Neil Diamond’s “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show”

Ages ago, at the end of Summer and going into September, I took time off to drive up to Oregon to see my family. For some reason I felt I needed this trip to connect with my brother, but when I got there and called, he and his family were at a tent church revival weekend down at the river. Neil Diamond’s “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” immediately sprang to mind; I knew I HAD to go. Images of Summer, sweltering heat, hot, fan-waving ladies in mid-calf length dresses, men fresh in from the fields, and children everywhere, running up and down the make-shift aisles, permeated my imagination as I followed hand-written directions to the rural location where this revival was taking place. Most of my imagination was spot-on; there were cars and tents and families everywhere. It was noisy, musical, and happy; laughter and greetings abounded. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I asked around for my brother but seemed to keep missing him in the melee. I never did find him, but when the lunch bell rang, a woman and her daughter befriended me and took me to the large tent that was set up in the middle of the clearing for lunch. Mounds of food was being served at one end; everyone grabbed a plate and when most had their trays and had taken a seat, the preacher began to preach. I don’t remember the sermon in the hot, late summer sun, but afterwards as we were putting away our dishes, the girls said they were going to go down to the river where anyone who wanted to, could be baptized. There was no way I was going to miss that; I had never been baptized! They found me a towel and I got in line and they snapped a picture of me being dunked in the river by the minister. Just as he blessed me and I went under, they snapped the photo of a large fish that swam right over the top of my submerged body. Afterwards, the girls and I exchanged addresses and phone numbers and then I got into my car and drove from Oregon back to Nevada, filled with the Holy Spirit, love, and the song, “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” playing on repeat in my head.

Yes, the song remembers when…