About Billy (The Webmaster)

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What are my favorite links?

Billy's Home Page - This page has links to all of my other pages that I have created. I've put so many hours in working on my web pages, how could it not be one of my favorites!

CDNOW - The best music store on the Internet.  I buy most of my CDs from them.

eBay - This is the largest online auction site on the internet. You can find just about anything here! I particularly love to search for pinball machine stuff and Reba memorabilia!

Las Vegas Sun - This is a newspaper site which I visit often to keep up with what's going on in Las Vegas, my favorite vacation destination.

New York Times - The best newspaper in the US to catch up on the news with.

Reba.com - Reba's official internet site.  I check here quite often to see the latest "official" news and tour dates.

How did I become such a huge Reba fan?

     It all started back in the summer of 1986, we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. At one of the local flea markets, my mother purchased a cassette called "Today's Country Classics."  It was released by MCA.  Reba's song, "How Blue" was on there.  I listened to that tape so much that it actually broke.  The whole time though, I never realized who sang that song.  It wasn't until Christmas 1988 that I really started listening to the radio a lot.  Up to that point, I only had a tape player and several Alabama tapes.  I ended up getting a very nice stereo system for Christmas.  I began listening to the radio quite a lot.  They kept playing a song over and over.  I finally paid attention and realized that it was called "New Fool At An Old Game" and that Reba McEntire sang it.  I'd heard of her at that time but really didn't know what she sang.  After that I began realizing who she was and that I really loved her music.  I still didn't have any of her music on tape though.

     In early 1989 (I believe it was February or March), on a Sunday, we got up and my father was reading the Sunday newspaper.  It was the day that McDonald's had put out the plastic record with the menu song.  If the people on it sang the whole song, you won a million dollars.  Obviously, we didn't win.  My father saw something in there about Reba being in town along with Ricky Van Shelton and Patti Loveless, who I'd also come to like.  I had already heard about this concert and I wanted to see all three of them.  It was then that I started to beg for my parents to take me to the concert.  They finally agreed sometime in the late afternoon.  We didn't purchase our tickets ahead.  We were going to get them at the venue just before the show.  Some guy was outside trying to sell some extra tickets he had.  We bought them because they sounded like good seats.  We got floor seats, about half way back.  The problem was, at that time the venue let people stand in line to take pictures up at the stage.  I had to stand on my chair for about the first 10 or 15 minutes of each persons performance.  I really enjoyed all three of them.  However, Reba's performance left a lasting impression.  I remember she wore at least three different outfits.  One of them was a royal blue evening gown with the back cut out.  She looks amazing as ever in blue!  I may forget a few details about all the concerts of hers that I've seen but I won't soon forget my first experience seeing Reba!

     For Christmas that year, I got two Reba tapes that started my collection.  They were "REBA" (which has "RESPECT," "New Fool At An Old Game," and "Sunday Kind Of Love" on it) and "Sweet Sixteen" (which has "Cathy's Clown")  Once again, I was a little more hooked.  Today, I have all of her domestic released albums and some of her imports.  That's quite a collection of music!

     I wasn't until 1993 that I became a Reba "fanatic."  During this year, a very tragic thing happened in my life.  I had a friend at school who was a year younger than me.  I saw her everyday, said hello, and gave her a hug.  We even had lockers next to each other.  She was like my sister, only at school.  We were very good friends.  During Thanksgiving weekend, she disappeared.  I knew that she wouldn't have run away.  She was very-level headed.  It wasn't until February 7, 1994 that she was found.  Her body was found in an empty field by some local mosquito workers.  It was determined that she had been murdered.  She had been there so long that they had to use her dental records to identify her.  I was watching the news the night they decided it was her.  When they announced that it was her, I might as well have died.  They showed a white sheet out in a field covering her body.  It was the most horrible time in my life up to that point.  I was in deep depression for months.  I still have my days from time to time when I think about it and get upset.  Reba is responsible for helping me through this tough time though.  I would come home every day and listen to the song "If I Had Only Known" from her "For My Broken Heart" album.  It was like the song drained the emotion from me that I was holding deep inside.  It made me realize that I wasn't the only one who hurts from these tragedies.  I knew that I had to make myself go on just like Reba did when she tragically lost her 8 band members.  Because of that experience, I became closer to Reba and her music.  I feel as if she's a member of my family, though I've never gotten to meet her.  She means that much to me.  I have relied on her music many times since then to relax me and to make me feel happier.  She always does.  I also have come to believe that she's a very good influence on the people of our country.

     Each time Reba has come to our area since that first experience in 1989, I've gotten to see her.  Sometimes, we've had to travel to see her.  A few times, we've traveled in order to see her show multiple times in a year.  I'll be there if Reba is there!  Each time I see her in concert, I fall in love with her music all over again.  She never ceases to amaze me.

     In March of 2001, I got to travel up to New York to see Reba perform in "Annie Get Your Gun."  It was one of the happiest times of my life because it was two dreams coming true at once.  I had always wanted to go to New York City and then I got to see Reba perform on Broadway.  I also happen to be a big fan of Broadway musicals so this was extra awesome to me.  My tickets to the show were at will call.  I had been told ahead of time that I would be in row E.  When I got my tickets, I had row T.  I was very, very upset as you can imagine.  I nearly passed out in the elevator of the Marriott Hotel (where she performed and we stayed) because of being hot in my suit and overcoat and then being upset too.  We got to our seats at the show and I was fuming.  The show started though, and I soon forgot where I was.  I didn't even care where I was sitting after it started.  She gave such a genuine performance.  I remember thinking during the show that she is like the Lucille Ball of the new century.  She had perfect comic timing.  I can only hope that CBS will come through with the movie version of this show with Reba.  Because of this trip, I also got to do another special thing.  I got to go to the top of the World Trade Towers.  It was March 11, 2001, exactly six months before the terrible attacks on America.  If it wasn't for Reba, I probably wouldn't have gotten to do that.

     These days, I'm still listening to Reba regularly.  However, I'm very excited to invite her into my living room each week as she appears in her sitcom "Reba."  She continues giving a genuine comedic performance just as Lucille Ball did for all those years.  Her physical comedy gets better with every episode.  I make sure that I mention this show to all my friends.

     I hope that Reba will continue to find success in the future.  I also hope that everyone around me can get just a little dose of the happiness from Reba that she gives me.