2003-12-17
7:17 a.m.

BEVR: Atlanta Frosty the Snowman Meet and Greet (*edited)

Paula and Diana in St Louis
*edited to add post scripts from Kati and Paula

"Hello, this is Dr. Brown*"
(*name changed to protect the defeated).

"Oh crap!", I message Diana.
"He has waaaay deeper pockets than we do....Oh well, we'll see what happens....."

THE PREVIOUS DAY: Diana and I had been e-mailing back and forth for a while as St Louis Broads. On a Wednesday morning, she e-mailed me that a St. Louis radio station had announced that it would be holding an on-the-air auction the next morning to benefit childrens' charities. The to-die-for item on the auction block? A trip to Atlanta including round-trip airfare, two night's hotel room, tickets to the now-sold-out Frosty the Showman concert, and A MEET-AND-GREET WITH CLAY AIKEN! OMG OMG We were both "all over it". We phoned each other, deciding on our ultimate bid....

AUCTION DAY: We tuned in bright and early. Diana handled the first half, passing the baton to me just as the doctor, whose wife loves Clay, phoned in. When the DJ's invited the doctor and me to a live on-the-air showdown, we ping-ponged $100 raises until he tried to shake me loose with a $300 jump. [That was NOT happening---Little did he know that he was up against a Broad!] As we raised and raised, I evidently hit his magic number and he folded.

Just. like. that.

OMG Diana and I were stunned. We were elated. We were....EEEEEEE...we're going to Atlanta to see CLAYTON...EEEEEEE and meet the Broads.....EEEEEEEE! Whoops! One little detail remained: WE HAD NEVER MET! We scheduled our own meet-and-greet at a mall, sized each other up, and immediately knew a BROAD when we saw one.

I must now interject that I have lost ALL previously-established credibility with my two sons who asked me, "Who are you, and what have you done with our mother? You're going on a trip to see Clay with SOMEONE YOU MET ON THE INTERNET???" They imagined the headlines:"Body of Clay Fan Found in Ditch....oddly the crime scene was littered with purple tassels....." TEEHEE!

CUT TO ATLANTA: (three weeks later) Friday night, after a smooth flight, checking in, eating at R. Thomas Grill with some of the Broads/Brudes, we settle in for a mostly sleepless night.

SATURDAY, DEC 13, CONCERT DAY: "It's Gonna be a Perrrr-fect Daaaay!"
We arrive at the venue for the meet-and-greet a little early, at 2 p.m., and are to meet Ray, a record company rep. We finally find the correct door, a big, imposing metal affair with a small window and it is, of course, locked. We pound. After telling at least three people who we are and why we are there--- we are still not allowed in. We call Ray on his cell, and, after standing out in the cold, rainy weather for almost an hour, we finally receive a call back from him and the news is not good....."Clay got very sick after his Indy concert last night and is in Atlanta but he is at a doctor's office right now. He may well have to cancel his performance. But if he DOES perform, the individual meet-and-greet which was to occur will now take place AFTER the concert, along with another forty people or so." We might not see Clay at ALL after all this? "Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo" [Hum theme from "Twilight Zone" here]

Like the great Broad she is, Erin picked us up so we could meet all the other Broads/Brudes and go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Diana and I tried to quit obsessing and enjoy ourselves. With them, that's pretty ding dang easy.....squeals and hugs and presents and photos all 'round. After the Hard Rock, we all hiked to the Tabernacle and stood there in line for what seemed like an eternity in the pouring rain. When we finally entered, the group split in two and Diana, Gini, and I found a prime spot in the pit (with all the writhing, screaming teens) and were only about ten people deep from the stage. We stood: wet, in high-heeled boots, in front of speakers the size of small buildings and endured FeFe Dobson and the Black-Eyed Peas and two set changes. We would have thought we were in hell, but we awaited an angel....

And suddenly...."Here's RCA Recording Star Claaaaaay Aiiiiiiii-kennnnnnn" OMG. His ultra-gorgeous self appeared and we watched the hottest rendition of three songs we had ever seen. Suffice it to say that it put Diana and me in the right frame of mind for meeting him! [Other Broads have or will post BEVR's about the concert itself]

Diana and I quickly moved over to the previously-designated door to meet Ray (the afore-mentioned record rep) and-wonder of wonders- he was there! (Well, SOMETHING had to work out!) We found ourselves being led through the backstage, concrete and painted brick maze with "I can't believe we're doing this" anticipation. In the meet-and-greet room,after it was announced that there should be absolutely no smoking because of Clay's bronchial problems and that he would be signing only one item per person, Ray told us to stand to the side, out of the main line, so we could be last to see Clay...

And in HE strode. With those long legs. Not two feet from us. (dang our older, slower reflexes or we could have grabbed him!) The atmosphere in the room became almost electric! Then, ensconced behind a long table,

he proceeded to greet, sign autographs, and have pics taken- very quickly. (He now evidently has this process down to an art.) Forty people seemed to fly by and....suddenly...no one else stood between Diana and me ... and Clayton Holmes Aiken!

We want all of you to know that when Diana identified us as a being "Lecherous Broads for Clay Aiken" he smiled and said "Oh, you are?" I also told him we were from St. Louis and had contributed $xxxx to children's charities in an auction just so we could come meet him. He said, "Oh, that's great!" and after he signed a couple of items for Diana, and they had their pic taken, he signed my MOAM poster and then reached out, without my asking, and signed my MOAM CD as well.

