ok- my sightings, one meet, one near-meet stories

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dazzledbylight

Blue Crack Supplier
Joined
Dec 5, 2003
Messages
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in the sound dancing - w Bono & Edge :D
Bonochick,I know I won't be able to finish posting all of my stories, since I don't type so fast,tonight & running out of netpass time, too. But I think I know what to do **correctly** this time--that is *reply to my own posts*-- so it #doesn't go into new posting #, less work for you & less bandwidth for elvis.... <I'll try my best >

hi, :wave: hope you'll enjoy my set of stories.... a little light music & a bit 'o my rock & rollbackground.

I have been mostly lucky with my rock&roll endeavors/adventures through the decades. Being a born & bred NYC'er, I *know* I have logistical advantages over folks living further away from big city hubs, as well as NYC's function as a cultural magnet etc. But not always as much as some of you might imagine. ANd often I've had to work hard forthe privileges.

I've seen most of my *favorite groups* close-up in smaller venues from club-size to medium-size halls or outdoor venues [100- 2,000 plus or so seaters] that eventually before they became well-known/Somewhat Famous, Real Famous or SuperFamous, such as: The Who, Springsteen, Patti Smith Gropup, Television & Midnight Oil and alot of secondary faves like Talking Heads, B-52's, Ramones, Roger McQuin and many, many, many more. I often have the concert photos i've taken to prove it for my favs.

#Not# that I'm using them as 'trophy's' so to speak, I'm a visual artist with proffesional training- as well as continual self-teaching. I **draw, some times paint, take photos since I was a kid**, just have gotten better & more professional over the decades.

I love:heart: to d/p/ph what I love--nature, crowds of people at special events I'm interested in.... and rock concerts of bands I really like/love!!

Now you might of noticed :blahblah: {<besides that} that I haven't mentioned U2 yet. Oh,why, oh why could that be?

Because...even with my R&R :hug: companeros' {and good friends, also} attuned ears for info, on *very rare* occasions someone knowing someone in the midlevel performance connection to the band, grape-vine savy, hard work running around to get tix and sometimes *pure luck/musical grace*..... we have never,ever :rant:, gotten even good, let alone great seats or an opportunity to somehow get closer to the stage {as I've done for previous groups}...when it comes to U2. And we've been seeing them since 84, and myself sort of in '83 and known/started to pay attention to them of them since '80/81.

Imagine in '92 within one week we went from pretty good seats for Sringsteen at the Contennetal Arena {remebering we'd seen him closer up before} to eing near the very top, and near the back of Giants Stadium in NJ for ZooTV U2.

well my pass is down to 2 mins...will continue over the week with the actaul u2 stories!
 
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sorry i tried to read this 4 times but everytime my brain hurts too much and i have to stop. I can't cope with too much grammar. :ohmy:
 
quick recap: me & my friends have seen many bands, some our fav Supergroups- some not. We've been close to them at concerts at least once to several times over the decades. I can rove it by photos, but I do the photography for my own pleasure of having solid visual memories and the artistic challanges of taking the photos as creatively/well as I can!

The last straws that made me really take up...U2 sightings.

We get tix for June 2001. Phooey, back of the stage. But I have a partial solution!

Over the years it's gotten harder and harder to sneak a big [non-digital] professional camera into concerts as it's been unallowed/ cracked-down on. So, I wrap the body of my camera, the telephoto lens and lens/tele extender all in separate 'gift packaging'. I unwrap and put it all together once the lights have gone down on U2. This way they won't look quite like ants on the stage when any of them wander back towards the back {or running in Bono's case}. Am I good or what?:wink:

WHen I get the film back froma professional studio....it is ALL blanck, not over-exposed- somehow it didn't take up on the spool and I never noticed that! :scream: I'm not sure that's ever happened with that camera.

THis &%#!$*)%# boo-boo pushes me further into the idea of U2 sighting.

My first u2 sighting.

