September 1, 2001: The Unfinished Essay

After I had written the major epic I'd sent to friends and family, I wanted to write something for JourneyDigest.com that covered the same ground, but in a more reflective state focusing on the feelings of a particularly memorable summer. I started a draft in early September with the intent of fleshing it out over the next week or so. I got busy and didn't work on it as I had intended and before I had a chance to get back to it the tragedies of September 11, 2001 occurred, bringing a crushing end to what had been a very joyful and wonderful summer. While pulling together the other material for this blog archive, I stumbled on that early draft and decided to include it in the archive. The thoughts in the first and last paragraphs were the seeds that prompted this piece.

As I pull out of my driveway on my way to work, I notice a group of children with forlorn faces waiting for the bus to take them to the first day of school. I continue on my way, and as I hit the freeway, I notice that the sun is hanging a bit lower in the sky over San Francisco Bay. I sigh as I realize summer is coming to an end. I haven't been this sad to see the summer pass since I was one of the forlorn faces waiting for the school bus. 

As an adult, summers come and go with little notice, the days are longer, warmer, but that doesn't change the day in, day out routine. You take a week, maybe two, and go to the beach or the mountains or to visit family.This summer, well, this summer was different. Odd to think it all began back in December. 

It was in early December when my mother told me that the sale of her father's house had been finalized, and that she would be giving my brother and I part of her share.This unexpected windfall meant that more of my savings than usual would be available for my summer vacation. I returned to work and told my supervisor my tentative plans for vacation for 2001, which included two weeks for the anticipated Arrival tour -- the first week and the California swing.My best guess for the dates was late May/early June and mid-August. Fortunately, I didn't need to be more specific than that at the time. 

March rolled around, and the tour dates were announced. Now I knew when and where I would be spending my vacation. I told my parents my plans over St. Patrick's Day dinner, and my father was incredulous. "Texas? In June? For a week? Are they that good?" I laughed and assured him that I had not lost my mind. Texas certainly wasn't my ideal choice for my summer vacation, but then no one asked me!

And so, I began planning. Checking the dates and locations of the shows, when the tickets would go on sale, and mapping out my route. I'd start in Las Vegas, then Albuquerque, El Paso, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. A Phoenix date was added later, but I decided to by pass that show and spend extra time in New Mexico. While I was working on these plans, a friend from high school emailed me inviting me to visit her this summer in West Virginia. I hadn't seen her since her wedding six months earlier, but told her that I couldn't because of my plans to "go on tour." After several emails back and forth, I finally gave in when she sent "Journey is playing in Pittsburgh on July 14. We could go." Feeling guilty that I had to be bribed to visit, I added a weekend in West Virginia to my plans. 

June arrived sooner than expected, and I was on my way. Loaded down with a suitcase, my laptop computer, and the all important cell phone, I boarded the plane to Las Vegas. This was the show I was most looking forward to -- the very first night. Yes, it wasn't the "real" show -- that would come later in Albuquerque -- but it was the first Journey show since Arrival had been released in the US. As eager as I was to hear the new tunes live, I was also excited about seeing the many friends I knew were coming to this show. When Journey went back on the road in 1998, at long last, I began meeting people from across the country who shared my love for this music. Now, three years later, to go to a show and not meet someone I know (or have communicated with on-line) is unusual. Las Vegas was going to be the biggest group of friends I would see until the California shows in August, so I knew it would be a fantastic time.

{{{Finish later}}}

... I get in my car and punch the CD button on my radio to change the tune. I smile as I am greeted by a loud drum beat coming through my speakers. I pull away and head for home to the sound of "We Will Meet Again."

August 8-18: Michelle's Aventures in Journeyland (The Finale!)

Yet another trip to Denny’s, this time for a pre-show lunch with still more Journey Forum folks I hadn’t met (well, at least most I hadn’t met). Cat met us there, and had brought an old friend of hers who watched in amazement as 30 adults yammered on and on for an hour about Journey past, present and future. It wasn’t until we were leaving the restaurant that I learned one of our late arrivals sitting at a different table was Matt, the fellow who had done the interview with Herbie Herbert! I managed to catch him later in the night to congratulate him on his coup and ask when the next bit would be going up. The best news was that he planned to keep it up indefinitely unless he heard from some lawyers!

