Reba: My Story (45 page)

“I look at that now,” Graeme said recently, “and I know that Narvel very well might not have called back. You know, you hear about your heart going into your throat? I thought, ‘This just can’t be happening, this just can’t be happening again.’ ”

Graeme said that when the telephone finally rang, he began to cry.

Meanwhile, Kevin was talking to the tower and working constantly with the controls. He made one more low pass in front of the inspectors and then told us the news. “They have radioed,” he said, “that our landing gear is still not where it needs to be. We’re going to have to make an emergency landing.”

On our first approach, I saw the fire trucks on the side of the runway, waiting, just like in the movies. I hadn’t been too scared until then, but then I felt my eyes fill with tears.

I honestly didn’t panic, and I remember thinking, “If it’s my time, it’s my time.”

And then we heard from Kevin again. “We are going to land on the two back wheels, slow down as much as possible, and then come down on the nose and belly of the plane,” he said. “It’s going to be loud. There will be metal against concrete, and we should have a few sparks.”

“Just as soon as we get the plane stopped,” he went on, “and I shut down the engine, the lights will go out. Then unbuckle your seat belts and come to the front.”

Narvel, Sandi, and I just looked at each other.

“If he thinks I’m waiting until he shuts this engine down, and turns off the lights, he’s slightly wrong,” Narvel said.

The plane was probably going about 200 miles per hour when the weight of its fuselage settled onto the runway. Its scraping lasted for what seemed like an eternity, and it was deafeningly loud. The few sparks Kevin said we might see looked like Niagara Falls of fire on the news footage later.

Vice President Al Gore was scheduled to arrive at the airport minutes after our forced landing, so the place was crawling with news cameramen, who wound up filming us. The videotape made the plane look like a drag racing car with wings that were sweating fire.

The instant the plane shrieked to a halt, Narvel, Sandi, and I jumped from our seats and lined up behind Kevin, waiting for him to open the door. Once on the ground, we were surrounded by men wearing what looked like space suits and holding hoses. They sprayed the plane down with a white foam.

From the air, Kevin had ordered the preparation of another plane complete with catering. We got right on it.

People have asked me if I hesitated to board an airplane after getting off one that had emergency-landed. I didn’t.

“If you have a car wreck you get right into an ambulance,” I told one interviewer.

Our plane touched down in Madison and we took the limousine to the back of the concert hall, as we had done hundreds of times before. Graeme walked me to my dressing room, briefing me as he does every night we have a show.

And once we were inside the dressing room, he did something he had never done before. He hugged me.

And then I went out and I did my show.

After the concert I held my usual visit with members of my fan club. None of them knew that our lives had been in jeopardy until they went home and saw it on the news. So one fan asked me, “Why don’t you sign autographs and take pictures with your fans anymore? I saw you do that with the radio and VIP folks.”

I told her that autograph sessions felt so impersonal, so I decided to really get to know my fans through backstage visits instead.

“Well, I’d rather have an autograph to take home and show people,” the young lady said.

That hit me wrong. I told her, “I have Patsy Cline’s autograph but I’d have given it to anyone to have been able to sit this close to her and just listen to her talk.”

I probably mentioned Patsy Cline to that young fan
because what had happened earlier that night was more on my mind than I knew.

But then I did what I’ve done so many times before, and what I’ll do indefinitely—I got back on my airplane. I flew home so I could fly out the next day to the next show on the way to the rest of my life.

SPRING 1994

A
S I FINISH THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK, I HAVE ALSO
just completed my one-day filming of my cameo appearance in
The Little Rascals
in Los Angeles.

At this very moment, Shelby is in Tennessee, performing in his very first school program. I missed it.

Tomorrow and the next day will be filled with shooting the video
Why Haven’t I Heard from You
for the new CD,
Read My Mind
. Then it’s off to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Pensacola, Florida, for our tour dates.

My life goes on—thank you, Lord.

If I ever write another book, I hope I have as many good memories to put in it as I have had for this one.

But I feel for the person that might suggest I do—I might try to choke a liver out of them too!

