I think I've actually been a U2 fan since before I'd even heard them play a note. As a teenager growing up in Washington state, I would spend a lot of time on the weekends in Seattle for fun. There are literally thousands of band flyers stapled to any given telephone pole on any given day in Seattle. Of the thousands I have seen, one stands out in my mind: U2-Boy. No idea why I remember that poster, it just always stuck in my mind even though at the time I had no idea who U2 was.

5 or 6 years went by, and then I saw the With Or Without You video. I was mesmerized the very first time I saw/heard it. There's a certain hypnotic, soothing quality to the Edge's guitar, and Bono's voice and intenstity got to me down deep. In all honesty, I learned the diffence between superficial emotion, and deep inner emotion from The Joshua Tree. To be even more honest I was a little unsettled by that. I took a U2 break.

Mid '90's I jumped back on the band wagon and flew to LA to see the band play on the Pop tour. I found myself mesmerized again in that old familiar way. This time it didn't unsettle me a bit. I went home and bought a ticket to the upcoming Seattle concert, which was to be the last show of the U.S. leg of the tour. That was the night Bono shaved his head, BTW. The show was pretty much the same as LA until the final 3rd of the show or so, at which point they turned off all the glitter and just turned on a red spot. Edge and Bono performed a few songs unplugged, and Edge did a great solo of Sunday, Bloody Sunday. That segment of the show was the most memorable thing I have ever experienced in my life. At one point Bono said that he felt the tour had been grossly misunderstood by the critics, and that he had been trying to prove that you COULD turn a Casino into a Cathedral. He felt a lot of the critics had missed that. The critics may have missed it, but I got it, and will testify that the band very much succeeded in their mission.

Jump to present day. Nearing 40 I did the midlife crisis thing and finally got a tattoo on my calve. I got the idea while watching the Slane castle DVD, and my tattoo has a line from Kite worked into it. A friend told me what I needed to do is to have Bono sign it...Yeah, right....he actually has hired staff to keep people away from him. THAT was going to happen....NOT! One month later I heard he was invited to do a speaking engagement in Portland, which is 10 miles from my house. What are the odds? I knew right then I was going to meet him...didn't know how, but I just "knew". Many things fell together for me, and sure enough, I DID get to meet him. I thought I would be a lot cooler than I was, but I wasn't! As soon as I was standing in front of him and he was looking at me waiting for me to say something, I sort of fell apart. All I could think of to say was "Thank you! Thank you for everything you do!" I also told him I had done some volunteer work for DATA, at which point he called me Sweetheart and gave me a huge hug. That extracted the last of my composure and REALLY made me a talking monkey for a few minutes! Later I regained composure to a small extent, and I did manage to tell him about the Seattle show and that even though others had missed the point, I had gotten it. He just looked at me and said,"You did, did you? Good...." He then gave me a slight nod and a smile. For ME, that was a moment. I also eventually DID work up the courage to ask him to sign my leg, and yes, he did. I have the photo to prove it! (you can use that as well if you like) He drew a cartoon of himself AND initialed it. That is now tattooed on as well...call me a freak, it makes me a little happier every time I look at it.

I guess the thing I am having the most difficult thing wrapping my mind around is just how many millions of people would have loved to be in my shoes for that half hour or so that I got to be around him. Who ever gets to meet their idols? And even more specifically, when do their idols ever live up to all the expectations? Well, Bono exceeded my expectations, and is somebody who deserves EVERY bit of adoration he ever receives. He is somebody I hope I eventually get the chance to know a little better...at least enough so that I can put entire sentences together without wondering if I'm going to have a heart attack mid-phrase! I will continue to volunteer for DATA, and when I finish my MBA I intend to work for him, or more to the point, DATA. I'm generally a leader...Bono I would follow anywhere...I figure that combination should enable me to be able to do a great deal of good towards his cause which I believe is a very noble one indeed!

A rock star with more influence than any other person on the planet who uses all his power towards the greater good? And with 3 guys behind him who back him the whole way and are also all exceptional people? In this day and age, that alone can help spawn some hope in a confused decade.

U2 truly are "the last of the rock stars". :-)