Hi guys!
Well, wow, I had no idea so much talk was going on behind my back!
Anyhoo, I thought I'd add my 2 cents as I'm the gal who chatted with Mr. B...
I think it is perfectly normal and wise to question stuff read on the internet because, y'know, you don't me, I don't know you, and you don't know the half of it... (Sorry, I couldn't resist -- it's 5 am here & I’m in crazy insomniac mode)...
Blah blah, yeah, so I was waaay more eloquent on zootopia & other message boards regarding this matter, so, my apologies for being less than coherent.
The thing is having that opportunity to talk to Bono one on one was truly remarkable. I haven't experienced a one on one chat with him since I was 18 years old (I'll be 31 this Sunday). I've met up with him tons of times in both Boston and LA with groups of fans ranging from 2 to 100. Thing is, I wasn't supposed to be alone. 3 other ppl were going to meet me, but they all slept in the lazy so&so's, so there I was feeling like a complete dork standing on a cold sidewalk all by myself jamming out to Vertigo on my U2 iPod... I almost left to wait in my car for my friends to show up I felt so awkward, but then I saw John (or, as I like to call him, "Mr. Clean")... He walked down the driveway and gave me a smile and a little wave. (He looks scary, but he's a real sweetheart -- provided you're not crazy, paparazzi, autograph hound, or all of the above)... Bono appeared shortly thereafter and almost hopped into the car without stopping, but then I stood up (I was kind of behind a florist truck that was parked across the street... don't ask, as I said, I felt like a dork*).... As soon as he saw me he stopped and made a B-line for me (no pun intended -- get it? B-line, god I need sleep... carrying on...)... And, well, the rest is posted a couple times here in full & the edited version is still on my modblog (which is back up, btw, thanks gorman!)...
So, what was my fool point?... Oh! Aside from the obligatory "congrats on your nominations" I had no pre-planned stuff to say to him because every time I've met him the conversation has just flowed naturally... Well, ok, the only time it didn't was the very first time I met him during which I was frozen solid like an ice sculpture I was so in awe -- *sigh* youth... So, yeah, I didn't, like, "interview" him, I just conversed with him and the presale bit just popped out... There was more to the convo than what I posted, but I took out a bunch because it wasn't too important to the message, dig? Now, let me also say that if he hadn't told me to tell y'all what he said, none of these discussions would be happening because the only people I would've told are my husband and my Mum! In fact, despite his asking me, I felt really uncomfortable posting it. It felt like standing naked in a crowded room or something...
Now, I don't know why he chose me -- this one fan -- to relay his message. Was it a spur of the moment thing on his part? Did he like how he worded what he said & felt he couldn't recapture it? I don't have a clue! Was I just at the right place at the right time? Would he have told anybody or was it because he recognized me? None of these riddles can I solve. All I know is, he told me to "tell the people" (as corny as it sounds ~ I'd have worded it differently myself, lol) and so that's what I did -- I told the people. And since I posted it, more than 3,000 people have visited that blog & 393 incoming links with a total of 4567 hits. I mean, that's freaken crazy! I guess I told the people!
(Of course, that's mostly thanks to modblog & gorman for having such a great vehicle to get the message out -- thank you!)
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is -- I don't blame anyone for being a doubting Thomas, especially after that whole Edge debacle on here. It's normal. I can't tell you why me, because I just plain don't know. Bono moves in mysterious ways. I can't prove to you my worth, nor shall I try. You either believe or you don't -- simple as that.
All I ask is this: think of me what you will, but please don't let your doubts cloud the message here. There's a little girl out there who needs our love & support (heck, there are a lot of little girls out there suffering from the same thing!), but this little girl is special to me because U2 are special to me -- and, it would seem, special to all of you, too. So, let's try to put the "who the hell is Melissa anyway" stuff aside -- I'm only the messenger here, I'm not important in this equation (aside from my credibility, yes, I know, all I can do is tell you to read what others have said, check out my blog's gallery, ask those who know me, yada...) -- what's important is Bono's words:
"The sad thing is the whole thing happened because of Edge's situation. The tour was canceled 5 times. People worked round the clock just to keep the tour alive. Some people got snubbed and they've a right to complain, but some people are taking it too far -- those people aren't fans, they've an agenda. The heart wrenching thing is -- there's a little girl fighting for her life... It's our fault. It was an error. And we're doing everything we can to fix it."
I wrote those key points in my notebook shortly after he left so I wouldn't forget them. I will not attempt to interpret them because that can lead to speculation and rumor. I will only tell you what it said to me and that was that they messed up the presale, they're sorry, and they are fixing things. That's all I needed to hear from him -- not that I ever blamed U2 in the first place, but I felt honored that he entrusted that message to me and, despite my reservations, I relayed the message as he requested. I've taken a lot of heat from a lot of fans in the last few days, but I guess it's to be expected with something like this, so I'm just going to have to let that go, try to let it not hurt me, and pray the message gets to the people who really need to hear it.
Sorry I rambled on so long there, but thanks for reading if you made it this far!
God bless,
Mel
(*I noted the florist truck because written on the side of the door was "established 1979" and I couldn't help but have one of those U2 geek fan moments like seeing a lemon in the grocery store after a Popmart show...
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