#13 The Aiken Experience. There's nothing else like it.

[keepingfaith]

LOL schmoopie to me is when you're heart is just so overwhelmed by something and you feel all gooey and sentimental. I'm not that sort of person normally but Clay has made me feel it from time to time.

So, is schmoopie more like afterglow, or how I felt when the kid had to shoot Old Yeller?

[Ansamcw]

I was not at all "schmoopie" at Cary. Or Ashville. or Knoxville. Because I don't think Clay puts that much thought into what assholes may attend -

Actually, I kind of agree. I've read a lot of things about how "brave" he must have been at Cary. Honestly, I suspect fans placed far more meaning into the situation than he did. To assume that he must have been affected by the presence of youknowwho is to attribute to the gnat far more influence than he deserves.

I do think North Carolina performances may mean a little more to him, due to the presence of friends and family, and to the fact that it's his hometown crowd.

However, it does seem that fans often find more "schmoopie" moments than may actually exist. I suspect there's a lot of projection going on. People assume Clay must feel a certain way because that's how they feel.

WORD...like Couchie...I enjoyed Asheville on the cellstream because I can actually understand what was happening...and the bat and blouse stuff was priceless. But I really think going all schmoopie and saying Clay is so brave to do the Cary show is really going overboard and suggesting that gnats are more than just irritants for Clay.

I think Cary was more significant for Clay because his grandparents and teachers and friends are there.

[KAndre]

Closer to Old Yeller but happy - sort of like giving birth and all the good drugs have kicked in and the baby hasn't pooped yet!

OK, once we get good clack of both concerts - we need to do a compare and contrast and vote!

[ldyjocelyn]

I like this one....

And this one is kind of lame actually, but look at the size of that THUMB!!!

I've gotten schmoopie at concerts. I got schmoopie watching the Cary BYLM. (BTW, I think schmoopie is "getting very emotional about something you think may be happening in Clay's life, whether we really know it or not.") At the same time, though....I'm glad y'all are talking about this, because I read a few recaps and was like -- "isn't that romanticizing the whole thing just a tad too much?" I personally feel that Clay knew what was going on, knew enough to keep himself out of trouble, and other than that, pretty much trusted his instincts (as well as Jerome's). While I do think there was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, and yes, I do think there was probably an extra special prayer that night -- that could be part of his "let go and let God" philosophy that he seems to have. He thought about it for a bit, and then let it go....while giving a great show in the process.

Or, I could have just let CG say this marvelously in a few sentences (while I was watching the internet go down AGAIN here at work....)

I have gone "huh?" at the idea he was brave just to get on that stage in Cary. I am sure he was aware the gnat was there but I doubt it made him not want to take the stage. In fact, I would bet it did just the opposite!

I don't know, when I see these kind of schmoopie thoughts being attributed to Clay I often think some fans are making him out to be weak - and he's not. Far from it.

KAndre, I love all your recaps!

[KAndre]

I think what also made Ashville special for me is that I could hear every frickin' word of the banter and the singing. Last night, i heard practically nothing so will need to watch clack. I do think Ashville will have an elevated spot in many people's minds which cracks me up that you love Knoxville more. For me, the Pala show seems to be another favorite and while I did love it, Indio was my favorite of the shows I attended.

KAndre - with regards to Ashville I heard he only played one side of the stage. Is that true? I don't think it's giving away too much power to say that having that creep in the crowd may have effected Clay in some way. Methinks we only know half of what's going on. But he overcame it and put on a great show. And I love his new schtick... with regards to ..you may have heard the whispers...seen it in magazines..etc etc. that was a fu if I ever heard one...but I may be projecting LOL.

Eh, you're thinking of Cary for the played to one side of the stage - and he only stopped playing to my side of the stage when the camera disappear - y'all think I'm joking but I'm not. Clay will play to a camera come hell or high water. Ashville was last night - covered both sides of the stage - came into the audience - sang ALL OF The Way You Make Me Feel - told us we made him EXCITED - I swear I think when he sang "Keeping you satisfied" he loudly said "And I mean it". I hate that y'all couldn't hear it - the man was total smut. TOTAL SMUTTINESS.

