KINKS

How can something like this turn up after 39 years????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5DibWsJW9Y

(I would embed that here for you but I am not allowed, durn it.)

This made my day day day day day. I saw it and went WOWOWOWOWOWOW and it rang around in my heart like a bell. It's hard to explain. I love those guys. Some things never change.

The first time I met Ray Davies, I was 17 years old. I never ever thought anything like that would happen, but I had met someone who knew him, and the opportunity was handed to me, me that lived in Wisconsin in a town of 300 people. It never occurred to me before that I could do that, it seemed so impossible and remote. I went to Chicago -- The Big City! - and waited, as told, for him to appear out of a stage door from behind the Uptown Theater after a soundcheck. And then there, OMG, it's RAY! Of course it was. Ray looked just like Ray, but in 3D now, in a blazer and sunglasses, and short punky hair, cut from the long hair he had the year before. His craggy face slid into his crooked grin, the same one I had seen in so many pictures, and I could see his eyes crinkle up even under the sunglasses. He was ridiculously charming, and not even trying.

I was so flummoxed that after I was introduced to him, and he said, "Marianne, hmm?" and smiled that Cheshire Cat Ray smile again, that I immediately turned right around and walked into a brick wall and stood there, all hot-faced and freaked out, heart beating wildly. I cursed myself silently, bitterly, for doing such an idiot thing. I WALKED AWAY FROM HIM! WHAAAAAA??? HOW COULD I HAVE DONE THAT? I was usually a cool customer, not fumbly or silly at all. But I loved this band, this guy, had literally grown up to his songs, and then THERE HE WAS, smiling RIGHT AT ME, no more than a foot away, shaking my hand, kissing me on my cheek! My brain exploded. I had blown it. How does one, at 17, salvage the embarrassment of such a supreme failure moment?

I waited until I heard him get into his limo, and I turned around. Out of the window he was grinning at me, a big grin, and he waved. I meekly waved back, and smiled some kind of lame smile from my stupid teenage face.

"Bye, Marianne!" he said as the limo pulled away into the late-day sunshine from the theater.

From then on, I didn't have any problem speaking with him. He had given me a pass to be silly and 17 for a minute. He understood.