It actually happened before that screw-up [above]. It was nov 2000 and they announce U2 will do a radio-broadcast gig here in NYC at Irving Plaza! WOWEE.

only...I don't/can't get tixs and wouldn't of had the extra money to buy off the net or whatever. Not a happy camper. I'd just been through {as of still current} probably the 2nd worst year in my adult life- and I'd only been recovering from that awful portion in the previous month or so.
 
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sighting #1 con't'd

I am glued to my boom-box that night! They start up {"..like landing a 747 on your front lawn.."- Bono}. They sound sooooo goooood! I am besides myself with joy for them and for us fans! I listen untill I can't 'take it' anymore. Although I've been inside Irv Plaza off/on for 17 years, I have no idea whther you can hear any music from the outside? Well, I just couldn't let that stop me, if there was *any* chance. I ran to the subway and set off, telling my roomate to please turn the tape over.

I navigate through the outside crowd, and the massive cables and trucks for production and satilite-feeds. But not a peep is leaking it's way out. So I decide I'll go wait with the fans at the stage door, once I find that.

I'm some where in the middle of the width of the crowd, since more people show up behind where I am- once the show is actually over. Of course, there are the false starts/alarms, but finally they start to come out the door. And what else is waiting for them but the VH1 or MTV interveiwing, satilite-feedtruck.

Finally, I ....seee.....I see......the top of Larry's hair cut. :huh:I knew it was him, because I'd seen the reccent band photos and by the crowds' reaction.

I don't think he really stopped to be interviewed. Soonly after The Edge & Adam come out. THey DO stop. SInce I have to turn to see them further on down- I find that at least now, I can see them sort of- backlit against the brilliant videotaping lights. Oh, that's somewhat better.

It takes more time for Bono to show up, I nudge myself down just a little more. WHen he stops at the interviewer he'sonly 2 or 3 people away from me :hyper: , but almost completely in backview and he dosen't really change his stance to any big degree. arg!

I may have written it down & you'd think I might remeber- I might have heard afew words from Bono being that close, and I possibly heard a little of Adam or Edge, too. What I did do was make minature sketches of them, how I saw them in my calender for that year.

So that was it. And I #don't think# I knew *just yet* that the Sightings Bug was/had already gotten me! <heh, heh, heh>

BTW my sightings do get better in time.... soon, maybe tommorow for the next one. ttfn
 
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next short story

this one was cool, but weird that I'd totally forgotten about it after 9-11, and only remembered stuff from nov 01 onward as far as sightings go.

I only remembered this after I happen to look at my yearly small calanders, {that act a bit like diaries and sketch pads} - a few weeks ago.

We got seats to see u2 in June 2001 in NJ, aND not AT msg/nyc AS i REALLY WANTED!. Now, I was grateful to get any seats [one on level], aND SUPER :grumpy: on another {what, we got crummy seats AGAIN for the fifth time?!!} .

So i began to figure at that point I was never goona see them in concert up-close. No, non, nada,nyet, zippo, the big Zero.....
but since they were PLAYING AT msg [couldn't afford to go 2x's], I'go stand outside around ? 5:30 or so.

One of the funny things about MSG is it's situated smack in the middle of mid-town manhatan. Sonme other cities areas are more on \e the outskirts.

Well, we wait about an hour and a big ?blue van drives up. ANd threres Bono with what I call a fishman's hat on {brim all around & down.
i was like AAAAAAA :ohmy: {inside} i couldn't quite beleive it. He didn't stopp , but he stuck his head out the oopened windon and smiled
 
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Hi light... you seem familiar to me from somewhere...

I'm looking forward to the rest of the stories.
Might I make a humble suggestion that you use a little less formatting to make it easier on the eyes as we read your vivid descriptions?

Thanks dear.

Love,
Marvie
 
hey hi ya

strange...your name sounds familiar :wink:

how've you been?

hhmmmm really you think the formatting i do makes it more unreadible? hhmmm I usually find for me that it dsoesthe opposite. Hmmm mayeI do too much..

okay i'll try alot less of i t. :D
 
Seabird said:
I've had enough near misses to last anyone a lifetime. I don't even want to tell mine, they're frustrating, they are unfulfilled dreams, not good memories.

ah, SB, I could understand that pretty well. I'm sorry :(

But what do you exactly mean by near-miss for you? Seeing them in a vehicle BUT NOT having them come out to meet fans?

