When I was invited to take pictures in Lincoln, NE for the Bob and Tom
Comedy Tour, Tim Wilson was the comedian I was most curious about. I
wasn't sure if his exquisite Southern personality was actually his personality or
part of his act. I arrived at the theater and was brought up to the
green room to meet everyone. Tim was in the back of the room on a couch.
When I was introduced, Tim stood up from the couch, stepped over to me
and shook my hand. He said in his wonderful drawl, "Hello, Jim. A pleasure to meet you."
I watched him through out the night. He interacted with fans at the
meet and greet, answering all their questions and was the last one to
leave. Back stage, he and I discussed his book; how long it took him to
research it, how the publishing worked and other details I was curious
about. He answered every question I had with genuine interest in the
conversation.
When Tim went out on stage to perform, I stepped
out to watch him. I took several pictures of him but found myself
watching him instead of snapping photos. Tim took requests from the
crowd and in one song, broke off to go into one of his lengthy lectures
about Abbie Hoffman, Vietnam war protestor, and what we may or may not
have known about the guy. It must have worked because I still remember
that guy's name! But the entire time, he had the audience in the palm of
his hand. With one final George Jones finish to a song, Tim left the
stage that night to tremendous applause; my own clapping part of it.
I didn't get the chance to talk to him after his act and left for home
shortly after. When I got home, my friends and family wanted to know
every detail about my time with the comedians. I told them, "All of them
were great and all of them were nice but Tim Wilson blew me away. He
was such a Southern gentleman! He was so nice and so funny. He's got a
new fan for life!"
I am a Tim Wilson fan and will be for the
rest of my life. He was taken from he world too soon but I count my self
lucky to have been able to spend what little time I had with him. I am
thankful I got the pictures of him that I did too. Looking at those
photos, I will always remember him as kind, funny and an all around
great person.