[Couch Tomato]

Eh, you're thinking of Cary for the played to one side of the stage - and he only stopped playing to my side of the stage when the camera disappear - y'all think I'm joking but I'm not. Clay will play to a camera come hell or high water. Ashville was last night - covered both sides of the stage - came into the audience - sang ALL OF The Way You Make Me Feel - told us we made him EXCITED - I swear I think when he sang "Keeping you satisfied" he loudly said "And I mean it". I hate that y'all couldn't hear it - the man was total smut. TOTAL SMUTTINESS.

oops..yeah.. I meant Cary. I can't keep up with the man..and I guess I'll be watching clack from last night..to you know...judge for myself. LOL

[Ansamcw]

oh CG and I were posting at the same time and WORD!!! It does irritate me to hear that people thought he was so brave cos it does suggest that he was scared of gnats...and I don;t think he is...that is different though from his security team taking extra precautions. Jerome cannot take chances and does not reflect Clay's own reactions.

KAndre...I do agree that exceptional vocals do make concerts memorable for me. I will always love my 4 CA concerts but I will always regret that he wasn't on top vocal form. I am envious of the NC and Knoxville attendees cos his voice is back in top form IMO. But because he is such a good entertainer and he brings so much more to a show than just his voice...I say each and every one of my shows was worth all the trouble.

Still can't choose a favorite from all CA shows...everyone was special in its own way. San Diego for the beatiful view and fireworks, great vocals...Pala, flat clay...LA, the fun with Angela's family...and Indio, just hilarious interaction with the audience.

[keepingfaith]

Although I'm not all that hip to the mess stuff and the person who should rot in hell stuff, having just found out about all of it on the boards last summer ... my take on it is this ... if there was someone in the audience at Cary that was causing Clay to feel some strong emotions, it was his Papa.

[KAndre]

Not so much top vocal form in Cary or Ashville - there was a real roughness to his voice. Which is why it's Knoxville for moi!

And damn, I mean Knoxville, not Ashville!

[Ansamcw]

Not so much top vocal form in Cary or Ashville - there was a real roughness to his voice. Which is why it's Knoxville for moi!

And damn, I mean Knoxville, not Ashville!

oh you are making me want to download clack...unfortunately...its not coming in as fast as the other concerts...waaaaah....

was scarlett able to get some Knoxville clack...cos I would love some great audio!!!

[KAndre]

Oh yeeees...now getting her to render it....

[muskifest]

I agree that Clay's excitement/nervousness/concern/emotions in Cary most likely were from the fact that he was HOME...and yes, his Papa was there right up front. I saw Clay look and smile at him more than once in the Clack...I agree with all of you chalking up all this schmoopie stuff re: Cary and the flaming asshole, etc., to some fans' reflexive reaction to 'protect' the man.

And I DO mean "MAN!"...not "boy"....Hell, I'm with CG on his probable reaction to hearing that "He Who Must Not Be Named" (heh...I'm reading Harry Potter...)...was going to be in the audience. He probably said something like, "Great. I'll give Angela an extra thrust tonight!"

Lucky bitch.

[Gibby]

We have a cleaning service at our house once a month, and today's the day. I let my two daughters keep their rooms as messy as they want, but when the cleaning service comes, their rooms have to be picked up so they can be cleaned. My older daughter got her room picked up, but my youngest? She just turned 13, and thinks she knows so much more than Mom & Dad about everything. Her room is about half picked up, and that's good enough, you know? Sigh. I need Muski to come and make her finish the job. Oh, well. I guess that's what doors are for - to keep closed so I don't have to look at the mess!

oh yeah this is the one thing I end up constantly nagging my girls about. Today...I told my younger daughter than no firends come over without her tidying up her room....that did it.

Oh, yeah, the bribes work every time. Friends, movies, special food, shopping trips, etc. are all good bribes. And we've used every single one.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was skeptical about Clay's reactions in Cary. For the most part, I'm skeptical about ANY posts that claim to know how Clay feels and thinks. I mean, we really have no clue what he deals with from day to day, good or bad. I'm certain there's a lot behind the scenes that we aren't privy to. So how in the heck could we know how he feels and what he's thinking? I pretty much ignore posts about 'Clay is feeling.' If he states he's feeling a certain way, we know that it's true at that moment. Otherwise, I don't think we really know how he feels.