We get to the show and I pick up my fan club seat, but sadly no after-show pass. Oh well, some other time. Once inside, Rose and I found Cat and sat and chatted with our fellow fans. At a lull in the conversation, Cat leaned over and said “come with me”, and we went off to the side of the seats. Cat said that since I had been to so many shows this summer and hadn't gotten back stage once, she was giving me her extra after-show pass! Happy dance for me!! After 13 shows in 5 states, I finally get a chance to say thanks to the guys for a great summer! What a way to end the night.

The concert came and went much too quickly, and I had a huge lump in my throat at several different points—my summer was coming to an end, and after all the fun I had had, it was a serious let down. During the encore when everyone was singing the “na na” part of “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’”, Steve pointed out in the audience and said “Hi Mark!”—yes, “our” Mark, who was sitting two rows behind me, center stage. What a great guy!

After the show ended, I found Cat and Rose and headed over to the after show line. Cat left us for a bit to say good bye to her friend, and I made sure Rose stuck close to me since she didn’t have a pass. When Cat returned, she grabbed us out of line and took us over to where the “official” people were waiting—Michael and his wife and friends, Miles and his wife. Cat said Rose would be her guest, and with that, we were the first batch in for the meet and greet.

When we got inside we saw a long table set up, and only Ross was ready and waiting. We knew that Neal wouldn’t be making it, but where were the rest of the guys?? The group of us bantered with Ross for a bit until Steve, Deen and Jon arrived, then the line kicked in gear. While we were waiting we tried to figure out how to get the pictures we needed...alas, due to the rushing of the guards, that proved to be difficult! Rose went ahead of me, and I managed to snap a picture of her and Steve before I was pretty much forced to take my turn in line! No more pictures!

I introduced myself to Steve and handed him my Arrival liner notes—thank goodness I’d been toting the darned thing around all week. All I needed was his signature and Deen’s and I’d have all 5! I was able to thank him on behalf of the JPP gang once again for all they had done for us. At this point, Ross looked up at me and said “I know you!” I laughed and said, “Yeah, I’m sure you do.” (Hanging outside of radio stations in the freezing cold does pay off sometimes!) I had handed Ross my ticket stub to sign, and in one of the most obvious cases of habit, Ross grabbed my Arrival notes and signed away. I laughed and pointed out to him that he’d already signed it! He saw that he had and said “Well, okay, I signed for Jon!” He laughed again when I said “Jon’s done too!”

Deen was next and said “Hey! You made it!” and proceeded to introduce me to his wife Julie as he signed my ticket stub and the liner notes. I said “See, I told you that I show up, even if you don’t always see me.” He then looked around and asked me where Cheryl and Ana Marie were. I told them that they were back home, and I would be joining them tomorrow, which was extremely disappointing. At this point Jon leaned over and said “So, do you want to go to Lubbock Texas for me then?” I laughed and said no thanks, one trip to Texas this summer was enough for me! He then grabbed my Arrival notes, which were closed by this point, and signed the back! Great...now I’ve got both Ross and Jon’s signatures twice on the same set of notes!

Rose and I were rushed out at this point, and had to wait a few minutes for Cat to finish her turn through the line. When she came out, she was in tears. I told her she had to stop or I’D start crying...It had been such a great summer, and now it was over! Waaaaahhhh!!!

The three of us headed back to the hotel and had a wonderfully nutritious dinner of Diet Pepsi, pretzels and Cheez-Its. None of us wanted to go to sleep since we knew in the morning it would really be over as we all went our separate ways and headed back home. Cat tried to talk me into changing my flight the next day and going with her to see Gregg Rolie up in Orange County where he was doing an in-store appearance. I was sorely tempted, but knew I couldn’t, so Sunday morning came and I headed out for my flight home.

I arrived home safe and sound, if somewhat down. What an incredible summer it had been. So many friends and places, such good times...I was sorry to see it all end. But as the song says...

