the recording studio's arrangement.
Dave was with his wife in the horse barn helping feed the horses and cattle when he noticed the girls take Bieber and Gomez in to the sudio.
"Hey, hone, the girls took the two into the studio. Wait'll they see it."
"Going to sing for them?" she giggled tossing straw in to a paddock.
"Maybe." He pulled out his cell phone, checked the camera setting, they went to the studio. "Come on."
Maryann dropped what she was doing and followed David to the studio. They slipped in through the doors. They watched Justin as he was looking over the equipment; Selena was singing a tune she had written for the Denver show. The girls were sitting on stools, enthralled as they listened to Selena sing. When she finished and was going to do another, the girls joined in. The three girls sang the song
"You are good," Selena told them. "Do you sing much?"
"We sing with Mommy and Daddy when they practice for a concert," Mary told them.
Suddenly Justin had an idea. "I wonder if they can do that number with us?"
"If they're parents allow it, hone," said Selena.
"Of course," said Dave as he walked in to the room.
"No problem," said Maryann.
The girls cheered.
"What was the name of your group?" Justin asked. He was sitting behind the sound board as Selena thought of another tune.
"The Bennett's." Dave replied as he took another picture of Bieber on the sound board.
"Would you want to do a couple numbers with Selena and me about the middle of the show?"
They shrugged. "Sure."
The doors burst open and a second burly man in denim and a western hat and boots pushed through the door followed by a petit young woman.
"I'm here!" he bellowed. "Now what's the problem?"
"My brother Eddy – Eddy, Connie, the Bebb and Selena."
Ed's jaw sagged as he looked from one to the other. "The Bebb? You gotta be kidding. Then whose…?"
"Justin's," said Dave with a laugh. He turned to Justin, "My lead guitarist."
"Welcome."
3.
The trucks and trailer with the crippled car rolled through the Pepsi Center back lot gate in Denver where Bieber and Selena's road crew vehicles and their personal tour busses were parked. It was late afternoon when the vehicles stopped at the gate.
The guard thought they were lost until The Bebb stuck his head out a window to tell them: "My guests – and that's my car!"
The guard shook his head as he gestured the group to continue. Justin pointed to a place the two trucks could park.
They took their guitars into the back stage entrance. Bieber's manager was pacing around by the door chain smoking cigarettes waiting for his star attraction to show up. Selena's manager stood close by just as mad. They hadn't heard from the two since Bieber called earlier in the day. Bob was about to call the police to look for them whe a voice statled him.
"We're back…" said the Bieber.
Bob, Bieber's manager exploded: "Where the hell have you been?"
Selena stated to move away from the argument that was about to ensue.
Before Bieber could speak, David Bennett said: "Hanging with me at my ranch. His car is out in the parking lot on the flatbed trailer broke down."
"Who are you?" he asked with a surely tone looking Dave Bennett over the moved to the others, all in western denim attire.
Dave turned to Bieber: "Well less' see, yesterday I coulda' been his best buddy, but today, I might be his worse nightmare."
Bob's jaw sagged at the comment. Selena's manager cautiously looked from one to the other.
"Okay, Bob…"
Justin said evenly: "My guests. This is the Bennett family, the Bennett Brothers band, a country western group. They'll be doing a spot near the middle of the show."
"Oh? Who says?" Bob quickly recovered his composure.
"Me," said Justin holding his ground. "Dave here pulled us off the highway to his place."
"Thanks," said Bob then turned back to Justin.
Dave said mildly sarcastic: "Yeah, don't mention it. I'll send you my bill tomorrow."
"Huh?"
Justin tried not to laugh as he led the group through the back area to the stage. The managers warily watched the group pass them. People crowded around the two. Dave considered this was no different then what he goes through when he does a road show.
"What's he goina' be up to now?" Bob mused tossing the half smoked cigarette out the door.
"Don't know." The other replied as they followed Bieber and Gomez to the stage.
4.
Dozens of Justin Bieber fans thronged along the front area off Chopper Drive camping out for days ahead of the "Boyfriend" singer performer. Dave had to consider some as young as ten, to fourteen, no older than his two girls where queued up outside the center for three days now.
The group was ready as the main doors were finally unlocked, kids of all ages rushed in to the auditorium filling the seats in no time. By seven pm lights, sound, music, then Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez ran on to the stage…
The crowd went wild for the two for nearly an hour then Bieber raised his hands calling for quiet. "Quiet. Please … I have something important to say…"
Selena helped with the crowd. "Please everybody, Justin has something very important we need some quiet."
After several minutes in which Justin was able to formulate in his mind what he wanted to say, he began. "Today was a rather strange day for Selena and me. We were out driving in the hills north of Fort Collins well before the show when my Ferrari F430 broke down. I still don't know what happened; admittedly I'm not a mechanic. With the car broke down way out there we were helpless when along came a man, who taught us what friends are like here. He helped us by towing us to his ranch …"
The managers and producers of the show now understood what happened to the two that day.
"We met his fabulous family, his brother and wife. While there we went to his study area and while there we saw things few will ever know or see. Few will know the selfless sacrifice he had made years ago for us so we can live in freedom. What I saw was a man who has seen more wars than any of us cares to think about. But there is a pleasant side to all this – A side that brings pleasure and entertainment to his fans - Let me present from the country side of music David Bennett, his lovely wife Maryann, their twin daughters Mary and Teresa, and his brother Eddy Bennett, and lovely wife Connie - The Bennett's!"
The long drive back home late that night, the girls were sound asleep in the back of truck with smiles on their angelic faces – all was right with a turbulent world that night – Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez gave them a life time of dreams to remember.
The large tour bus trundled down Interstate-80 with a small caravan of trucks and busses toward its next destination, Chicago, Illinois and another group of sobbing, laughing, happy teens who have been waiting for three days for him and Selena Gomez.
Selena sat up in the bed at the back of the bus looking down at Justin in the flickering interstate lights. "What's the matter, hone you've hardly slept."
"I haven't." He moved onto his side to face the girl. "My mind keeps going back to the Bennett's. There are people who know what life is. They're perfectly content on that ranch of theirs. Peace and quiet. Life is good there. I don't know. I feel like chucking all this to live the way they do. No hassles and problems."
Justin lay back down to stare at the ceiling, falling asleep with Selena by his side.
# # #