He looked so young and beautiful that we fought being rendered speechless. I told him "Great performance". "Thanks!" he said. "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Graduation next week!"
"Thank you!"

Then, when he and I reached across the table to each other, I noticed how flushed he looked. And we shook hands ( his felt lonnnng, soft, and smooth) and warm. Very warm. Way too warm. Though I resisted the urge to feel his forehead with my palm, the "mother" in me involuntarily came out. "Oh, pleeeease get well, Sweetie!"

He smiled at me and said in his very best NC accent, "Ah'm tryin". Pic snapped and my time with him was over. Diana and I left the room but something made us hover outside the open door. And that's when we witnessed the scene that we will never forget:

A beautiful, curly-haired teen girl had been brought to see Clay. Though she is severely disabled and had great difficulty communicating verbally with him, you could see her excitement. Her parents stood by, beaming, as Clay rose and came out from behind the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down. He positioned himself face-to-face with her, REALLY connecting, with an earnest look on his face, and talked to her for several minutes. We, of course, as respectful fans, didn't even try to hear what was said, nor would we want to.

Next, he took her tenderly in his arms, holding her in a long, full-body hug. Then he had his picture taken with her. ( I really have a hard time typing this without tearing up.)

He rose and his tall self came right past us at the door, was hurried down a hall........and was gone. I can't even begin to find the words to describe his beauty---both inner and outer. But I do know that I am so very proud to be a Clay Aiken fan-----and now-----so are you........

~ Paula and Diana in St Louis

Posted by: Wendy in FL

Edited by Nelle, with permission, to add the following post scripts.

Kati, who was initiated into Broadhood right there at the Atlanta show, tells us she was interested in LBFCA because of the cool purple scarves our Broads and Brudes were wearing. Since she started posting in the Guest Book, some of us believe she was really attracted by our lechery. Her note below, posted after reading the above BEVR, also shows us she shares our ClayLove:

Okay, so I'm now a crying mess at work no less (and they have me answering the phones up on the main floor too, so great, now I look like a mess). I was in the "handicapped" (basically we couldn't see a thing unless we stood... which half of us couldn't do because we're in wheelchairs, hello handicapped seating) section with the girl you mentioned. I began to talk with her Mom and stuff at the concert (I'm not exactly shy). She has Cerebral Palsy but ADORES Clayton (smart girl). I've worked with several people with varying degrees of CP and this young woman has a more extreme case. They tried to win backstage passes all week and never did (I have another funny story about her Mom calling the station that involves me, but I'll post that at another time). It was members of Black Eyed Peas that made sure she got backstage to meet Clay. Her Mom came back out afterwards and was in tears saying how gentle and perfect he was with her and that it was amazing... I got a poster out of the deal too! As a person who is handicapped, I know how put off a lot of people can be (ask me about Robin Williams sometime) by a person with a physical disability. One of the many reasons that I am totally in love with Mr. Aiken is his ability to look past that and be a complete and total gentleman. I wish there were more people like that out there. As the great Helen Keller once said, "Some people have sight but no vision." Obviously Clayton, unlike most of the people in "the industry" has vision.

Kati

Paula responded with the following post:

So many people have asked me different things about the Meet-and-Greet with the young girl that I will add things here that I didn't have in the MP---(length issues,you know): The girl, as Kati posted, has a pretty severe case of cerebral palsy. Hence, she exhibited much of the spasticity of the disease and couldn't clearly communicate verbally. But you could see her WILLING herself to keep her gaze on his face. Her dad, who carried her in and out of the room (she was almost as long as he was), had seated her on a folding chair. Clay knew instinctively to steady her and I will never, ever forget the profile of his beautiful face as he got very close to her face and talked to her for a few minutes. The hug was so full-on that their faces actually passed each other over their shoulders. He held her sooooo long and so tenderly. (sob) When they were finished and it came time for a pic, Clay noticed that somehow the prof photographer had already left the room. Well, out came DOM CLAY! "WHERE is that photographer????"he said demandingly. When the people from the venue realized that the photographer may possibly have already left, they turned and saw me at the door...."Paula, right? You've got that digital, right? Come back in here and take a picture and we'll get the pic to them.." Of course, I was happy to oblige. Had my camera almost ready, when in walks the photographer. They thanked me anyway and of course I SLOWLY put my camera away so Diana and I could stay in there as long as possible. We were able to say another goodbye to Clay as he left the room and quickly strode away down the hall and around the corner. It was hard but I WILLED my feet to stay put. I also wanted to add that we saw his manager, Vanessa, and said "hello". (She is tiny) She sat at the end of the table and was videotaping a lot of the "meet and greet" for what specific purpose, I don't know.....

Well, there you go, Broads...How's that????

Paula in St.Louis

Kati replied with this:

I loved the fact that ya'll stalled long enough to see the interaction. I spoke with her Mom after the show and she was saying that he was the most gentle and amazing person ever. She was in tears over the event. If we think that it would make our day to meet Clayton, imagine her happiness .....

For the first time in quite a while a person treated her normally. That's the magic of the moment. And as a girl, the fact that a BOY treated her like a person was amazing to her. Ya'll were privileged to see something so special happen in her life. Not to mention seeing DOM CLAY... mmm... I wouldn't mind seeing that at all...

Kati