Say it isn’t so! Today Jimmy Buffett fans, affectionately referred to as Parrotheads, witnessed the anguish of a fallen hero. Not a soldier of war but their own American Idol, Jimmy Buffett himself suffered trauma to the head as he took a spill off stage in Australia. As it appeared from the video clip, Mr. Buffett was no longer “the last man standing.” He literally went “down under” in front of thousands of Aussie fans in true Buffettesque style.This was no mere misstep. It was eerily awesome as his body motions leading up to the fall left you wondering if this was part of his act. Taking steps toward the tip of the stage, arms outstretched as if to say to the fans, “thank you, tonight you’ve given me as much as I’ve given you. I am gloriously relieved that I’ve gotten another exhausting performance under my belt. As always, I wanted to give it my all and your appreciation has made me feel like I’ve done it. For several hours, I’ve poured out my every breath and ounce of energy to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth and now it’s time for me to exhale and kick back!” Then involuntarily, he was swept out of sight- face first in the front row. According to those present, it was a total face plant that left him unconscious for several minutes.
Since then, the reports claim that after spending the night in the hospital, Jimmy was released unscathed the following day. And now we’re all left wondering, “what caused the fall?”-dehydration, exhaustion, God forbid a heart condition?” This fan base is generally not made up of worriers. We want to believe that the show will go on and that our musical mentor will continue to keep making that “homemade music” forever. We’ve gotten to know this guy personally. He’s our friend. He’s there in good times and bad. We turn to him for romantic ballads and raucous party ditties. He’s our sedative and our stimulant. He’s the “Calgon take me away” to soccer moms driving through traffic in mini vans. He’s the Spicolli on college campuses. He’s in the background for every football tailgate party, backyard tiki bar party and he cruises along on every road trip. And don’t even think about going to the beach or getting on board a boat without the Buffett tunes!
So Jimmy, please tell us what happens when “it all falls down?”
We refuse to “see the day when you fade away and finally disappear!” Please, please, please “bring back the magic!”
-Your loyally devoted fans,
Linda & Hugh Hebert & parakeets