On my heart it’s written, we will meet again....

August 8-18, 2001: Michelle's Adventures in Journeyland (part 8)

After the show we all trooped outside to make our post-show plans. Rose had to take off as she had to work the next day. Miles, Cat and Michael were still “on duty” in their official capacities, but we agreed to meet at the first Denny’s on Sunset (are you getting a feeling that Denny’s is doing a lot of Journey business??) While we were planning, we ran into the two women we had spoken to before the show, and they couldn’t wait to tell us how much they loved it! Both said they had goose bumps running up their arms. Woo hoo! Two more on the inside!

Cheryl, Ana Marie and I headed off to Denny’s to await Cat, Michael and Miles. Pancakes at 1:00 a.m?…sure, why not??? We went through the usual post-concert analysis, and it never ceases to amaze me how long Journey fans can talk about Journey. You would think we knew of no other subjects the way we all went on, but I think we all have the same sense—there were years and years that none of us knew other people who “got it”, so now that we have found kindred spirits, we just can’t stop ourselves.

Back to the hotel by 2:00, at which point Ana Marie and Cheryl debated whether to take a cab or a shuttle to the airport in the morning. Their 4:30 wake up call was cruel, and as they were leaving, I rolled over in bed and said “Oh I feel so sorry for you guys...I wish you didn’t have to go back to work!!” I don’t know how they did it—heck I’ve done it before and don’t know how I did it—concert the night before, early flight, and straight into work...ouch. Once they had departed, I rolled over and slept until 9:00. I was lying in bed watching the news and contemplating getting up when my cell phone rang. It was my office, of all things! Steve was on the line telling me he needed to shut down the voice mail computer so that they could move it out of the way to install some new wiring. Since I was the only person who knew the password, I got a 9:30 call...Alas, I misremembered the password, thus resulting in a second call about 15 minutes later. (Well, hey, what do you expect when you get a phone call on your vacation??!!)

I finally got up and started getting ready to go meet Eileen for lunch since this was my day off from touring. Darla called while I was getting ready, and I filled her in on the night before. Towards the end of our conversation my cell phone started beeping...my battery was running low. No problem, I’d charge it in the car as I drove to Eileen’s house. When I got in the car, however, there was a problem. For some inexplicable reason, my car charger wouldn’t work! I knew it was working, so it must have been a problem with the outlet in the car. Great! now what was I going to do...I didn’t have my regular adapter with me and I need my cell phone when I’m out on the road.

The visit with Eileen was great fun. She and I took off for lunch, leaving Doug at home with the kids. During lunch it occurred to me just how divergent our lives had become. Here we were, all of 10 months apart in age, totally inseparable as kids leading completely different lives. Eileen—married for nearly 10 years, stay-at-home mom with 3 kids, a cat and a mortgage, living in a city hundreds of miles from where we grew up. Me—single, working, living in an apartment 10 miles from my parents, following Journey around the country. Odd how things change.

Luckily for me, Eileen needed to run a few errands before we went back to her house, so I was able to charge my phone in her mini-van (which she handled much more competently than I did with the rental earlier in the week!) which would hold me over until I could get to a Radio Shack to pick up an adapter. What had been intended to be getting together for lunch turned into an all day visit as I was invited to stay for dinner as well. It was a wonderful visit—her kids are growing up so fast and I rarely get a chance to see them. Yet another perk of my Journey obsession—visiting relatives while I’m on the road!

I returned to the hotel that evening to find a message waiting for me. It was from Cat. There had been a change of plans—she would need to be in San Diego at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, so wouldn’t be able to pick up Rose for the show, could I possibly? I called her back and squared things away, then pondered how to reach Rose the next day...I had her home phone number, but I knew by the time I would get a chance to call her, she’d be at work, and I didn’t have her email address with me on the road! Only solution—a quick post to the list asking her to call me on my cell (which I warned her was dying) or at the hotel in San Bernardino, which is where I was heading Friday morning.