SUMMER 1995

If writing a book has done anything for me and my outlook on life, it has confirmed that life is one continuing chapter after another. One page is filled with bits and pieces of common everyday happenings, and then, before you know it, there’s another fresh, blank page to fill. I’m glad to have the opportunity to update my story for you, because since we spoke last, there has been a lot going on in my life: some things extraordinary and some, just little slices of life that take on an extraordinary feel … because they involve family.

The last time I talked to you, we were filming
The Little Rascals
. Let me bring you up to date on my own little rascal! I did get to see Shelby’s music program this year. He performed at his preschool, doing several cute little songs Kim, the music teacher, taught them. It’s a lot of fun watching him up there with all his buddies. Kim told them to dress in costume, so I thought it would be only natural for him to go as a cowboy. Other children had ballerina outfits on, some were dressed as doctors, rock musicians, and one little boy was a lawyer.

I’ve also been to several of his T-ball practices and games. I was real proud of Shelby. He’s always had great hand-and-eye coordination ever since he was little. I can remember Cindy Bailey Gillihan, his first nanny, out pitching the ball to him way back. This summer when the other team was at bat, Shelby stood on the pitcher’s mound, so when the ball was hit, it usually went right straight to Shelby. He would throw it to Brandon on first base, then the batter was out. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t! It’s funny watching four- and five-year-olds play ball. Some will be playing in the dirt and some will take their hat and throw it in the air. Shelby is usually looking to see if Narvel and I have made it to the game yet. He looks over, waves, and blows kisses, while we’re hollering, “Shelby, watch the ball!” before he gets in trouble with
Judy, his coach. They gave all the kids little trophies at the end of their season. No fancy banquet or anything, but that’s okay, that’ll give them something to look forward to in the future. Shelby was just thrilled with it. He held it up for me to see and said, “Mama, are you just so proud of me?”

It’s always a great feeling to tell your child for the millionth time how proud you really are. Shelby’s grown a lot. In fact, he’s even chauffeuring us around in the golf cart now. Narvel had told me he could drive, but I had my doubts. Then one day I was getting ready to go to the recording studio to work on my next CD, when in he came, ready to take me on my first ride. I said, “Shelby, I can’t go right now. I’m real busy.” He leaned up against the vanity and, with all the reason only a five-year-old can muster, said, “Mom, you just wanna go ahead and get it over with?”

I couldn’t resist that! So I unplugged my rollers and off we went to the barn. I had to help him back it out, but from then on, he was in complete control. (Scary, isn’t it?) There we were, leaving the asphalt, flying across the grass, up the hill, and then I watched this five-year-old stomp on the brakes as we skidded ten feet on the grass.

He reached down and turned off the key, looked over at me, and said, “Let’s take a little west. [He still can’t say his R’s very well.] Whatcha wanna talk about?”

I said, “Well, let’s decide what we want to do next. You wanna go chase the geese?”

He looked at me, grinned, snapped his fingers, and said, “You said it!” (I think that came from the movie
Mask
, which he has watched a thousand times.) Then off we went, in search of the geese to chase back into the water.

Let me make it clear that the geese are used to Shelby. They now know to go ahead, get up and head for the water when they hear him coming. They also know that he’ll go in and watch a videotape shortly, and they will be free to come back up and chew on the grass again.

As all of you who have children know, life with kids is a hoot! I get the biggest kick out of the things Shelby says and does. It’s never a dull moment, I promise you. A lot of fans ask me if I’m going to have any more children. I think the answer is no, unless something happens that’s unpredictable to me. Long before I got pregnant with Shelby, I asked the Lord for a healthy, happy, fun, and compassionate child. That’s what I got. I don’t want to be selfish and greedy after all He’s given me.

Of all the advice I’ve been asked to give throughout my career, the most important is, to listen. Listen to your parents, listen to your teachers, but most of all listen to God. He may not talk to you so you can hear Him with your ears. You have to listen with your heart when God talks. He wants to help you, guide you, and be your closest friend. All you have to do is let Him, and listen. I give God total credit for everything I’ve ever accomplished. The only thing I can take credit for is that I listened.

