It's a cold, rainy, nasty day here in the hills of West Virginia and my mood has been reflective of that lately.
I have a ticket the Columbus Bon Jovi show on Tuesday, May 10th. This one was to be really special for me, doing the whole BSWBJ VIP thing, with the backstage tour and getting to touch/hold Richie's guitars, with a seat in the 2nd row of the pit. Considering recent events, I've been kind of melancholy about the whole thing, I'm embarrassed to say.
Today has been a particularly rough day, and people are tiptoeing around me at work. That is, until the arrival of this lovely floral arrangement from my very best friend Stephanie...
Even though she doesn't really 'get' it, she's held my hand, been indignant on my behalf and been just generally amazing - because that's how she is. Yes, I'm aware the inscription reads Carla, but there's another amazing Stephanie story behind that too.
Some of you may remember when they were selling autographed Richie photos for Who Says You Can Go Home in November 2009. Well, I jumped right on that bandwagon, requesting that my inscription read "Carol, My long time fan. Love, Richie" Apparently, our dear Mr. Sambora didn't have his glasses on, or is a tad dyslexic, and inscribed the photo to Carla. I never took the time to email about the mistake, because I'm just not a wave-maker. It was close enough. (Oh, and he got final editorial rights, too. No 'love' on my inscription...lol)
Then that Christmas, there was a big package under the tree wrapped in Bon Jovi wrapping paper. The tag read something to the effect of "Merry Christmas Baby. You'll always be Carla to me. Love, Richie". I giggled over that for months because I couldn't imagine someone being silly or caring enough to go to the trouble.
THEN, for my birthday two months later, I got a personalized romance novel, starring.... you guessed it... Richie and myself. In the book, his pet name for me is Carla. The book was actually from Stephanie's husband, Roger, but she was responsible for the flowers that made their way to my desk that same birthday. The card read: "Happy Birthday to the Undiscovered Soul of my life. My one and only love. Yours Forever, Richie".
Stephanie also encouraged me to try my hand at fan fiction, saying that if I enjoyed it so much, then I should write it. So, indirectly, you have her to thank for WWBTF. As a side note, she's been pretty ill throughout the writing process, so I've recently been narrating the chapters so that she can hear what she's unleashed! LOL
Then, this Christmas, she gave me the most cool gift ever. The super-dee-duper-awesome camera that produced Richie cam!! :o)
So, now you see why I have the best friend in the world. She understands my mental issues and acts as an enabler.
I know you can't read this Steph, but I love you...
