What friends mean to me....

What exactly is a friend? How do you define a friend? Websters defines friends as:

1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem b : ACQUAINTANCE2 a : one that is not hostile b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group3 : one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)4 : a favored companion 5 capitalized : a member of a Christian sect that stresses Inner Light, rejects sacraments and an ordained ministry, and opposes war -- called also Quaker

Now.... the first definition is good....but that's not how I think of friends....more closely resembling my definition of a true friend is this:

"You must therefore love me, myself, and not my circumstances, if we are to be real friends. ".... Cicero

Friends are people that know you at your worst moments ..... and are still there the next day. Not the sycophantic groupies so many people seem to want to surround themselves with......and you know who you are, don't you?

What is the purpose of having people around you that will only constantly telling you how wonderful you are? I want people in my life that will tell me the truth ...and that will except the truth from me.

I have a friend like that right now, someone I almost lost a few weeks ago because I was afraid to tell her the truth about how I felt...I'm glad I choose to trust her enough to speak up....she was upset with me, but she listened, told me when she thought I was out of line and we made our friendship stronger.

She is a wonderful person and I find myself thinking how lucky I am to have met her, to have the opportunity to have her in my life......Just to let you know Stephanie....

This one is for you!!!

Neal McDonough is a NICE MAN!! ( and he's HOT)

Okay...this is a continuation of the whole concert going experience......if you don't know who Neal McDonough is, check out the IMDB link I put in the title of the post.....he's a phenomanal actor and, as it turns out, a very nice man.....and did I mention HOT!!! His eyes...oh lord *fans self*

So the concert is over and I'm sitting there talking to some of the women I met...and there he is, just standing there, next to the security gate....and he's smiling and he's chatting with people....and I do something TOTALLY out of character for me, I ask for an autograph.

He smiles and says "Sure" then he asks for my name, signs my notebook....and hands it back to me. And then he talks to me for a minute or so......I was so impressed with how nice he was.

And did I mention HOT...oh so incredibly HOT.......WOW!!!

So check out the list of things this man has done....and if you have never seen him act, rent something or check out Medical Investigations on Fridays...it kicks ASS....

Okay...so I'm all good now, ranting is all done........

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!

All I can say is OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!!! That concert ROCKED!! I can die a happy woman now.....I have seen my idols and it was GOOD!!

So I'm sitting in my seat and there are woman all around...my age, some younger, but most my age and we get to talking about how Duran Duran effected us as teens and how obsessed we were with them...and I find out I'm not the only one that thought that these guys were IT. There was one lady that had made posters with old pictures from Tiger Beat, Bop...magazines like that...and it took me back, made me feel sixteen again.

Then two women sat down at the end of my row...one of them had the symbol from Seven and the Ragged Tiger on her face...she and her friend met in Jr. High, and are still friends...they had a love for Duran Duran in common...reminded me of Katina, Dee-Dee and Lylah.

I miss them....

As we were waiting for the opening act to start, people are coming down the stairs heading to their seats on the floor. So I'm watching people, cause that's what I do...and I see this guy walk by, and he looks awfully damn familiar...and then it hits me, Neal McDonough.....the guy from Medical Investigations on NBC..Holy Shit!!! More about this later.

So we all sat patiently through the opening act, a band called Iama Robot...they were pretty good, sort of a mix between Echo and the Bunnymen and TheCure.....I'd listen to them again, given the chance.

And then.......

The music started to beat and the smoke started to flow and OH MY GOD!!!! There they were. I swear to god, I started crying the minute they walked out onto the stage.....I felt like I was 16 again.....

They sound as good now as they did in the eighties......better really. And I was there....twenty feet from the stage!!! If I had been at the end of the row, I could have touched them....it was the best seat I've ever had for a concert.

They all came out wearing suits....and they stood on the end of the stage for a minute..the crowd went NUTS. Then they walked to their places and started playing (Reach Out For ) The Sunrise, the first cut they released from Astronaut.

The microphone pack on Simons back came loose and a technician had to come out on the stage and refix it....and Simon says,"Excuse me while this man fiddles with my ass." Laughter from everywhere. The tech gets him set and the show continues.....they play a couple from Astronaut....then they go into the older stuff....they played Hold Back the Rain...and you have to be a diehard fan to know that one....

Then after a very energetic beginning, they slow it down and play Tiger,Tiger...the instrumental from Seven and the Ragged Tiger....Wow...does that song kick ass live!! Then Simon comes out in a new outfit....Chauffer hat and all......God I love that song......

By this point I'm screaming and crying and just generally acting like I'm a teenager again......I mean I still can't believe where I am and who I'm seeing...it's like a dream...and yes, you can make fun of me for that if you want.....but it's the truth.

During my teen years, things were dark and ugly most of the time.....and the thing I clung to, the thing that pulled me through so many of those nights, was this music. So many times I thought I had reached the edge...and I would plug in my earphones and out would come Simon's voice and the music behind him and the edge would move a little farther back. They saved my life...literally.

Okay...so back to the concert......

So I'm standing there, jamming out...screaming like a teenage girl and John Taylor wanders out onto the platform next to us, and the house lights are up so they can see us....I holler and I smile and I point at him .....AND HE SMILES BACK....then he waves and nods...AT ME!!!! There was eye contact and everything....so now I have a John Taylor moment....OH MY FREAKIN GOD!!!

They played Careless Memories....and on the big screen is playing this Manga Cartoon......the guys kickin ass and taking names.......I want that video!!!

Okay...so they finish the set...they leave the stage and of course we want an encore....five minutes go by and then they come back on stage...

Now usually a band will do one, maybe two songs....not these guys...we got five more songs....and during Girls on Film, they brought the house lights up again so Simon could introduce the band...."Play the Fucking Bass John"!!!!!

Last song done....house lights up...show over....their taking their bows, saying good night and they come back over to our side of the stage.....I'm helping the girls next to me hold up a banner that says "Thank U" on it....and Simon and John smile at us.......and give the thumbs up sign...then John nudges Nick and points us out...and Nick smiles....OH MY GOD!!!! Was that for REAL??? It was amazing..I'm on a high now that won't end for days.......

I'm so glad I went to this show......it was eighty bucks well spent!!