[jmh123]

Jumping in randomly with some goodies I found at CB before I recap or pretend that I did when I never did.

From WRAL:

WRAL photos from Cary

My favorite:

Shine is being used in another Korean TV commercial. Bloomingclay says (here's the link to the post):

It's a joint TV commercial of Samsung Finance Group Companies(Samsung insurance company+Samsung credit card company+Samsung securities finance company+Samsung investment company) and 'Shine' was used AGAIN!!!

(first time the song was used in TV commercial of Fuji FinePix digital camera)

The commercial is about Chul-woo Shin ,a training partner of famous Korean marathoner Bong-joo Lee.

(I heard marathoner's training partner runs together with the marathoner in order to make him/her feel competition and run faster)

It's really huge because Samsung commercial is aired tons of times a day especially before/after major news time.(I saw that commercial 5 times today)

Here's the translation of narration in commercial

I'm Bong-joo's training partner

Sometimes I run slower than him

and sometimes faster than him

When he runs through the winds,

I can feel it

that he becomes faster and faster

We are a team

*and the caption 'Samsung Finance will be your team'

Always supporting behind you

Samsung Finance

Last time Shine was in a commercial, the Korean fan club was started and gained 2,000 members in a week--just from hearing him sing part of one song. Now there are 10,000+ members. Wonder what this'll do? Last time, IIRC the commercial used a pretty long single segment, whereas this is a few short clips. There's a sendspace link in the CB post.

ETA a interesting recap from the CB, San Diego concert:

08/03/07 : "First Ever Clay Concert SAN DIEGO"

Having been a celebrity myself, I was a former beauty queen,I represented my county in the miss World contest in London, England and Linda Carter(Wonder Woman) was the representative of the USA

we were both competing for the same title , I was an international model and a former actress in my own country and yes I even did international movies ,all in the leading role, It will take a very extraordinary person for me to be a fan of.Never watch American Idol , I thought it was a waste of time.I consider myself having a very high standard' okay sometimes a snob'. I heard of Clay just in the last A15 finale as I am not really into watching TV to much. But when I first saw him there, it grab my attention for reasons I really cannot explain , I have never been a fan of any one in my life. So I research him and became fascinated expecially with his work with children and his voice, So I decided to have my very frist Clay concert experienced. Here is my first impression.

I attended the preparty

first- I said I might as well go all the way.In the beggining i was judgging everything , questioning my self , What the heck am I doing here in San Diego with all this people I have never met,the place was crowded

from people around the world, beautiful women from Japan dress in their native costume , I spoke to them and one girl in particular said she was so nervous from excitement,I met a woman who traveled from London

all by herself and she said she also just knew of Clay from A5 finale, we both just screamed.

Then here is the concert

it was a very good crowd

I did not realize that Clay can bring in that much people.Qiana and Angela walked in first ,and when the music started playing Here you come again , I heard Clay's voice, but no Clay

people started looking around to see where he is coming from. Then , there he is OH My God, He is much more better looking in person, tall , slim which I like , what I was most shocked about is his voice seems to be coming out from an other place singing so effortless when the songs that he sings are hard to sing. His vocal is much better live than his CD. And the most amazing part is as I looked at him, has this magnetism that pulls you in with him just being there. The most adorable, lovable, huggable almost devilish creature that melts my heart . So that's what it is, Now I know why women around the world come to see him, He is the man that women wants to love,because he won't hurt us by loving him. Not intentionally . He is very witty, quick and very present.He is a very confident young man, fearless , vulnerable and so authentic-His charisma is very enduring. I have met a lot of celebrity throughout my career and I have never seen this quality all in one person.A lot of people can sing, can act, can model, can crack a joke , but Clay for me has it all.And i think all of this is because he emotes from within, this you cannot learn .It is either you have it or you don't

I also got to meet his mother- such poise and a graceful lady.Almost holy ,angelic looking - a perfect mother to Clay.

"Clay is an enlightened SOUL"

So there it is, I am now off to Pala for my second concert and tomorrow to the Greek theatre for my third, Wow I am now gone to another adventure of my life. Looking forward to more.

