keldanker

Clay sure knows how to keep things interesting!

It was a good opening day in Baltimore!!

I see you found it at Amazon, but I do have a couple extra copies.

I reeeeeellly feel like there's something upcoming! Eeeeeeehhhhhhhhh!!! I just noticed an update to the above: And an update that's pretty important, posted hours ago on CH. I guess no one brought it to CV: I posted basically the same thing at CV that Morganette posted at CH. But nobody noticed. Of course, that is not unusual. Hi FCA!!

Sorry to just jump in after not posting for awhile, but I wanted to correct this. All of the 10 were there. The person who took xxx's place does not live in the Raleigh area, although her screen name might make people think so. A picture was posted of the whole group taken right after the dinner and they were all there. Also, regarding some in another place who are PO'd about not getting info. At least one of them has other issues and has for some time....FWIW.

Just stopping in to say HI!! My guess for the tour: June 30

I hope you are right, Couchie. Your post made me cry again. I seem to be doing a lot of that the last few days. I was so hoping it would happen for her Saturday night, but maybe it still will. Well, darn it, liney23, more tears. :wub:

Sadly, she still says she is stepping back or away. She seemed to enjoy most of the evening, but closed herself off completely when he started singing. She never stood up, not sure if she applauded, had a sour look on her face. She went to the room immediately after the Gala and went to bed. Did not speak about it the next day. Her heart was not open to the love he offered, but yet he told all of us that he is right here waiting...even those who can no longer include him in their hearts. That is truly inclusive. Cotton, Luckiest1, Claymatron, Sassafras (and anybody else I missed), it was nice to see you. I'm CravingClay on most other boards so I know that gets a little confusing when trying to introduce myself. I wish I could have joined you all for brunch, but my traveling buddies had other plans. I am puzzled, why was she there AT ALL if her heart wasn't in it? What was the point... surely the fact she had already paid didn't have anything to do with it. She wanted to go to Raleigh for the weekend. She wanted to go to the fair and we did. Wanted to see other fans, especially those who might agree with her. She tried to sell her ticket but was unsuccessful. She had planned to still go with us, just not go to the gala. Since she didn't sell the ticket, she said she was meant to go. I just wish she had been open to the message that Clay gave us. It could have made all the difference.

Sadly, she still says she is stepping back or away. She seemed to enjoy most of the evening, but closed herself off completely when he started singing. She never stood up, not sure if she applauded, had a sour look on her face. She went to the room immediately after the Gala and went to bed. Did not speak about it the next day. Her heart was not open to the love he offered, but yet he told all of us that he is right here waiting...even those who can no longer include him in their hearts. That is truly inclusive. Cotton, Luckiest1, Claymatron, Sassafras (and anybody else I missed), it was nice to see you. I'm CravingClay on most other boards so I know that gets a little confusing when trying to introduce myself. I wish I could have joined you all for brunch, but my traveling buddies had other plans.

Bringing over my recap: My decision to go to the Gala in Raleigh was made several months ago when finances were better. Things have changed for the worse since then, but even though I felt somewhat guilty about spending the money, I decided to go anyway. I was feeling nervous about it because I didn't know what kind of atmosphere I would encounter. One of our group is in a difficult place with her fandom, but was still going. I worried that would cast a pall on the whole weekend and that there would be others with the same mindset. How would that affect the mood? I did not have the kind of ticket that allowed for a VIP reception, a meet & greet, or a picture with Clay. In fact, our table was pretty far to the side so I never really had a close up view of him at all. I could not bid on a live auction item or even a silent auction item. My budget allowed for one $20 raffle ticket. BUT, I can say with all honesty that being in that room Saturday night was, without doubt, one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had as a Clay fan. There was such electricity, love, and true emotion in the ballroom of the Marriott. Clay was the same Clay he has always been. He offered his love and caring and we gave it back to him. It was truly amazing. The Marriott was abuzz with excitement all weekend. Fans were always in the lobby hugging and chatting, day and night. It was a coming together of Clay's fans and it was a show of love for the cause of the BAF. The BAF is doing such good work. This is Clay's heart. He is a wonderful, amazing, talented, loving human being. He is making a difference! I am proud to be a fan of Clay Aiken!

I'm all packed, ready to head to Raleigh in the early, early morning!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I got nuthin', but DANG that banner is Yummy!!!!

muski... I am so glad that your "unique" take on all things Clay has not changed an iota... :Kolobok_Laie_haha: I REALLY am happy about that, by the way! j4clay is not Briget is it??? She didn't seem the type. I, unfortunately, know a couple of ex-fans who think that Clay is now damned. They just left and have formed a new board. No hypocrisy at all, just a lot of sadness on their part and on mine. I will admit to having had some interesting bible discussions this last week, tho. A lot of the stuff in the bible is crap (like violence against women being dictated and sometimes rewarded by god), yet they base their life choices on passages in the bible instead of life experience. I hope they enjoy the enlightenment they will get when they actually get to heaven and find out Clay is there, too. Wait, wait....they formed a new board? For what purpose exactly? This kind of thing really frightens me. Not a big line between love and hate, kwim.

I'm aware that the conversation has moved on, but just wanted to say that I attended the Saturday evening performance of Spam that Claygasm also attended. My thoughts on the show were almost exactly the same as hers, except that I did like the new king. I was sitting separately from my friends who were in Row B directly behind the fans that Jerome spoke to. Seemed to be a lot of fans in that general area and I wondered if maybe the muted response was directly related to that conversation. Anyway, I was in my seat in the front row left when who should come and sit next to me but FBM. How lucky am I? Fortunately, after a bit of seat rearranging so her "friends" could sit with her, I ended up in the aisle seat next to Nikki. They were fairly well behaved, but the one thing that had me actually biting my tongue was when FBM referred to one of the fans Jerome was speaking with as "crazy." Okay then.. One observation of mine that differs from Claygasm's is that in my estimation there were far more than 50 people at the stage door. I was at least 4 people back from the barricades and there were many people still behind me. My guess would be more than 100. I did not attend the matinee, but did arrive in time to be in the front for that stage door appearance, and I would say there were more people in the afternoon. It was quite crowded. I did get a little snuggle with Mr. A. He posed with me for a picture but my friend who was taking the picture said the camera turned off just as she went to snap it. GRRRRRRRR. But it is captured on video, so all good. I'm going to the Gala, but not sure what time we are leaving for home on Sunday. I'll check with my travel buddies but I do hope I can at least stop into the brunch and say hi.

Ha! I used to go there all the time to find other sites. Never knew there was a forum until somebody mentioned it on another board. Glad I finally found you though! :F_05BL17blowkiss: