One night. Three lessons. From my dad, Ray Charles.

At nine years old, my family lived on the other side of the tracks, between a junk yard and liquor store. We were poor and not in a safe place.

It was on a Saturday when my dad went out for a pack of cigarettes, but never came back.

Mom was devastated. In desperation and to protect us, a couple of months later she announced that I would now be head of the household.

Shocked, woefully unprepared and without the ability, I tried.

But as time went on, I realized I needed a father figure, a mentor, a role model to help.

I thought long and hard, but there was no one in my life to fill that role. That's when I chose Ray Charles.

You see, whenever I heard the song "Georgia" on the radio, I learned, I gained strength, I became a little wiser, a little more confident. I know it’s a song about the state of Georgia, but it spoke to me in a very deep way.

I needed him and he was always there for me, through the music.

So I grew up with my virtual dad, Ray Charles, my mother, and my sister. We survived.

At my first job out of college, after a few years I became the general manager. My purchasing manager and I had traveled to Baltimore and had just signed a big contract with an important client.

It was a little after 3pm and we wanted to celebrate our success with an early dinner. We began walking down the street from the Client's offices and found this cute little Italian restaurant not far away. And although it was not yet open, we went inside anyway and asked if we would just be seated and chill with a glass of wine until they opened for dinner. The manager agreed and said to just find any table in the back.

The restaurant was beautiful. Nancy and I sat at a booth near a very distinguished couple who were already seated.

As time went by, we noticed a steady stream of people approaching this couple, one after another paying homage, giving thanks, bringing gifts. We were absolutely fascinated. We tried to guess who these people could be.

But our curiosity was finally answered with the last admirer.

The man approached the couple's table, hat in hand, and bowing his head. With great emotion, he thanked the man for saving his family. Nancy and I looked at each other in amazement. He then walked over to the man and actually kissed his hand. We almost fell out of our booth.

He said he wanted to give them a special gift and handed him an envelope. He said he knew how much they both liked the performer, and these were two, front-row-center seats to the concert happening that evening at the amphitheater next door. Ray Charles.

My mouth dropped.

The distinguished man replied with deep felt thanks but let him know that he and his wife had a previous commitment that evening and could not attend. But he would accept this as a gift anyway and asked that he give these tickets to someone who would really enjoy this wonderful opportunity.

I yelled, "I would enjoy them!" Everyone looked at me. And Nancy, like I was crazy. After all, I had just announced I was eavesdropping on what was probably a mafia boss. What in the world was I thinking!??

The man looked at Nancy and asked her name. She almost choked as she replied. He said, Nancy, I have an offer for you. Silence went by.? If you come over to my table, give me a big hug and kiss on the cheek, I will give these tickets to "you." And "you" can use them anyway you want.

I looked at her and said, "Please."

She turned to me and said, "You owe me." I nodded.

Nancy got up and walked over to the man's table, gave him big hug and kiss on the cheek, and he handed her the Ray Charles tickets. But he held onto her arm and said, "Remember, Nancy, you can use these tickets any way you want." She walked back to the table with a huge grin on her face. Like that of a Cheshire cat.

The couple eventually got up to leave and walked by us. But the man stopped at our booth, and like a dagger, looked at me Straight in the eye. I was extremely uncomfortable and looked away at first. I asked Ray for advice. Then, out of respect, I stood up, looked back at him squarely in the eye, stuck out my hand, and said thank you sir. We met as equals. He smiled, gave me a great handshake, and then patted me on the back as they walked away.

Lesson One received.

That evening, Nancy and I did go and see my dad for the first time.

Ray most certainly had practiced this, but he entered the arena without any assistance, walking confidently straight down the center walkway right up to the stage. He reached out and grabbed the railing like he saw it, walked up the steps, then over to his piano. He turned to the crowd, panned to the right, then to the left. With a big wonderful smile he said, "What a fantastic audience!" The crowd went absolutely nuts! And I was proud of him.

Lesson Two received.

Then Ray sat down and started playing a song on the piano. But about a minute in, he abruptly shouted "Stop, Stop" to his band. He looked to his left and said, "Horn in back, Stand up!"

Apprehensively, the horn player in the back left stood up.

Ray then said, "Son, if you can't keep in tune with the band, please leave my stage. Or, maybe you could just join us."

The horn player slowly sat down and lifted the horn back to his mouth.

Ray began again from the top.

Lesson Three received.

It was the best concert I ever experienced.

At the very end, he announced this would be the last song of the evening and proceeded to play "Georgia."

During the song, I reflected on my life and felt nothing but gratitude.

Thank you Ray.