Or the pure aaaarrrgggg :scream: of having arrived a few seconds too for them arriving or leaving?
-------------------------------------------------

Myself, till all these happened in from 2001- 2003 the closest I'd ever been to any of U2 was ??? 50 yrds, 100 yds. :rant: :scream:

I know, you want it to happen to ***you***.

Imagine then the contrast in my experiences with my other 2 most favorite of bands previous to U2, and then u2 since '80/81 - june 2000.

I'd been so close to Springsteen leaving the theater he was walking right by so I could hear/and felt the words he was saying brush past my ear {oooooo} :drool:.
I also saw him & E ST.from the 5th row and from the side of the front of the stage {got photos }. DOL :drunk: <drunk on lust> All in his middle-early years.

I saw the Who from the very first row in the aisles/space between the stage and first row 3x'S. once before they started to play Tommy.
I **met** roger daltry several months before he finally shaved off his Tommy curls. :drool: he was very nice.

these were/are 2 of my fav r&r men from my fav r&r bands.. before u2. then look how unlucky i was with u2 for 21 yrs.

I hope you luck will drastically IMPROVE and you will have the experience you wish to have or even better! Good luck in the rest of '04 & 4 '05! :up:

:ohmy: SB, I just came back from reading your other posts in Emilie's thread, and I wrote al this up before I read those. sorry.
 
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Nov 2001/MSG arena NYC sightings & 1 stoopid meeting

next 'chappie'
this kb has a so-so 'n" key, i might not have time to put all the n's in- that should be there. There are very few kb/monitors available right now.

I wasn't able to get a seat for the NOv 2001 shows when they were announced. After 3 days of scouring the net, having never hunted for Tix on the Net before I got a 120$ seat for 137 dollars. How I really wanted a GA "seat", but I wanted even more to go the very first night.

MSG sits on the western half of the block between 33rd & 32nd Streets { North/South} & between 7th and 8th Avenues {longer sts East/West} in Manhattan {midtown}. The office complex has a wide, people-bridge that connects that with the arena itself. Taxis and other occasional other vehicles run under that peoplebridge. Major trains ad subways are under the whole area. Until later in the evening it's quite a busy place.

On either side of MSG where that taxi street passes in front of it are....short entrance/exit roadways that go out diagonally on either side & makes 45 degrees conections to the 33rd & 32d sts. On the other side of the round areas a regular back stage/party area door & canopy faces NE towards the General PO {which will become the media/news center during the GOP convetion}.

I am basically going to be spending the next 3 evenigs/nights basically walkig, semi-running ad standig arounnd these 3 streets/sidewalk.
........................................................................
I am stunned by the show's intense/cathartic pow,e{expecting that in some degree then actually going thru it was somethig else! Ad I had half decided to stay after anyway.

I am new there. Lots of fans know each other to various degrees. Many exchange stories, show their previous u2 meetigs photos. I more or less move aroud between groups, quietly observing the goings on. People spill on to the taxi & roadway areas from the sidewalks.

I do end up evetually with 2 ladies off & on. One who at some point rather pointedly tells me "don't do anything ridiculous" [certainly not as nice as Em]. I think I said somethig back like "i've been a R&R fan for , I know I'll probably behave...having met Roger Daltry & stood aroud for Springsteen in the past.

We and some other's go back & forth for a while from the 33rd Street roadway to that door. Where/when will they come out? We see some well-know rockers come out the stage door. we end up back on 33rs st. Aroud 12:30 AM LArry is the first to 'emerge'.

Everyone purposely but semi-slowly goes around Larry. I am overweight but rubensque {i still have a figure shape}, & I'm taller than the average {'53'-5'4'} women about 5"7".