With a full 8 hours of sleep, I hit the road for San Bernardino, stopping only at the local Radio Shack to pick up that charger for my phone. When I checked in at my hotel (in 100 degree heat no less!) I found a message waiting for me from Ana Marie...she had gotten in touch with Rose for me and left me Rose’s phone number at work! Yay! A quick lunch and a call to Rose, and things for Saturday were settled. It was only 2:00 and the show was scheduled for 7:30...plenty of time to get a little rest in. A quick check of my email once back to the hotel, and I discovered that the time for the show had changed...it was now at 6:30! Eeek! A quick call to the venue confirmed this, so my nap was a bit shorter than planned.

The Blockbuster Pavilion is way out in the middle of nowhere, and the designated place to meet (Joe’s Cafe and Mini Mart) was a little hole in the wall...When I pulled up I noticed a sign that said “Journey Fans—we are now meeting in the parking lot...” Well terrific...back in the car and off to find Cat and the latest group of Journey Forum folks (most of whom I’d never seen before!) As is often the case in such things, I was early...this meant a great parking space for arrival, not so great for departure. I found the Forum gang easily enough; alas there was no shade, but the organizer of the gathering had thought to pick up plenty of water and ice, thank goodness.

The heat soon got to us, so Cat and I headed inside with Donna M. and we finally had some time to check out Color—the band who had been playing the side stage for the whole tour. Pretty darned good. The three of us decided that the lead singer was a mix of Freddie Mercury, Jim Morrison, and Axl Rose (not vocally, but in presence). We went inside shortly thereafter, and it wasn’t too long before we found Mark, fresh off his Roadie for the Day assignment. He was grinning from ear to ear and was so overwhelmed with the day he could barely describe it! Every once and a while you meet a genuinely warm and kind person, and Mark is definitely one of those, so I was just so thrilled for him to have the opportunity he did. He told us he would be watching the show from the wings of the stage, which was just amazing to me.

Being in the middle of nowhere meant no post-show dinner, which wasn’t a bad thing...earlier to bed for a change! Up again at 9:00 and time to check the directions to Rose’s house and then to the hotel in San Diego. Amazingly, I made it to both places early and didn’t get even the slightest bit lost! 

to be continued...

August 8-18, 2001: Michelle's Adventures in Journeyland (part 7)

Ana Marie got busy finishing up the guest book she’d started assembling Monday night at my apartment—we had gotten everyone’s input by then (even if we had to call and email a few people and write it in ourselves) and went to work. After a while, it became apparent that my assistance wasn’t required for this task, and since I was starving, I went in search of food. A quick trip to the hotel restaurant to discover it wasn’t open for lunch meant I had to hop in the car and find someplace to eat. Great...Of course I can’t stand hamburgers, so that pretty much wiped out the most immediate solutions that I drove past...McDonald’s—no, Wendy’s—no, Carl’s Jr.—no...I remembered that there had been several Denny’s on Sunset, so I headed that way. This time my tuna melt only cost six dollars—much better!

Back to the hotel to work out the game plan for the rest of the afternoon. I got on the phone to Rose, with whom Cheryl would be sitting, to find out what time she expected to meet us and where that might be—our hotel or at the venue. Rose had taken the afternoon off work and would meet us at the hotel—approximately at the same time Ana Marie and I would be returning from the airport run to get Cheryl. Ana Marie had finished the guest book, and was determined to get it to the guys that night—if I didn’t get a pass with my fan club seat or Cheryl and Rose didn’t passes with theirs, then ever reliable Cat would once again be our delivery girl. We also realized that the attendees would want to see a final copy. That meant finding a Kinkos and getting color copies done. We asked at the front desk where the closest one was, and were told to head towards Sunset and Vine. Great...Alas, we didn’t have time to head that way as it was time to leave for the airport to get Cheryl and take care of Ana Marie airline ticket for Thursday.

Managing to find our way back to the airport involved a few unexpected detours—the street was closed in our direction for about a block for no apparent reason. We assumed filming. Dealing with the ticket counter was taking slightly longer than expected, so I left Ana Marie to her own devices and headed over to the other terminal to meet Cheryl’s flight. Alas, when I checked the arrival board, I discovered her flight was 30 minutes late! Yikes! We were supposed to meet Rose back at the hotel at 4:00! Out came the cell phone and a quick call to Rose...she was in traffic and  delayed also. I told her Ana Marie and I would need to go to Kinkos, so what we needed to do was to meet at the hotel, get changed, and she and Cheryl would head to the venue in one car while Ana Marie and I found Kinkos and meet them at Will Call.