Nineteen ninety-four was a very diverse, busy year. In the movie department, the last time I talked to you I had just finished
The Little Rascals
movie. I played A. J. Ferguson, the famous race car driver, and it turned out to be a lot more important role than I thought.

The reason I say this is, this summer a bunch of us went to see The Eagles when they played in Nashville. During intermission, Narvel and I went back to say hi to the guys, and in the hall we saw Glen Frey’s wife and their beautiful little girl. As they walked up to me, the little girl became very bashful and hid behind her mother’s dress. I was so flattered the daughter of such a famous entertainer knew who Reba McEntire was. Then the mother leaned down to her daughter and said, “There she is, the lady who kissed Spanky!” I impressed that little girl because in her eyes, I was A. J. Ferguson. Is that called get the attention any way you can?

I was thrilled to be a part of the CBS movie
Is There Life Out There?
It is a Marian Rees Associates production, in
association with Starstruck Entertainment. Narvel and I co-executive produced it with Marian Rees. I knew working with Marian would be a wonderful experience, and it was. We took a lot of time and care making sure the script was exactly what we wanted. But after that, the rest just fell into place.… Everyone from the director to the actors to the caterers (my favorite part!) was just perfect. Of course, that being my first leading role, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

The reason I liked it so much is that just like the song and the video, it touched so many people’s lives. I had women coming up to me saying how much they could relate to the message in the movie. There were so many things to deal with: the children wanting their mother’s undivided attention, the husband wanting things back like they used to be, and her wanting a little time for herself to do what she wanted to do.

I enjoyed working with Keith Carradine. He played my husband. He’s a great friend, a great actor, and best of all, fun to work with. He was my first on-screen kiss partner. Oh, I know, I kinda kissed Burt Reynolds in
Man from Left Field
, but this was a big kiss! Keith knew I was a little nervous, so he told me some of the things he’d had to do in his earlier movies that had made him nervous. That made me feel better.

All of the cast were great. We all fell in love with Donald Moffat, who played my father; Kyle Hudgens and Blair Struble, who played my two great kids; Genia Michaela, who played my headstrong sister; and Mitchell Anderson, who played the teacher’s assistant. I hope they had as much fun as I did. Sometimes some of them come to my shows. It’s always great to see them again.

I was especially happy about filming the movie in Tennessee and showing the movie industry how dedicated our state is to having the industry here. Hopefully, we’ll get to do it again.

My next opportunity to work in a movie was really a
dream come true for me. In the summer of 1994, Scott Henderson and Nicole David at William Morris told me that Suzanne de Passe was working on a television miniseries based on the
Buffalo Girls
book. I guess they heard and felt the urgency in my voice when I told them how much I would love to be in it!

I had a show that night in Orange County, California, and a meeting I had to move that day, but could they get me in to meet Suzanne? I think I would have tried to move a mountain rock by rock to get that meeting! It all worked out and I’m glad to say that not only did I get the part of Annie Oakley, but I made a new friend, Suzanne.

And by the time I left Albuquerque, New Mexico, in December and Bath, England, in January, I had made a bunch more new friends. Melanie Griffith, Sam Elliott, and Gabriel Byrne were already through with their parts by the time I came on the set. But I got to meet them at the press functions, and I liked them immediately. On the set in New Mexico and in England, I got to visit with Anjelica Huston, Peter Coyote, Jack Palance, Tracey Walter, and Floyd Red Crow Westerman in between scenes and takes. Anjelica is a very hardworking woman and I learned a lot from her. She’s exactly the kind of person I love to work with.

Sandi was with me in New Mexico, but she had to stay in the States to get the clothes ready for the new show when I flew to England. Considering the number of costume changes in the 1995 show, Sandi definitely had her hands full. So I took Mama, my oldest sister, Alice, and my friend Pam Keller along and made it an all-girl vacation. We had a blast! It was real cold in England in January, but that didn’t stop us from seeing everything we could.