My husband, Mike and I recently attended a concert in Minneapolis that was both fun and poignant.
This piece is an extension of a previous blog posting of mine titled An Obvious Obscurity from 2015, which describes the first visit we had with one of the six men, Rey Moore, while he was at Oshkosh Correctional.
Ink drawing of Rey Moore by artist, Jared Manninen
Taken during a 2nd visit with Rey at Prairie Due Chien Correctional Institution on June 21, 2018
In the 2015 posting, I reference the song See You Again performed by Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa, and its relevance to my mission on behalf of Rey, the other five men, and their families.
The following passage from the previous blog embodies the song lyrics sung by Khalifa: “How can we not talk about family when family is all that we got?”
“When Rey entered the lounge, he spotted us and waved excitedly touting a big smile. He walked over and embraced us both as though we were old friends. His hearty laugh exhibited warmth and sincerity and we instantly felt the tension of the past few days fall away. Mike and I felt this diversion was good for all three of us due to our knowledge of the personal [family] concerns Rey faces and has shared in his letters. But at that moment on this day none of it was going to suppress Rey’s enthusiasm…or ours”
11-29-2019: Rey celebrating with longtime friend, Clare Martinson after Rey was paroled
11-30-2019: Joan, Rey, Clare Martinson at the Lion’s Mouth Bookstore in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Eleven years later, with Rey having been paroled within that time frame on July 2, 2019, Mike and I had the opportunity to see Charlie Puth in concert on May 16, 2026 at The Armory in Minneapolis. We were some of the oldest fans in the crowd but we melded into the vibe of those youngsters around us, listening to Puth as he played some of our favorite tunes.
34 year old singer/songwriter, producer, and musician, Charlie Puth in Minneapolis during his Whatever’s Clever! World Tour
Not the last song of the evening but the one right before, he played it…the song I was waiting the entire time to hear live! This time it was a solo performance without his counterpart, Wiz Khalifa. But it was not without a lot of soul. Though it lacked Khalifa’s powerful words, Puth poured everything he had into this and every one of his songs, old and new.
Over the course of the evening, Puth stressed to his fans to embrace the positive and gravitate toward that which inspires us. He hoped that we would walk away from this concert feeling inspired. He targeted the “artists” in the audience and asked that we use our inspiration to do good things.
Throughout his performance, Puth stepped back to allow the voices of those onstage with him to be heard. Yeah…I loved that. I’ve tried to do that too, during the course of my mission. Thanks Charlie for the inspiration to carry on…
After the concert, despite the late hour, Mike and I both were still quite awake and energized. Mike suggested we stop for a nightcap. Mind you, this is extremely unusual for us!
We talked about the concert. We reflected on the positive message Puth had for the lively but impressionable crowd. I thought about Rey. I thought about how, during that visit which now feels like ages ago, he so passionately longed to be with his family.
It was gratifying to know that Rey has been free for close to seven years now. It was gratifying to think that maybe I played a small role in making that happen. It was gratifying to know that he’s free to live his life as he sees fit…alongside the precious family that he’s got…