Jerry A. Goodson

In 1998, my wife and I got a seasonal job at the Salvation Army in Texarkana.  It didn't pay a lot, but it was a wonderful experience!

Texarkana is a fairly sizeable city with a shopping mall, college, and several retail outlets.  That year, Ladonna and I were hired to shuttle the bell ringers around the city.  Our job descriptions included picking up/dropping off the bell ringers, as well as making rounds swapping out the cash kettles.  We also rotated out the folks that worked the Angel Tree table in Central Mall.

Needy families could sign up for food and Christmas gifts for children, and those who wished to contribute to children's' Christmas gifts could pick up an "Angel" and shop for what the child wished for on that card.

That year, the Angel Tree also included elderly individuals in nursing homes, and that's where Mark Wills showed up wearing his angel wings.

Some random elderly gentleman staying in a nursing home somewhere in Texarkana simply wished for a guitar.

Mark Wills was in town for a concert he was putting on at the Texarkana College, and Wills, himself, picked that angel off the tree.  When Wills returned, he didn't just buy some cheap "beginner" guitar or some used guitar from a local pawn shop... he bought a nice, brand-name, new guitar complete with a soft gig bag, a guitar learning book, a tuner, a spare set of strings, and an assortment of guitar picks.  I, personally, owned a decent guitar at the time, but I know I certainly couldn't afford to buy for myself what Wills had bought for this man!

The Angel Tree program was designed to be anonymous, and Wills insisted it stayed that way.  He declined my request to contact the local media in regards to his generosity and he absolutely didn't want the gentleman to know the source of his generous gift.  1998 was a long time ago and I couldn't imagine the gentleman remaining alive today (although not impossible)... but I'm sure he enjoyed that guitar for the rest of his life.

I only tell this story today because I've thought about it so much during this season over the years.  It's one story that has had me admiring Wills beyond his accomplishment as an artist... but as a person.

Merry Christmas.