Al Green hugged me once, and I can still smell the Sta-Fro and hear his bottomless guffaw and feel the pat of his ringed fingers on my back. Then he was gone, back onto stage where he continued to smile his ear-to-eternity smile and tease us with his fake introductions – a juddering halt three bars into Let’s stay together while the Reverend asked us at length about our relationship with God, laughing at our frustration. When I hear him fold his arms on Tired of Being Alone or whisper on Simply Beautiful or catch the horn break on Loving You I am a goosepimpled neckhair-raised giggling fool of a man and I love it. When I hear Lay it Down, I can shrug and smile. My relationship with God may be shaky, but my relationship with Al Green is unsulliable.