Page 21 - ION Indie Magazine JULYAUG 2024

Fast-forward forty years to May 7, 2024. I am now a concert photographer

professionally and I am approved to shoot Judas Priest tonight at the Von Braun

Center in Huntsville, Alabama. My stomach is sour with nerves. 16-year-old me

could have never dreamed that in a few hours I would be mere inches away from

Rob Halford! I pop a few tums for the tummy. I washed the minivan yesterday (it

does have sport rims). I shower and give my balding head a fresh shave. I squeeze

into my new black relaxed-fit, stretchy-waist jeans (don't judge), noting that my

waist size is now thirty-six and not twenty-eight anymore, and then grab my new

XL (no longer a “medium”) Judas Priest shirt that I scored on Amazon. I hop in the

van and yell, “Hey Siri, play Judas Priest!” I'm on the way. It's showtime!