God bless the Hellmouth. And the "U2 fan celebration". And "ixnay on the ash-slay!"
And it's far too late for me to do what I meant and want and should do, here, but today is a very special day. Today marks the fourth anniversary of the day I met rhythmsextion for the first time, the day we drove from Ft Wayne, Indiana to Cleveland, Ohio, with izzybeth and Krista and Mandi. The day I sat in a car on Euclid St in Cleveland in front of the Holiday Inn Express, and saw Izzy come back out before another figure darted out in turn. Today was the first day I hugged stateless, the first time I saw ruidoso perform her impression of the purple pie man dance, today was the first day I saw sunrazor1013 wearing her BonoGirl t shirt, the first time I heard runaground geeking out over remixes with Court, the first day I met la_woman and fangirled the gatefold Joshua Tree vinyl with her and Shan, the first day that welshkeeper was fabulous and tolerantly let us steal his lovely wife for, er, the entire night, the first time I met brunerhyme and nearly said "whore" in front of her mother (this is the primary memory because I'm STILL ASHAMED), the first time we taught Court to wear a scarf, the first time Shannon discovered it's hard to run with a camera down your pants, the first time I spent all night talking in person with a bunch of fellow fans, the first time we had a mini 'state of the unionfandom' discussion, the first time we went to the fucking Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (en masse), the first time we got yelled at for taking photos inside said Rock Hall, the first time we took sneaky photos in the bathroom, the first time we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland, the first time we thoroughly mocked a 'tribute' band together, the first time the Holiday Inn people started treating us like rockstars, the first time we all packed into rooms and beds and couches and cars together, the first time a lot of us had ever met.
I don't know if any of us really realised - could we have? - just what else that day (less than a day, really, the group of us were all together for about 18 hours total, maximum) would lead to. For me, it's led to (at least) four different countries, twenty six U2 shows, one Exit show, countless other bands and films and trips back to Cleveland, knock-on benefits of friends-of-friends becoming friends in their own right, meeting up in more cities across the globe than I care to count, and some of the dearest friends I've ever had. It feels like it could have been yesterday, really, because, seriously, four years? Four? But on the other hand, I can barely remember what it was like to NOT have you guys in my life.
I still haven't finished posting about this, but it is, honestly, one of the clearest weekends of my entire LIFE. I can still remember driving, and driving, and the hotel, and everyone, and the museum - I can walk around that exhibit in my HEAD, still. I have clearer memories of the exhibit than I do of some shows I saw. Maybe four years down the track I might actually write about the Night of No Sleep and the Day of Much Driving Home. We'll see how tomorrow swings.
And all the little chicks with the crimson lips are singing Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
In conclusion: EDGE IS STARING INTO MY SOUL.