After starting a blog as a way to pass time during the coronavirus quarantine, Karen Andrews of Lisbon never anticipated her first post would garner widespread attention, let alone a response from rock legend John Fogerty.
Karen Andrews, center, with her parents, Sharon and Jan Andrews. Photo courtesy of Karen Andrews
On her lifestyle blog “The View From Here,” Andrews – who moved to Maine with her son four years ago – shares stories about her life, which started in Texas, where she grew up with a sister and loving parents. It was their marriage that got the attention of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s former frontman.
The May 21 blog post tells the story of Sharon and Jan Andrews’ decade-long bond over the song “Up Around the Bend,” which Fogerty wrote for CCR.
“My wife had a doctor’s appointment, and I had just pulled into the parking lot when the radio started playing ‘Up Around the Bend,’ ” Jan Andrews said. “One of the lines in the song is ‘catch a ride to the end of the highway/and we’ll meet by the big red tree.’ (Sharon) leaned over and she said, ‘That’s where we’re going to be in heaven. We’re going to meet underneath the big red tree.’ ”
Since then, the big red tree has been a symbol of peace and love for the Andrews family.
“Mom and Dad had gone to see Fogerty twice in concert always hoping to see him signing autographs so they could visit with him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, and Mom passed away before she could tell him how much the song meant to her,” Karen Andrews wrote in her blog post.
Sharon and Jan Andrews Photo courtesy of Karen Andrews
They had been married for 54 years, six months and eight days when Sharon Andrews passed away unexpectedly in October. When Karen Andrews decided to start a blog, she knew her parents’ story was one she wanted to share.
“My dad always said that thanks to (Fogerty) we now have a place to meet in heaven,” she said. “The last thing (my dad) said to my mom at the funeral was, ‘I’ll see you by the big red tree.’ I just thought it was a remarkable story that needed to be told. To me, that’s not something you see everyday.”
Andrews concluded her blog post with a direct message to Fogerty: “Thank-you from the bottom of my heart, my dad’s heart, and my whole family’s heart. Thank-you for your songs, thank-you for the messages. And thank-you for providing them a place to meet in Heaven.”
She sent the post to Fogerty via Facebook, though she doubted he would respond. Then Fogerty’s daughter reached out to Andrews and asked for her permission to share the blog entry on Fogerty’s Facebook page, which he did Wednesday. His post had been shared nearly 500 times as of last week.
“When I saw that he had put it on his Facebook page, and all of the comments on it, I couldn’t believe it,” said Jan Andrews, who still lives in Texas. “It helps (restore) my faith in human nature again.”
Fogerty, who declined to be interviewed for this story, included a message to Andrews at the end of his post: “Way back when I wrote the song I’m not sure I realized how magical that Big Red Tree would be, but I’m sure glad I wrote about it.”
“The fact that he shared it was completely overwhelming,” Karen Andrews said. “I was honored and thrilled that he heard my mom and dad’s story. It was beyond what I had expected.”
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