Fans of James Taylor say that his music warms their hearts and souls. For Paula Hootman his melodious lyrics speak directly to her. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 at age 41, Paula found the strength to survive and live to see another day while listening to Taylor’s music and singing along while undergoing radiation. As a survivor, Paula believes, “Getting a handshake from James Taylor is as good as a clean mammogram.” The words in his songs inspire and revitalize her like nothing else.
“Everyone loves JT because his music makes everyone click, everyone feels what you’re feeling at the same time,” Paula says.
The first time Paula saw James Taylor was when she was just 14 years old. She has traveled all over the U.S. and Canada to see him perform with her husband Kayne. The Ravinia concerts on June 6th and 7th marked her 48th and 49th concert to see her favorite performer. The concerts were particularly special to the high school sweethearts because he sang “Your Smiling Face,” which was their wedding march.
She recently won tickets to see Taylor in Massachusetts where she hopes to get her picture taken with him. It seems very likely since Taylor has become familiar with Paula and knows her by name. The Grammy-winning artist thanked her for bringing him flowers from the Ravinia stage and said he would see her in Massachusetts.
Germaine Maschoff
Communications Intern
1 comment:
Thanking you again for a wonderful 2 nights of Concerts and hopefully James Taylor and me will be yearly repaeat visitors!
Paula
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