Edited August 13, 2007 by jmh123

[Ansamcw]

Awww thats sooo cool JMH...and thanks for the links to the WRAL pictures...they were great

[bottlecap]

You people disappoint me. You know you need to bring any and all tongue pictures to my attention, and yet I had to find this one on my own. What's up with that? Distracted by all the skin and whips and whatnot?

[Couch Tomato]

The most adorable, lovable, huggable almost devilish creature that melts my heart .

thread title?

lol... she has it bad.

[muskifest]

Then , there he is OH My God, He is much more better looking in person, tall , slim which I like , what I was most shocked about is his voice seems to be coming out from an other place singing so effortless when the songs that he sings are hard to sing. His vocal is much better live than his CD. And the most amazing part is as I looked at him, has this magnetism that pulls you in with him just being there. The most adorable, lovable, huggable almost devilish creature that melts my heart . So that's what it is, Now I know why women around the world come to see him, He is the man that women wants to love,because he won't hurt us by loving him. Not intentionally . He is very witty, quick and very present.He is a very confident young man, fearless , vulnerable and so authentic-His charisma is very enduring. I have met a lot of celebrity throughout my career and I have never seen this quality all in one person.A lot of people can sing, can act, can model, can crack a joke , but Clay for me has it all.And i think all of this is because he emotes from within, this you cannot learn .It is either you have it or you don't

And there you have it. Another one bites the dust. And it continues to amaze me to hear of how that AI5 Finale appearance seems to have really reeled 'em in! For me---a long time fan and total Aiken bitch already---that appearance was more of a WOW, that's my man! type thing---I did NOT like how he looked, but he sounded wonderful and I just LOVED his FU to the AI SOBs! It's so interesting to me to read of people who hadn't followed him at all or didn't even know who he was and yet were totally captivated AND forever changed by that brief appearance.

This particular story really makes me grin like a fool, for some reason. Love it.

Hope it's true. heh.

ETA: Oh joy! That picture not only showcases the tongue, but LOOK! Pokey chest hairs!

Edited August 13, 2007 by muskifest

[Clayzorback]

My guests have left!

Summer break is over and I started back to work today!!!

I am, dead on my feet, tired!!!

[Claygasm]

Oh, and BTW? Clay's pimp walk and finger kiss to the audience was absolute PERFECTION!

OMG! This I have GOT to see!!!

his probable reaction to hearing that "He Who Must Not Be Named" (heh...I'm reading Harry Potter...)...was going to be in the audience. He probably said something like, "Great. I'll give Angela an extra thrust tonight!"

Lucky bitch.

Hee! I bet it was!

KAndre - I can't believe Knoxville is your #1 concert! I remember you saying nothing would (or was it should...) beat Houston!

I will really be interested in seeing the clack of this. The cellcert had nothing baove a whisper and I felt so disconnected and, frankly, bored.

And because I am very much behind the times - what did Ethel do in the bus line???

[muskifest]

Anybody besides me getting a crick in her neck from trying to see more at the bottom of that first picture? I mean...c'mon! Where is the top of his jeans there? WHERE?!?!?!?!??!

[JennaZ]

You may have seen this at CH or elsewhere:

From Shenwren at CV:

My Cary Meet and Greet

Okay, everyone here is my very long recap of my Cary meet and greet. You might decide to scroll. First of all, Jerome came and got us around 6 p.m. There were 10 of us – six fan club and four auction winners. Jerome took us to a room that was lined with lockers. There was a bench all along the wall under the lockers – that’s where we sat. Directly in front of us were mirrors with lights around them with a countertop under the mirrors. Jerome gave us the usual three rules, chatted a bit, and then left. He was very nice.

Although the room was air conditioned, it was still warm and we were fanning ourselves when Mary, Jamie, and Clay walked in. He was wearing his khaki shorts with a short-sleeved polo shirt with a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He told us we could not be hot because the air-conditioned room was about 10 degrees cooler than his dressing room. He was so casual and friendly, taking charge immediately. He sat on the countertop with his feet propped in a chair.

