Thursday, August 20, 2009

What a change!

Humph! Seems like I can't predict the weather! Now it's cold, rainy and more like Autumn here. We should be cooking at about ninety degrees!

Oh well, I like that it feels like a lovely fall day. My favorite season!

Karen

Friday, August 14, 2009

It's the dog days of summer in Wisconsin and I'm all ready for Halloween to come. Fall is my favorite time of year.

I'm in a new house this year (2009) and I'm ready to rev up the fog machines and put some creepy things in the yard and on the porch!

Ready for the little children to come and be frightened! In a happy way of course!

Karen

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Dedicated to Rhino

Let's see... I think I'll start with a new experience that I have had that has changed my outlook on age and life. I'm not a young woman but I think I've been lucky in my life. I've been to a lot of places and enjoyed meeting many friends along my journeys. But one thing that I most recently enjoyed has been the need to see a budding singing star and to watch his journey with his band and friends.

I first saw this singer on The Today Show over 2 years ago. He sang a beautiful song with a beautiful and very unique, voice. This is the singer that you are now listening to on my playlist.

I rushed right out to buy his first album and it blew me away. I loved absolutely every song on the cd. Have never done that with any singer/songwriter before. Even when I was a teenager in the seventies I'd put my favorite albums on and just play two or three of my favorite songs by the artist. But this cd seemed to touch on every emotion, every feeling that I have ever had in my life. It was like he was singing to my soul. I HAD to see him!

He was starting a world tour and he was coming to my area. Chicago, Feb.22, 2008, which I found out was the singer's birthday was the day of my first concert. My husband accompanied me, even though, at the time, he wasn't a big fan.

We arrived at a time of day that I thought the line would be very long, it wasn't. It was very, very cold. As we got in line, the man ahead of us said that he was happy to see that he wasn't the first old person there. We laughed together. And as we stood there freezing we talked and we found out that he knew the singer and the band. What fun for us. We had not been to a concert since we were teenagers, so we did not understand what GA was (which were the kind of tickets we had) like first in, best spot. Several times he had to leave his spot. A run for coffee, a run to help the merchandise seller, a run to help the band and so on... Every time he came back, he tell us about events as they were happening. He told us about where we could rush in to stand, where the bathrooms were, everything we could want to know. We shared stories of our lives and how much we loved this singer. I was on an emotional high.

On one run, as he was gone, two of the band members came out to ask us where he went. I was too shy to ask them for an autograph. I was just happy to be there.

Before we knew it, the doors opened and we got to go in. This man and my husband had gotten in before me and I ran down the stage wall to a spot that they were saving, right up front! I could almost reach out and touch the stage.

The first singer to come on was a new artist named Sarah Barielles. She was wonderful, and funny! But I was anxious to see the man who sang all of these beautiful songs. It took them a while to clear the stage and set up the band, but before I knew it, there he was in all of his glory! James Blunt!

He looked larger than life to me. I could only just stand there in awe, mouthing the words to the songs as he was singing. I was in a trance. Then, during the middle of one song, he decided to jump into the crowd to hug his friend who was next to me. I helped hold him up. His young body feeling slightly warm and moist, the texture of his shirt, it reminded me of my husband when he was younger. And as quick as he was there, he then flew himself to the other side of my husband and others got to enjoy him too.

The roar of the crowd was deafening, especially one girl slightly behind me who kept yelling out, "I love you James"! She was louder than the band.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over and I was emotionally drained and ready for bed. I had many things to share with my friends online who were also James Blunt fans but were not able to attend the concert.

We said our goodbyes to Rhino (that is the man that we met--I won't put his real name here) and we thanked him for everything he had done.

We left for our hotel. I slept like a baby all night, and it was so intense for me that I slept most of the next day.

I did get to attend another show in August 2008 in Minneapolis and James and the boys were really on top of their game. They were polishing their act and it showed. It was hot! I was seated near the front again, but this time, I was more settled. It turned out that Rhino and his wife were there, but we couldn't find each other.

Now James and the boys are touring the world. And someday, I hope that he comes to the USA again, so I can listen to the new songs he has been writing and maybe I won't be too shy to ask for an autograph!