This means it is really 'easy' for me to be seen as a "pushy broad" ,, if I move too intennsely. I hang back abit because I am nervous, do't want to be rude either. yet I want to but not quite able to getly sdle my way into the surroundig ring of people.

THe guy fans are my height or many taller. These too factors iterfere with my ability to take phots. Plus the fact I forgot to chreck the battery for thr flash. My sis has lnet me her little camera, since she got a new oe. It seems not to let the flash go o at every pic I take.

Larry meawhile is signing autographs ad having his pic taken for ? 10-15 mins. I see him in betwee peoples heads/shoulders.I occasioally see him flash a smile. I hardly ever see a photo of that and his smile is....dazzling. He finally says good bye, but i think he asks if ay one else wants a pic etc. I am by that time too nervous, amazed do't want to do ay thig dumb, sice the person I wat to meee the most is Bono.
 
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con't nite 1 MSG 11/2001

Niether The Edge or Adam come out that way.

But Bono does some time later. Either this nite or the next this happens. He doesn'y fully stop. He appears by the diagonal MSG roadway. But he does wave at fans, who come closer to him as he heads to the van, and talks abit as he's walking along. I am still more back than in the front of the group, tryig to take pics.

so that is nite #1

tommorrow or thurs for nite 2 , maybe 3. :rolleyes:
<it takes me a long time to type. I get bounced out. I have to goput more money i for another pass. Ad tonite I have a -key problem.> :)
 
MSG/NYC nites #2 & #3

I relooked at my 2001 date book/calender and there's no specific info for night 3{fri}, but some other earlier day notes scrawled across.
So I am going to treat this entry as nites #2 & #3 together [thurs & fri] since some of my memories are kinda :huh: 'mushed together'.


things got even more busy. Not only were fans continuing to show photos, trade e-mail addy's, trade stories and show previously autographed photos or other paper stuff {album covers, posters etc} , but others brought even more :ohmy: special momentos.

One had a gutair that had been autographed. Another had an American flag that they had handed Bono to hold on stage. So folks were all exclaiming ooo's & aaahhh's at the various people & their momentos.

I think this night or the first one the guy who got on stage the first night who hugged Bono very intensely & long - who had "One" tatooed down his back in various languages showed up.

Their cars were lined up across the street from MSG (33rd st)

Larry again comes out first. He's again very patient with the fans and flashes that lovely smile.

This time security sticks Bono behind a barricade and fans lineed up to have their stuff signed. Except for exchanges between him & the fans, we were all quite quiet. This time, I miss getting an autograph :( - ppl got there before me & by the time I was half behind & inbetween 2 ppl, security pulled him away.

However at least I got a chance to look at him some what more closeup at last {6-7 ft}!!. That was surreal enough to see him that *close-up* for the first time, and for more than a minute. If I wasn't actually trying to get closer in, I'd could of spent the time just looking at him- instead of dividing my concentration. He had that olive hat on this time & was wearing khaki or camoflage-type clothing.

Then Edge comes out but I'm not sure I even glimsped him at all, he was so quickly surrounded! The crowd rather moved along with him till he got into the car.

I was caught between frustration, not wanting to barge through and nervousness. I tried to snap a photo holding my camera up above the crowd and pointing slightly downward.

what made things partuclarly nice was how warm it was for late oct ?? upper 60's.

that however was about to change. :grumpy:
 
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I meet......

...... I'm not saying thgat on the first line :wink: .


the temperature goes down that night into the 40's with wind. It's not really that bad, but it does feel bad after 3 days of the 'balmy' 60's.

Somewhat less fans hang out becuase of this.

One of the touching things that has been happening all the various nights is some fans asked the police and firemarshals hakeeping an eye on things for photos with them. All this engendered by 9-11.

It was either MSG security guy or a policeman the night before shows up his picture {2 other unifrmed ppl in it} taken with Bono. We're like 'cooool'. He tells us he's going to get it cropped and blown up some in order to have just him & Bono in it.