He first mentioned that he recognized a couple of the auction winners, then he went around the room and asked for our names and where we were from. We were from NC, Virginia, and California (I think that’s all the states that were represented). He asked if we had questions. The questions and answers that follow are in no particular order, as I cannot remember who asked what when. These are also not exact quotes – my memory is definitely not that good. I just want to give you a general feeling of the conversation we all had. (I’ll refer to the questions we fans asked as M&G – meet and greeters).

M&G: In your OFC blog in March, you told us some upcoming events and you ended by saying “more things (actually some really exciting ones are in development still…” Anything you can share?

Clay: They’re still in development. That’s why you don’t know. Then he went on to say – but there are some things being discussed – some in the last few weeks, right Mary? (I didn’t see Mary’s reaction).M&G: Are you interested in writing another book?

Clay: Snarkily said – I didn’t write the first one. Then he said that actually, he would like to write a children’s book. He said he would really like to take the Christmas show that he wrote and transform it into a book for children.

M&G: I’m going to ask you a silly question. (I had a couple of conversation starters from a book called “Would You Rather…?) So, I asked “Would you rather give up your favorite food forever or give up television for two years?”

Clay: I should pick TV because after two years I could have both again, but I would probably pick favorite food because there’s a lot of other favorite foods to enjoy.

M&G: What about a tour next summer?

Clay: If some of those things in development occur, they might prevent a summer tour. (This is what I understood him to say, but maybe someone else that was there can clarify this better).M&G: Tell me about Afghanistan.

Clay: “That’s not a question.”

M&G: What was your favorite memory from Afghanistan?

Clay: A little boy was selling gum outside our hotel everyday, I wouldn’t buy any because that just perpetuates the behavior. He said he was so sweet and if he could he would have put him in his bag and brought him home. The last day, he did give him money – everyone was upset with him because now every time they saw a UN badge, they would think they would get money. He said he gave the boy $50, but the little boy wouldn’t take it unless Clay took the gum.

M&G: What kind of soap do you use?

Clay: Looking clueless said whatever’s in the hotel, and he said he was sorry but had no idea what kind he used at home.

M&G: What was your input into the architectural design of your house?

Clay: He said his mother and the builder did it. The M&G kept pushing him to give some details of why he chose this particular design. He said that she was not happy with his answer. He went on to say that he wishes that it was farther back into the woods so people would stop driving down his road looking at his house. He did add that he picked the beanbags in the theatre room, a chandelier (didn’t say what room) and I think he said the stair banister.

M&G: Why don’t you sell your CD’s at concerts?

Clay: The labels have contracts with retailers, so if they decide to sell the CD, they cannot be sold for less than a certain price which right now is like $20, and he said he refused to ask that amount of money for them. We told him we would have paid it. He said he appreciated that, but it was just too much when you can get them at a much more reasonable price elsewhere.

That’s about all the questions I can remember. He then began to take our stuff to be signed. One girl had a beautiful poster made up of many small pictures of Clay. She told him that it hung in the women’s restroom at her business. He signed it, handed it back to her and said. I signed it - “Hope everything comes out all right.” (How witty is he, and he was still talking while he was signing everything).

It was time for our pictures and Mary lined us up. The girl in front of me said she really hated to have her picture made (don’t know why cause she was young and attractive), but when she got up to Clay, she told him that she hated having her picture made so much that she wouldn’t mind just skipping it. He said here, let’s do it like this – he turned her around so her back was to the camera, and he turned around also so his back was to the camera. Mary asked if she was serious, and the girl said yes, so she definitely has a unique meet and greet pic. Another woman in a wheel chair was with her daughter. She mentioned that she had suffered a stroke – I think she said a few months ago (my guess is that she’s only in her 40’s), and that he had great fans that encouraged her. Clay said yeah, they were something – much better than he is. Then she used her cane to get out of the wheelchair and walked to Clay. She told him she didn’t want to have the cane in the picture. He said that was okay, he would hold her up, and they took a lovely picture! My turn came quickly, and that nice strong arm was around me, my right hand was holding his left hand, and the picture was snapped, and it was over all too soon.

It really was all I had hoped for. I find him fascinating. Of course, after it was over, I wished I had looked into his eyes more. I also wish my mind would work like a tape recorder so I could remember every nuance and word spoken, but then this recap would be even longer. I still cannot believe I won this opportunity. The odds of it are still mind boggling. Hope many more of you get lucky too!