I went back to the counter, found Ana Marie, and once Cheryl had safely arrived, we dashed back to the hotel for our presto quicko chango and back out the door. Rose arrived almost at the same time as we did, which worked great. Quick hellos and good-byes, and Ana Marie and I were on the way to Kinkos. We had some entertainment there as a several people became extraordinarily concerned about a cat locked in a car in the parking lot. One woman got on the phone to the police, while the fellow who owned the car stood in line to pay for his copies was shouting at her. Copies done, Ana Marie headed over to the counter to pay for them while I assembled the guest book into one cohesive item.

Off again to the Greek Theater, a little later than we had planned. Ana Marie was concerned that Cat would be worried about us and since Cat didn’t have a cell phone (and it would have worked even if she did—no one could get a signal up there!) so we made haste. When the line for parking looked to be taking forever, I told Ana Marie to hop out and find Cat while I parked the car. I joined them not too long afterwards, and, of course, the hot topic of conversation was the Herbie Herbert interview. I asked Cat if she knew what the plan was. Since she moderates the message boards on the official Journey site, I knew that this interview could mean trouble, and not just for her, but for the band. What, if any, legal implications could come up as a result? Cat said she didn’t know, but the band and Rindell were aware of it, but wouldn’t have time to look at it until their day off Thursday.

Rose and Cheryl arrived soon afterwards and the conversation continued. None of us had received passes with our tickets, so Ana Marie handed over the guest book to Cat to deliver on our behalf. While we were chatting, a woman walked up to us and handed us a CD she was giving away and said “If you like Journey, you might want to check these guys out.” When we looked at the CD, we all burst out laughing. It was Vision 180 – we know these guys! Well, at least a little bit. Darla had introduced Ana Marie and me to Jason the year before when we were all in LA together. The woman told us Jason was across the parking lot and caught his attention for us. We waved and smiled and his face lit up as he recognized us. A quick chat with Jason revealed that they had been signed with a record label in Europe and were going to be playing at the Gods festival! Way to go guys!

In for the show, where we once again found Miles and Michael and the gang from the Journey Forum. It occurred to me that the show on Friday night in San Bernardino was also one of the “Roadie for a Day” shows, so I asked Cat who had won. It turns out it was Mark! Yes, the very same Mark we had met in Sacramento. When I saw him after John Waite’s set, I rushed over to give him a big hug of congratulations. How fantastic—someone I knew had won the prize!

By this point I had become determined to pick up one of the Journey baseball jerseys...I’d wanted one from the previous tour and wasn’t able to get it, so I had no intention of being denied this time. Rose and I marched off to the merchandise booth and I plunked down my Visa and walked away with a very spiffy jersey.

When we reconvened with the rest of the group, Cheryl and Ana Marie were talking with two women we hadn’t seen before. It turned out that they were at their very first Journey concert with Steve Augeri (both had seen the band back in the Day with Steve Perry). We who had been to many shows by this point went into autopilot—singing Steve’s praises and assuring our new friends that they would love the show. We made them promise to find us after the show and tell us what they thought—good or bad.

Somehow, we wound up socializing during the entire Peter Frampton set—great, standing all that time again when I should have been sitting! My poor legs! Ahh well...ever the road warrior. We all went in and grabbed our seats for Journey’s set. Well what a bummer for me...I had a third row seat, terrific, but so far off to the side I couldn’t see half the stage!!! An obstructed view seat that I’d paid seventy five dollars for!!! Not going to blame the fan club for that though...the Greek Theatre should never sell those seats. In my opinion, those seats should just be ripped out entirely...absolutely useless to sit there. 

to be continued...