So we wait and wait.... bit by bit fans drifted away from the cold in combination with the lateness {tho it was a Sat nite}.

All the previous nights we've hung out by the 333rd st MSG roadramp. This night because they are taking longer than usual as the last night, partying longer we go between the 32nd St roadramp & here, lkeeping our eyes out.

I warn a fan sitting on the sidewalk's edge to sit totally on the side walk because at this road {32nd SYT] they have been constantly going & back & forth using ?? various size fork-lifts to bring dismantled parts of the stage & lighting rig to the various trucks. The guard tels us here & there Just wait..sure they'll be out soon.

As the daughter of a 'lightening man' I was surrounded by architectural & Lighting magazines as a child & teenager. {he'd sell lighting but also knew how to light various spaces indoors and out-- his biggest job- he relit the Woolworth building} Iwas kind of fasicnated to watchg that. mI once had dreams of being a rock & roll stage lighting designer. (one reason my username here)

One of the tour entourage feels pity towards us he's hands out various stuf. He hands me a giutar pick saying... 'i'm sorry it's not one of Edge's special ones". { very nice anyway!}

It's now about 1:30 AM . Larry & adam go out first but in a van. the few of us left some barely catch that it's them inside.

A while later Bono's van comes out but doesn't stop. The guard apologies...I thot he'd really stop'.

Finally even more tired and cold than I was before, The Edge's van comes out ....and stops. omg!

He comes out as we begin to walk over. I think he had a warmer jacket on with a hood up.

I hand him a page of drawings from the show I saw {'87} tour, one which at the top has bono spotlighting edge when he's playing gutair. I tell him that.

I canb't remeber if he said anything, but he signs' it.

And...and I forget to say....Thank you. !!!!

:reject: :down: :rant: :banghead: :sad:
how inconsiderate! stoooopid, could I be!

obviously quite alot :reject: I still can't believe it!

I yelled 'thanks' as I heard the first person yell thank you as he moved away. But in my view, that doesn't count !

it's one of the things besides the praise I want to give to him that

( the cold, suoertiredness & 'mindfreeze' did me in-- but i still feel lousy about it! wah!!)
 
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a 2002 Bono sighting

Looking at the atU2 calender in Febuary '02 I noticed that the B-man was an honoree that year foe the Nordof Foundation. If I remeber corectly, because iv'e heard of them before- they help to sponsor programs that deal with the healing power of music.

Since none of my Bono pics ncame out from my previous hanging out after MSG concerts fall 2001 {see above}, i figured this was a possiblity.

I get there prety early. Only 2 or 3 people seem to being hanging out. So I walk up& down the block for a while till I see more people begining to be there. It was still a quite small crowd. Some of the Celebrity Photographers were also showing up.

Bit by bit more Photographers and more fans began to show up. But i don't think there were more than about 15 Bono fans {could've been less} ever there. The CP's were behind a barricade closest to the theatre entrance. They were also blocked off by another perpendicular barricade, so they couldn't rush out and swarm the srrivees. The rest of the fans were clustersed around another barricde nearer to the side walk's streetside.

Unrecognizalbe people begin to arrive in cars & taxis.
Meanwhile the CP's were begining to grouse about the young women Bono fans..."don't you get in my way..." etc. The worse calling them whores.

I had earlier on slipped behind at the edge of the CP's barricade, because my main concern was actually getting a photo of Bono for the first time. But I really didn't like :grumpy: the swipes being taken about the fans. I don't remember what I said but I mouthed off to the CP's about their insults. They in turn called me something even nastier. It stung abit, and I haven't remebered it since I started thinking about writing up this next mini-adventure.

I know I saw more than just Bono walking in, but the only other person I eneded up being interested in photographinfg was Steven Van Zandt aka 'Little Steve' { Bruces' E Street Band}, AKA 'Silvio' {Sopranoes}. He's a cool guy, good musicain, knowaledge about bands/music, and does his our stuff realted to activism type work. {I have 20 yrs younger photos of him in my Springsteen/band photos around '76-'78. :)

THe big van with u-no-who arrives around 15 mins later. I'm all tense because I knew I didn't have much time....and :yes: I had replaced the dying batteries of MSG, but still was iffy about whether the camera would work right at night.
 
