My John Entwistle story
Jun. 28th, 2002 08:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreI was lucky enough to meet him once..
It was 1986, and I was flying home for a brief leave before transferring to the Pacific. I always traveled in uniform. People bought you meals, put you at the head of the line, and flight crews noticed you and tended to give you bennies.
As I was boarding, the head attendant stopped me and said the captain "suggested" I be given an upgrade to first class. Fine with me! So she settled me into a window seat and went back to boarding all the civilians. After a few minutes, a man sat down next to me. He looked strangely familiar, but I went back to my book.
We took off, and headed west. I was half reading my book while my mind kept ticking over.. where did I know this guy from? He had a British accent, but that didn't narrow it down much. This was driving me nuts.
Eventually they announced dinner, and he leaned forward to put a magazine he had been reading in the seat back... and a spider pendant fell out of his shirt. holyfuckingshit! Now everything fell into place!
But what to do? All through dinner, I had the typical angel and devil on each shoulder..
Devil: "C'mon, talk to the man! How many time do you think you'll be this close to a member of one of your favorite bands?"
Angel: "No, he must get that everyday, the last thing he needs is a fan accosting him on a jet, let him be."
Devil: "Don't listen to that wimp! This guy is one of your personal heroes! Tell him how much his music means to you! If you don't take this chance, it may never come again!
After dinner, I said, as politely as I could, "Excuse me, I couldn't help noticing your pendant.. are you John Entwistle. He acknowledged his identity, and we chatted for about half an hour. I tried to avoid fanboy questions like "what's Townshend really like?" One thing I did say that he did seem to appreciate that I'd love to experience walking out on stage in front of a stadium and hearing those cheers for me and my music. He said it was a powerful experience, and more than some people could handle.
He even asked a few questions about my service in the Army, and where I was going. All in all a very nice man. After a bit of chat, we both went back to our books. When we landed, he gathered up his stuff, shook my hand, and said "it was a pleasure to meet you Douglas."
And you know what?
I forgot to ask for an autograph!
Oh, well. I have the memory of meeting him.
It was 1986, and I was flying home for a brief leave before transferring to the Pacific. I always traveled in uniform. People bought you meals, put you at the head of the line, and flight crews noticed you and tended to give you bennies.
As I was boarding, the head attendant stopped me and said the captain "suggested" I be given an upgrade to first class. Fine with me! So she settled me into a window seat and went back to boarding all the civilians. After a few minutes, a man sat down next to me. He looked strangely familiar, but I went back to my book.
We took off, and headed west. I was half reading my book while my mind kept ticking over.. where did I know this guy from? He had a British accent, but that didn't narrow it down much. This was driving me nuts.
Eventually they announced dinner, and he leaned forward to put a magazine he had been reading in the seat back... and a spider pendant fell out of his shirt. holyfuckingshit! Now everything fell into place!
But what to do? All through dinner, I had the typical angel and devil on each shoulder..
Devil: "C'mon, talk to the man! How many time do you think you'll be this close to a member of one of your favorite bands?"
Angel: "No, he must get that everyday, the last thing he needs is a fan accosting him on a jet, let him be."
Devil: "Don't listen to that wimp! This guy is one of your personal heroes! Tell him how much his music means to you! If you don't take this chance, it may never come again!
After dinner, I said, as politely as I could, "Excuse me, I couldn't help noticing your pendant.. are you John Entwistle. He acknowledged his identity, and we chatted for about half an hour. I tried to avoid fanboy questions like "what's Townshend really like?" One thing I did say that he did seem to appreciate that I'd love to experience walking out on stage in front of a stadium and hearing those cheers for me and my music. He said it was a powerful experience, and more than some people could handle.
He even asked a few questions about my service in the Army, and where I was going. All in all a very nice man. After a bit of chat, we both went back to our books. When we landed, he gathered up his stuff, shook my hand, and said "it was a pleasure to meet you Douglas."
And you know what?
I forgot to ask for an autograph!
Oh, well. I have the memory of meeting him.
no subject
You might have noticed that I found my silver spider pin; I am so wearing that Wednesday.