August 8-18, 2001: Michelle's Adventures in Journeyland (part 6)

Up at 9:00 for breakfast and a quick shower and last minute packing. We were meeting Stacy at Mom and Dad’s house at noon for a ride to the airport, and amazingly enough, we were awake and alert and ready to go. The flight to Burbank was uneventful as was the trip to the hotel. Ana Marie reached her friend Sally who would be joining us for the show, and we quickly changed and freshened up before Sally arrived to drive us over to the show.

We got to the Greek Theater in no time at all, and went to meet up with all the So Cal folks—some we were meeting for the very first time. Besides seeing Cat again and Michael (oh webmaster of all that is good...) we met Miles, one of the Journey Forum moderators, and his son Mikey (absolutely adorable) and a good dozen of the Forum regulars. As it turned out, I would be spending considerable time with this group over the next few days, and I really should have learned actual names, but 20 people introducing themselves as “LA Woman” or “Nutz4Neal” makes it hard to get real names straight!

When you start going to many shows, you start running into people you’ve met before all the time, and this night was no different. Once inside, we ran into Mark and Jae—the couple sitting next to Cat, Mary Ann, and me in Sacramento. Hugs and hellos were exchanged and it was time for the show to begin.

Per usual, Ana Marie, Cat, Sally and I found seats together near the front for Waite and Frampton and boogied on until it was time for Journey to hit the stage and we all had to go to our real seats. When I got to my seat (alone, off to the side, sniffle) I started chatting briefly with two women sitting behind me. They asked the inevitable question so many have asked—“Is this new singer as good as Steve Perry?” I assured them that yes, Steve Augeri was terrific—I wouldn’t be at my 10^th show of the tour if he wasn’t! They were suitably impressed by my insanity, and then went off to places unknown. The show started and I adjusted to the fact that my seats weren’t as good as they had been for pretty much every other show on the tour. I wasn’t too bummed though—10 shows in and this was the worst it got? 13^th row of the 2^nd section, slightly off to the side...no big deal. Besides, I had a fan club seat for the next night’s show, and the fan club seats had been great thus far. Mid-way through the show, the two women behind me who had disappeared earlier returned. One of them tapped me on my shoulder and as I turned around, stuck something on my shoulder...it was an after show pass! The other woman gave her pass to the fellow sitting behind me, and during the break before the encore I tried my darnedest to talk him out of it so I could get it to Ana Marie. He wouldn’t bite, dang it all. Alas, after the show ended and my brain started functioning again, I realized it had a PF stamped on it...it was for Peter Frampton’s after show, not Journey’s...bummer! But an unforgettable gesture nonetheless.

After the show some of us trooped over to Mel’s Diner on Sunset for dinner (at 1:00 a.m...oh well...) First, for the record, the original Mel’s in San Francisco is much better. Second, Tuesday night, after midnight and the place was packed...ahhh Hollywierd...While we were waiting for a table (yes waiting at that hour!), Ana Marie checked her voice mail and found messages from Cheryl and Emerson—the Stevie Nicks concert she was to fly home for in the morning had been canceled!! She decided then and there she’d stick around for the Journey show the next night and find a ticket in the morning. By the time Cat arrived on the scene, it was close to a done deal, when she mentioned that she had an extra fan club seat that night. Woo hoo! It was settled.

Sally dropped Ana Marie and me off at the hotel close to 2:00, and we both felt badly for Sally—unlike us, she had to go to work in the morning. Once back in our room, Ana Marie got on the phone to make the necessary changes for her return home. Wednesday morning was a fairly quiet one, fortunately, which meant we could rest and recover a bit from the night before. Cheryl was flying down from Oakland, but wouldn’t be arriving until 3:30, so we had most of the day to kill. While Ana Marie was taking a shower, I hopped on my computer to check my email and post a review of the previous night’s show. That’s when I found that someone had done an interview with Journey’s former manager, Herbie Herbert. I lost track of the number of times I shouted to Ana Marie “Oh my god.. you have to come out here and read this!”...I was quite certain that a furore was on the horizon among the many rabid on-line Journey fans. Herbie was saying things that had been mostly rumor and speculation for years, and here it was in black and white. Oh the next few days were going to be interesting!

to be continued...