Personally, I find the part in bold very intriguing.

I can understand why he'd choose not to disclose anything in development. Not a good idea, for a multitude of reasons. However, he does seem to have something percolating, something he seems excited about, which does send my speculative mind racing...

[Claygasm]

Anybody besides me getting a crick in her neck from trying to see more at the bottom of that first picture? I mean...c'mon! Where is the top of his jeans there? WHERE?!?!?!?!??!

I don't know where they are - but I keep wondering where his treasure trail is!

That 3rd picture though - I psted that this weekend because of the look on that one woman's face - the one to the right as you look at Clay - the one with the little bangs. Look where she's looking. Look at the look on her face. Look at Clay's jeans. Notice he is bending over a bit.

Do you think she is getting an eyeful???

[Claygasm]

EmeraldEyes posted this at the CH. The bolded part CMSU!! Our boyfriend is a very funny guy!

Disclaimer: If this has already been posted I am NOT reposting it because I don't read y our posts, but rather because my memory seems to be failing me these days......

shenwren posted a Cary M&G Recap at CV with some info that we haven't seen before:

Okay, everyone here is my very long recap of my Cary meet and greet. You might decide to scroll. First of all, Jerome came and got us around 6 p.m. There were 10 of us – six fan club and four auction winners. Jerome took us to a room that was lined with lockers. There was a bench all along the wall under the lockers – that’s where we sat. Directly in front of us were mirrors with lights around them with a countertop under the mirrors. Jerome gave us the usual three rules, chatted a bit, and then left. He was very nice.

Although the room was air conditioned, it was still warm and we were fanning ourselves when Mary, Jamie, and Clay walked in. He was wearing his khaki shorts with a short-sleeved polo shirt with a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He told us we could not be hot because the air-conditioned room was about 10 degrees cooler than his dressing room. He was so casual and friendly, taking charge immediately. He sat on the countertop with his feet propped in a chair.

He first mentioned that he recognized a couple of the auction winners, then he went around the room and asked for our names and where we were from. We were from NC, Virginia, and California (I think that’s all the states that were represented). He asked if we had questions. The questions and answers that follow are in no particular order, as I cannot remember who asked what when. These are also not exact quotes – my memory is definitely not that good. I just want to give you a general feeling of the conversation we all had. (I’ll refer to the questions we fans asked as M&G – meet and greeters).

M&G: In your OFC blog in March, you told us some upcoming events and you ended by saying “more things (actually some really exciting ones are in development still…” Anything you can share?

Clay: They’re still in development. That’s why you don’t know. Then he went on to say – but there are some things being discussed – some in the last few weeks, right Mary? (I didn’t see Mary’s reaction).

M&G: Are you interested in writing another book?

Clay: Snarkily said – I didn’t write the first one. Then he said that actually, he would like to write a children’s book. He said he would really like to take the Christmas show that he wrote and transform it into a book for children.

M&G: I’m going to ask you a silly question. (I had a couple of conversation starters from a book called “Would You Rather…?) So, I asked “Would you rather give up your favorite food forever or give up television for two years?”

Clay: I should pick TV because after two years I could have both again, but I would probably pick favorite food because there’s a lot of other favorite foods to enjoy.

M&G: What about a tour next summer?

Clay: If some of those things in development occur, they might prevent a summer tour. (This is what I understood him to say, but maybe someone else that was there can clarify this better).

M&G: Tell me about Afghanistan.

Clay: “That’s not a question.”

M&G: What was your favorite memory from Afghanistan?

Clay: A little boy was selling gum outside our hotel everyday, I wouldn’t buy any because that just perpetuates the behavior. He said he was so sweet and if he could he would have put him in his bag and brought him home. The last day, he did give him money – everyone was upset with him because now every time they saw a UN badge, they would think they would get money. He said he gave the boy $50, but the little boy wouldn’t take it unless Clay took the gum.

M&G: What kind of soap do you use?

Clay: Looking clueless said whatever’s in the hotel, and he said he was sorry but had no idea what kind he used at home.