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Nordof Bono sighting cont'ed

After his bodygurd gets out he does. I get one clear sighting and took the photo before the gals swarmed around him. I slipped out of the edge of the barricade to get to them. But I never got a clear view to take aNY MORE. He soon stepp-ed away to let the CP's do their job...."hey, Bono look over here"..."look this way"...etc. after that people begin to dissipate. I stay a little longer to see if anyone else I'd be really interersted in photographing shows up, but no so I leave.

WHen I get my film back.... :dance: :dance: :D ...at last I get my first pic of Bono!! Steve with wife or girlfriend pic also came out well!.

Of course soon, I'm somewhat miffed because the photo isn't closer. {picky, picky I hear some of you say}

My sib has long lent me the realtively inexpensixe automatic camera she had, because she went and got a more high-end automatic. The inexpensive ones usually have A35mm lens. But expensive older {? curent}Professional SLR's & perhaps the Profeesional Ranngefinder have traditionally had 50mm lens by default because 55mm is the *closest to a human being's regular field-of-vision* they can manufactor <see below for further camera-talk about this difference for those interested>. SO Bono was truely somewhat closer to me, than the photo shows.

What all this does is *stoke* my appetite for better photos of Bono! :lmao: And at least at the next {then hoped for new album/tour} round of concerts & hanging out after- deccent {a clear fairly-close view} of Edge, LArry & Adam also.

Of course we're still waiting on that.
My next opportunity to see Bono dosen't happen for a about a year & a half, when Bono goes to Christe's for his P&W paintings auction in Nov 2003.

And OH what a SO-close-but-Not-quite-a meet that that turned out to be- since my definition of a real meeting is like Seabirds.

That is, close and long enough to actaully say something {nice/appreciative} to him AND *he responses back!!! {:uhoh: 'the finger' dosen't count} Of all I *prefer* a few words back 'thank you would be good enuff :D} to me, but a nod, thumbs up, wave would do in a pinch, if that was my last chance [for what ever reason] to ever see him. If not- the last opportunity- I'd try for the photo with him next, if I couldn't that time.


and now for a photo lens lesson :)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This means your 35mm camera is actually a mild telephoto lens effect. Any one who has spent decades looking thrtough a 55mm lens [like me :D] is often at first scratching thier head at why the photos they took are good BUT, why don't they quite look like what I remeber seeing.

I finally realized this when I came back to the same place on vacation but in the full spring vs the previous winter, stood in the same sdpot and took a photo. When I got thosr \back I opulled out the others and 'i'll be darned' there was adiscernable difference. THis was especially so because the objecvt's surroundings prevented me from going too fut\rther back.
 
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Christies'{peter&wolf} micro near-meet

My very last story.....for now{i hope} :sexywink:

Luckily while I was so extra, extra busy & distracted atU2 had mentioned Christie's peter & the wolf paintings for Bono for the Irish hopises auction were coming up so many times and I probaby caught some converation here {had not delurked yet]that this info got thru my brain to register. Attention!!

I had to go on the net to double check that were I thought it was, it was. I knew they'd moved there to this site not that long ago and I passed it on the bus. Since going to either it or Southeby's is a rare thing for me, I had to make sure it ws the right auction house & location I was thinking of.

I get there around 7PMish wondering if I might of missed him going in. But no. There were some fans..mostly on the left side of the entrance, along with the celebrity photographers. I'm trying to figiure out a good spot, but i'm walking around a bit becuase I knew I might be standing in one place for a while. I gently sueeze in and around from time to time, but at one point when a taller than me photographer loaded with gear gets half in front of me, I finally do my "pushy broad' thing and semi-shove around him.

