We went to every single booth and decided to go get a cup of coffee while we waited to see Paula Deen. There was tons of time and our feet were already hurting so we found a couple of comfy chairs and sipped our coffee and chatted with some other ladies who had the same idea.
While this was happening, guess who walked right by us, made eye contact and said with a big smile "Good Mornin' Ya'll!" Yep, Paula Deen and her husband, Michael. How cool was that? I thought the old lady next to us was going to have a heart attack right there. She was so cute. She jumped up out of her seat in a hurry (and this woman had to have been at least eighty years old) and was grinning from ear to ear. Probably the fastest she's moved in years!
Paula's show actually got off to a very bad start. She apologized to the crowd for being "a little off" and with good reason. The day before was the funeral for her nephew. She was in tears before a huge crowd and before you knew it, we were all in tears. Not a dry eye in the place. How could there be? Here is this nationally loved woman bearing her soul and her pain to a huge crowd of people she's never met, telling of her loss. It was truly heart breaking.
But then, she put on her game face, and started up. It was a night and day difference. Ya'll (I get to use ya'll here cause we're talking about Paula you know) this was one of the funniest shows ever. She could do stand up comedy in her sleep. She didn't cook, which ticked off the lady next to me who got up and left. But really, you can watch Paula cook at all hours of the day on cable television. That's not why I was there. I wanted to see her and I wanted to hear her speak. However, there was some cooking going on, but it was her husband Michael and another chef doing it.
Let me warn you though, if you ever decide to just get up and walk out of one of Paula's appearances, get ready to take the consequences. One couple tried it and she let them have it. It was hysterical. "Where ya'll going?" was yelled several times and they even pointed the cameras at the poor couple. I'm so glad it wasn't me being singled out. I don't know if the couple answered her or not, I couldn't hear it.
I also have a new appreciation for her husband, Michael. I don't know if he normally goes on stage with her, but he did this time and was the perfect straight man for her. He's also extremely funny in his own right.
It was a great show. If you ever get the chance to see Paula live, go do it!