Sammy Hagar Gives Author Patricia Walker the Ultimate Shout-Out

During his recent concert at Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on October 9, 2012, Sammy Hagar talked about how important dreams are and how one must never give up on one’s dreams. He said that he wouldn’t be where he is today if he hadn’t held fast to that belief.

 

 

Joe Satriani performs with Sammy Hagar at Cabo Wabo

 

 

 

Then, to my complete surprise, he introduced me to the crowd, saying “I wanna bring up Pat.” (Video used with Sammy’s permission)

I didn’t know if he wanted me to get up onstage with him or if he just wanted to tell people about me. It happened so fast that all I could do was stand there in total disbelief as Sammy came over and grabbed my hand. Then he went on to tell the crowd that speaking of dreams, I was a perfect example of someone who had made her dreams come true. He said that I sent him poems many years ago, beautiful poems, and mentioned that I told him that I wanted to write a book someday about all my incredible experiences. Then he said that I went on to do just that. “She wrote this great book and people bought it…”

Sammy Hagar Cabo photo by Patricia Walker 2012

Sammy kept on talking and before I knew it, he was playing “Dreams” slow and low. “Dreams” was the song that started everything for me. It was the song he was playing when I had my out-of-body-experience during his concert back in 2003. I had never heard that song before that night.

By this time, tears were streaming down my face because my emotions were over-the-top. I felt like he was playing that song just for me although I knew he really wasn’t. Or was he? (After the show, a member of his road crew told me that “Dreams” wasn’t even on the setlist that night.) Then Vic Johnson, Sammy’s guitar player knelt down on one knee in front of me while playing his guitar. When I looked up at him, he too, had tears in his eyes…

What a night.

 

Sammy and his band The Wabos perform with Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) and Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver) at Cabo Wabo

 

Sammy also sells my book in the gift shop of his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico:

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since this incredible shout out, sales of DANCE OF THE ELECTRIC HUMMINGBIRD have skyrocketed. Yes, dreams DO come true. I am living proof. Thank you, Sammy!

Just in case you’re wondering, you don’t have to be a fan of Sammy Hagar or rock music to enjoy this book. It is for ANYONE who is looking for more out of life.

Christmas Mind

 December 18, 2010

As I look back on everything that has happened to me this past year, I try not to dwell on the negative because there is already too much negativity in the world. Instead of thinking about how my dear sister-in-law is no longer here to share in this happy time with us, or that I’ve lost my job, or that my body is getting saggier by the day, I choose to think about all the blessings I have, like my family and friends and how they’ve enriched my life.

I choose to think about how wonderful I feel when I listen to music or how I feel when I look at the colored lights on my Christmas tree: I’m immediately a kid again, a kid believing in a jolly fat man in a red suit who so unselfishly grants wishes to children all over the world in a single night.

I remember how I used to lie awake for hours in my bed on Christmas Eve, sweating under the covers because I was too nervous to move, afraid that if Santa heard me stir, he would be scared away before he left us anything.

Then in the wee hours, I’d wake up my little brother, tiptoe downstairs, peek around the corner, and gasp at what I saw. There stood our Christmas tree, shining with silver tinsel and colored ornaments, and beneath it were the gifts Santa had brought—things I wouldn’t have dared ask my parents for because they were too expensive—a cardboard corral and plastic horses, and a doll that raised her hand and turned her head when you pressed the button on her back. And right then, in my uncontrollable joy, I was absolutely certain that dreams really did come true.

I still am.

Some parents choose not to tell their kids about Santa Claus, maintaining that it’s all just a lie. But for me, that “lie” taught me to believe in the goodness of humanity and in the magic of spirit. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” by Francis Pharcellus Church. He wrote about how, even if we find a logical explanation for something, there remains an unseen world of magic that can only be reached through “faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance…” and that there is a boundless universe out there, the likes of which we are not capable of understanding through intellect alone.

I believe this with all my heart.

 

Appreciating the wonder of each moment as if it’s the first time we’ve encountered that experience, is something that comes naturally to children. In Zen, there is a similar concept known as “Beginner’s Mind.” As we mature, society tells us that certain things are impossible or strange or wrong. But every Christmas, Beginner’s Mind and the joy I felt as a child who believed in magic, is reinforced in me all over again. I’m going to hold onto it with even greater sincerity from now on.

That is my wish for you too.

In the coming year, let us strive to approach each moment with the wonder of a child and without judgment, wherein we may discover at last, the beauty, the magic and the truth that our hearts so desperately long for.

Clikc here for a wonderful video: The Polar Express

Believe in your dreams.

Baja Rock Pat