I have attended a number of

shows at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater over the last five years

and have often wondered what goes on behind the scenes. I got my chance

to experience a day in the life of the amphitheater last week and I wasn't

merely a passive observer.

Thursday, Aug. 28, 11:30

p.m.

The day begins as I pull into

the parking lot by the guest house at the amphitheater. Parked near the

entrance to the house are two 15-seat vans, two cargo vans, a Lincoln

town car and a Yukon. I enter the building and meet with the other people

I will be working with this evening. Along with amphitheater director

Donna Romeo and Executive Director of the Peachtree City Development Authority

Virgil Christian, I am joined by staff members Ed Richardson and Julie

Rushin and volunteers Jim Rutherford and his daughter Melissa.

Our task is to drive the vehicles

to Airport Group International, located near Hartsfield Airport, and pick

up singer Wayne Newton and his entourage. I am driving one of the 15-seaters,

so I will drive members of Newton's band and crew to the Wyndham Executive

Conference Center. According to our schedule, they are due to land at

12:30 a.m. I pour myself a cup of coffee and get behind the wheel of the

van.

We drive to the airport in

a caravan that would make any celebrity proud, until we miss the exit

and get a little turned around. Within three minutes we have righted ourselves

and find the parking lot of the airport at 12:20 a.m.

Friday, Aug. 29, 12:25 a.m.

We have yet to see a soul inside

this building. There is a television in a break room with rabbit ears

(which I find very confusing). It appears that time has stopped at 1975

in the building. Everything from the furniture to the pictures of employees

on the wall look incredibly dated. The emptiness is also eerie. If Wayne

Newton is scheduled to land in less than 10 minutes, where is everybody?

We had to make the trip to

Airport Group International because Newton's pilot couldn't land at Falcon

Field. He had said something about needing 7,000 feet of space. I play

with the rabbit ears on the television and sit down to watch the end of

The Tonight Show.

12:55 a.m. : Wayne Newton

has yet to arrive but we have seen several employees. They have not heard

anything about an arrival scheduled for tonight but make a few calls for

us. We are beginning to think that the Newton group thought we were in

central time. They were flying out of Shreveport, La., Thursday evening

and probably thought we were at the same time as them. With new calculations,

we are now expecting them at 1:30 a.m. I am now watching Conan O'Brien

with Virgil.

1:30 a.m. : The plane

lands but because nobody at the airport knew anything about it, some people

had to exceed their job descriptions and wave the plane over. They also

opened the gate, something that is usually never done, so that we can

get our vehicles on the runway, load up and leave. I park my van and get

out just in time to see Newton duck into the Yukon. The Yukon takes off

as we wait for the pilot and mechanic to finish up with the plane.

1:55 a.m.: We are on

the road. The band and crew are punchy. It has been a long tour and a

very long day. They are laughing and joking with each other. One band

member in the other van calls a friend in my van and pranks him by doing

his Newton impression. This weekend marks their last shows for a month,

so the guys are looking forward to doing the shows and going home. One

guy starts talking about the Christmas show this year and an impromptu

rendition of "Silver Bells" breaks out.

2:30 a.m.: We arrive

at the hotel. The band thanks me for driving and goes to their rooms.

I drive