Finally Bono's van showes up all half the folks go into motion. I end up barely getting one or two glimpses of him from about 10 - 12 feet away. I get the sense tht he is wearing something dark. This 7:00+ PM in NYC were it's gone dark around 5PM already. :grumpy:

I go around to the other side, he's now standing by a photographer's whites screen, probably because that particular area of cristie's is not well lit. This way he will stand out in their photos. From more of a distance [20-30ft] I can see him & some other people being photographed.

he finally goes in. I decide to takea chance, because even though it's lovely warm late Nov eve, my feet would be severly protesting if, I basically just stood around. So not being that far away from the upper portion of Times Sqaure I go off to visit some places I'd never been to or return to.

Hey, I'd never actaully been inside the Big Hersey's candy store which my sinb said was great. SO I went there. Got those limited editoins Dark Chocolate Hersey's kisses in beautiful purple foil wrap. I bopped dwon to Toy's r Us {been to}.

Finally I stood around a bit wating for one of the Chineese Name Painter's to do painting for me. He was one of the best I've ever seen.

BTW for those who are interested...if you'd rather have a inspiring, uplifting word instead of your name, they'll do it for you. I'm a conosour of these things. I go around and pick the painters [over time] who have the most interesting/beautiful depictions of letters- THEN I figure out what meaningful words I could get done for those particular works. Currently I have 5 of them

I wa begining to get nervous becaue I thought it might be getting too late. there wasa guy for New Orleans' {never been there} who was getting 4 of them dome before me. SO I half ran back to Christies. I saw the van, phew he'd hadn't left yet. In fact I ws told by two women , pointing upwards a floor upbove me that Bono & Elvis Costello and some others had been sitting at -that- table there just a little while ago.

this place is closing up for the weekend so 'll have finish either later tonight or over the weekend. :wave:
 
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chrities cont'd

vasck again sooner than i thot :). Except i still might not be able to finish...it closes in 20 mins. bah!

I talk to these women a mom & daughter- 50 & 30 ish. I find out they're from either london or liverpool. Of course, I 'have to' tease them... "you come 3000 miles across the water and away from great Brtain & Ireland and this is where you wait to see Bono?! They knew i only was kidding, and I asked them about their visit. They had enjoyed it so far immensly. [makes this NYC'er :happy:]

the Christies security people keep telling us not to spread out to the end of the sidewalk, blocking passerby's walking. We move away and slowly edge back again. After some time they lazily bring out some metal & police barricades. Ah that's some progress.

At somer point later Elivs C walks out rapidly with his fiance. I get a quick loof as he dashes by. he doesn't stop at all. Too bad I'd have told him how I'd enjoyed his music.

Soon after the security startes to put almost all of the baricades in place. everyone is starting to quietly buzz. I hear some fan say, oh, maybe we'll see Guggi , too etc. I only know who that is thanks to ATU2 & Intfrnce. But I have know idea what he looks like.
 
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Christies con't

....didn't know what he {Guggie} looked like because I'd never gone to look at any pics previous to the Christies event as a lurker.

SO more people exit including G. I only know this bacause
some fans call out his name and he goes over to talk to them. Ah, ok. I'm not sure i saw Gavin walk out either because no one called out his name or he came out way r to the other side of this wide entrance area and didn't see/or hear that encouner.

Now they finally move the final baricade in place. :ohmy: I had been behind a person or 2 who were at the front of the barricade [right angles to to street], and I [we] were baricaded also to our side [parrallel to street] to prevent sidewalk blockage.

But now they slid another right angle to the street barricade past the one they'd had up for a while already that nowwould block off all pedetrian walking, what they had been preventing before by making sure we weren't blocking it outselves. So several passersby were stopped. They decided to stay once they heard who wa scoming out {they could hae crossed the street, otherwise.

Well, I'd be darned if people just now caught in the mix were going to get a better view than me:grumpy: after waiting so long! and trying hard previously. So I was able to slip around the new barricade and end up only behind one set of people.

