As I sat Friday night in the BYU Marriott Center (with its seating\ncapacity of around 19,000 people), and they flashed my photo onto the jumbotron\nscreens and had me stand and be recognized by the audience for receiving BYU\u2019s\nHonorary Alumni Award it was completely surreal. That\u2019s how they started the BYU\nSpectacular event which consisted of amazing performances by Nashville based singer\/songwriter\nBen Rector (his recent album debuted #1 on Billboard\u2019s Americana\/Folk chart and\n#9 overall), Hilary Weeks (#1 Billboard Christian Artist), as well as BYU\u2019s top\nperforming student performing groups Vocal Point, Young Ambassadors, Ballroom\nDance Company, Men\u2019s Chorus, Cougarettes, International Folk Dance Ensemble,\nand the BYU Dunk Team. The two hour show was absolutely incredible!!! The quality and caliber of the performances\nwas a standing ovation all the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most impactful moments of the show for me was when Ben\nRector shared how so many times when he would be leaving to perform on tour and\na driver would pick him up to take him to the airport he would talk to the\ndrivers and get to know a little of their stories. He shared how as they shared the hardships in\ntheir lives with him he couldn\u2019t help but wonder how he was the one so lucky as\nto get to go perform in front of audiences and be celebrated when these drivers\nwere working so hard and no one would ever know about their\naccomplishments. And so Ben felt\ninspired to write a song about these men that drive him places and here are the\nlyrics he wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Men That Drive Me Places – written by Ben Rector<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Howard drives a minivan\nwith the cruise ships from Ft. Lauderdale Oh isn’t that just the\nway it goes Danny showed up early\nfifteen minutes till five thirty Oh isn’t that just the\nway it goes And now everything’s not given, I work hard to make my living That moment was emotional for me because those lyrics describe how I felt when I was asked to stand and be celebrated that night. I felt humbled beyond measure that I would be so lucky as to be recognized when there are so many other people out there who do just as much good or more in the world with their small, consistent, daily acts of kindness, and I feel it is those people we ought to have stand and be celebrated by us all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAnd it’s been that way since 1994
\nDoes his business on a flip phone with the most obnoxious ringtone
\nI didn’t ask but I can tell he’s from New York
\nAnd he spoke proudly of his daughter and that this fall she’d be in college
\nAnd that he always wished he’d gotten his degree
\nYou can tell he came from nothing, built a future out of hustling
\nAnd somehow I’m the one you people pay to see<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nYou’re dealt a good hand and you get celebrated
\nOh how am I the only one who knows
\nI’m half the man of the men that drive me places<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMaking sure that I’d be on my morning flight
\nHe said he’d love to fix computers, but that he can’t until he’s fluent
\nSo he spends his driving money taking class at night
\nHe wore a neatly ironed dress shirt and he helps his kids with homework
\nAnd deep inside I couldn’t help but ask myself
\nWhy that at night I’m up on stage, everybody knows my name
\nWhile Danny’s early picking up somebody else<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nYou’re dealt a good hand and you get celebrated
\nOh how am I the only one who knows
\nI’m half the man of the men that drive me places<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I’ll give credit where I think credits due
Maybe you got dealt a good hand
Maybe you play it the best that you can
But I don’t know how far you’d walk without those cards
In Howard and Danny’s working shoes
But that’s just the way it goes
You’re dealt a good hand and you get celebrated
Oh how am I the only one who knows
I’m half the man of the men that drive me places<\/p>\n\n\n\n