M&G: What was your input into the architectural design of your house?

Clay: He said his mother and the builder did it. The M&G kept pushing him to give some details of why he chose this particular design. He said that she was not happy with his answer. He went on to say that he wishes that it was farther back into the woods so people would stop driving down his road looking at his house. He did add that he picked the beanbags in the theatre room, a chandelier (didn’t say what room) and I think he said the stair banister.

M&G: Why don’t you sell your CD’s at concerts?

Clay: The labels have contracts with retailers, so if they decide to sell the CD, they cannot be sold for less than a certain price which right now is like $20, and he said he refused to ask that amount of money for them. We told him we would have paid it. He said he appreciated that, but it was just too much when you can get them at a much more reasonable price elsewhere.

That’s about all the questions I can remember. He then began to take our stuff to be signed. One girl had a beautiful poster made up of many small pictures of Clay. She told him that it hung in the women’s restroom at her business. He signed it, handed it back to her and said. I signed it - “Hope everything comes out all right.” (How witty is he, and he was still talking while he was signing everything).

It was time for our pictures and Mary lined us up. The girl in front of me said she really hated to have her picture made (don’t know why cause she was young and attractive), but when she got up to Clay, she told him that she hated having her picture made so much that she wouldn’t mind just skipping it. He said here, let’s do it like this – he turned her around so her back was to the camera, and he turned around also so his back was to the camera. Mary asked if she was serious, and the girl said yes, so she definitely has a unique meet and greet pic. Another woman in a wheel chair was with her daughter. She mentioned that she had suffered a stroke – I think she said a few months ago (my guess is that she’s only in her 40’s), and that he had great fans that encouraged her. Clay said yeah, they were something – much better than he is. Then she used her cane to get out of the wheelchair and walked to Clay. She told him she didn’t want to have the cane in the picture. He said that was okay, he would hold her up, and they took a lovely picture! My turn came quickly, and that nice strong arm was around me, my right hand was holding his left hand, and the picture was snapped, and it was over all too soon.

It really was all I had hoped for. I find him fascinating. Of course, after it was over, I wished I had looked into his eyes more. I also wish my mind would work like a tape recorder so I could remember every nuance and word spoken, but then this recap would be even longer. I still cannot believe I won this opportunity. The odds of it are still mind boggling. Hope many more of you get lucky too

[merrieeee]

And the most amazing part is as I looked at him, has this magnetism that pulls you in with him just being there. The most adorable, lovable, huggable almost devilish creature that melts my heart .

It is funny that today I could not get the vision of Clay, as that creature with lots of arms in Spiderman, out of my mind! I know I'm weird!

I guess I should explain....but first Knoxville is by far my favourite concert evah!! To me everything was perfect, all the stars were aligned and everything came together just right. The voice..oh god the voice......I just cannot put it into words. The jokes were funny, the schtick was cute, I had the perfect seat (muah to Solo) and the venue was beautiful but the voice was sublime. You know I think I need some more adjectives*g*

I don't know what it was but Clay took me to a whole other place last night! I have never felt how I did last evening. I felt that he was sending out invisible tentacles that took you (and especially your heart) by surprise, held on and never let you go! Hence the Spidey reference! I don't want those tentacles ever to let me go...I'm blissfully happy in his little net.

Oh and I hate wine and it hates me so the wine Kandre drank was not really mine I was just the substitute poureee!

I'm really not good at recaps so so as to what Kandre said...Yeah That!

Oh and did I mention the voice?

The last few days epitomized, to me, what this fandom is all about. The weekend was spent with the bestest travelling buds, old (though not in years) friends, new friends, lots of Board buds and I cannot wait to do it again. We fell in love all over again with a wonderful man who can sing like there is no tomorrow...yeah it's the voice again. We laughed, smutted, sang ( no we are not that good now you ask*g*) , got no sleep and generally did act like we were 12 years old!

keepingfaith my post is bordering on the schmoopie and I won't apologize for it. (Oh by the way I missed both you and 00lsee!)

Kandre alluded to something at the bus line last night that was a little OTT but after thinking it over I don't think I will post about it. Less said the better and people's impressions are all different and through their own filters!

Edited August 13, 2007 by merrieeee