Then, just a few mins later everyone suddenly became very....very...quiet.<sssshhhh> I couldn't see past all the people who were closer to the entrance which is actually set fairly far back from the buildings' relgualr code line. I maange to hang over the baricade to see where ...he...:hyper: might have been.

I'm expecting to see a somewhat small {distancewise}figure because I thought he was way down by the entrance way, making his way down the line of people.

Oh, he was but he was now already only :shocked: 6 people down the line from me.

>>>>>>>>>.... now I must run off to meet my sis....we are going to see [we hope] the Olympic Torch run-relay coming through one ofTHE LAST OF THE mAnhattan stops {right near The Plaza Hotel area SE corner of Central Park}. back later or tomorrow for the finale piece of this story.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
 
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I'm baaaack..... the end of the story

:ohmy: gah....six people away.....

I want you to know that since I heardabout the auvction, I had been 'practicing' something nice AND as short as possible to say to him- should i be gifted with the opportunity. Something like "...thanks for the music and your caring..." I would be saying it every once in a while and then alot more that evening waiting around. I was absoulutely trying not to make the same mistake as I did with The Edge!! It was ##bad enough## :reject: I did that to him!

I stay hanging over the barricade for half a min seeing him in profile. It's then I realize that his hair *was red-brown*. I cna't rememerber whether I'd only 'heard' [read] about it here{lurking} or actually had seen one of the previous new photos posted. "ah..." i said to myself," there's the hair color change". Hmm not bad, got to get used to it tho- after all that great black hair. {i missed POP tour/era/photos etcetc and i never got close enough at any U2 concert to see}

I stand back and wait as he come closer. I have my little fat notebook out on which i'd been drawing before to while away the time. He's talking to a bunch of people to the left of me...."a great man.....so when they asked me.....I couldn't say 'no'...." {i only heard part of his conversation}. He's still talking to them as he gets just about in front of me.

I take a deep breath and say more or less what I mentioned up there, tho there still seemed to be people talking. No response. Did he not hear me? I start again, I think I got thru all those words again , but again I'm not sure if his focus was really on me as he took my book. He signs and hands it back.

It's then that I git 'hit with' the time s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n. I'm standing about 5 ft away from him. It's quite far from the best lighting even for night in the city. Not near a lampost. Not near enough at all to the extra lightings from Christies big ground-floor window displays.

Un like the photos I 'd soon see posted here-- his ?brown suit/or jacket looks almost blueish, his medium-blue shirt seems almost dark-navy or black. And I don't think I got a glimpse of the rosary, either. AND in this lowish lighting, it was hard to see his eyes even behind realtively on the lighter-side shades.

ANd then we just stood there and looked at each other. Like i said I couldn't really see his eyes well, so it's was no intense soulful {on my part} eyes to eyes look. Having no idea had long we stood there [it couldn't have been long!], after 2 trys I couldn't say a word!! :scream: stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

Then time snapped back to normal. I stepped a bit back as someone now to my right held out their -probably the back of the Chrities prgram because it was a hevy semi-glossy paperstock. He draw I think, a mini self-portrait, shades, long nose and mouth. then he stepped off the side walk past the back of the van to go around to the other side towards the front doors.

A bunch of people cmae around the front side of the van and from across the street. I went around the car behind the van [closest to me]. I might of got a micro glimpse of him between al the people before I saw the van door close. And off they went.

Some people milled around for a bit. I listened to a woman talking to a man about giving Bono a note as related some how to education/schooling in Africa.

After that I bopped down the street with a push-pull combination of self-reproach {the stupid line}, the disappointment becuase of that, AND simultaneously being high as a kite on getting that close, and getting his autograph.

When I crossed 6th Ave and turned down the street, I held the page to my check and smiled a big, happy smile!:drool: before I headed home.

I want you to know that until I saw my Mom at the Nursing Home and showed her the autograph, I was looking at it wrong. I say to her, I don't quite understand how he wrotr his name...it's really 'not right' to my eyes. She takes a look at it and says..."you're looking at it upside down'. :huh: :eyebrow:

:ohmy: she's right! :lmao: :reject:
 
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