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I have always been impressed by acts of kindness. You don’t see them often. I am blessed to work for a company that believes in them. I can gift a customer’s total order if I want to. The death of a loved one, a house fire, and things of that nature have prompted unexpected gifts we have given our customers. We actually don’t call them customers; they are our guests. They always cry because they simply cannot believe that they are being given a gift. People like me live for this kind of drama. Only it isn’t fake, it is as real as the sun.
When I began blogging on this wild ride of ODD, I started to ‘meet’ other David fans from all over the country and world. They seemed so sweet, kind, and big-hearted. When the tours began and I actually got to meet some of them in ‘real’ life, I knew I was dealing with something bigger than I ever imagined. We have gotten to know each through cyberspace, not as random David fans, but as friends. We instantly bonded, as if we’d known each other for several years. Perhaps we all share some common genetic trait that was triggered by The Voice! Some of us know each other’s kids’ names, past surgeries, marital issues, etc. We have shared far too much personal information than what safety experts would advise. We have met complete strangers at random truck stops, park & rides, and coffee shops. We have shared hotel rooms. And as David would say “You know what?” – No one has been murdered, mugged, or poisoned!
And I’ll tell you why this is so. People who love David are very loving, giving, special people. The staff at venues have commented about it. Various TV show staff members have talked about it. Reporters have tweeted about it. Other celebrities have told David about it. And I want to believe that David can feel what I have felt from all of you. I was gifted a VIP pass for Grand Rapids, my first ever VIP, by a caring and sweet friend I came to know while blogging. She will never truly know what this meant to me. Here are some other examples of the amazing things I’ve seen David’s fans do:
They gift tickets and VIPs, make and distribute CDs and DVDs, gift music and books, run blogs, create artwork, open their homes to traveling David fans, send care packages when someone is ill, donate to and create charities to help others, offer to send old computers to a fan whose computer broke (cuz you know we CANNOT survive without a computer!), arrange get-togethers, pass out flyers, promote David in every way possible (while keeping our jobs/families!), send info to NASA in case they don’t know about Zero Gravity, the list goes on and on….
We instantly connect with each other and share a secret language. We all know about Nutter Butters, lettuce, Lemak Chili Padi, what he said to the cleaning lady in Manila, when first he gave the archugaze, and hush cats. We understand love at first sight. We understand and struggle with the fact that it is very possible to have motherly/protective/family feelings for him one moment, and very non-motherly feelings the next. We worry when he travels, we worry if we don’t ‘see’ each other online when we expect to. We have suffered fools that do not understand and seek to ridicule us for loving and supporting him. We have gathered before and after concerts to eat and squeee about him with each other. We have laughed, cried, sighed, hugged, and begged for mercy together, (a mercy which will never come by the way, dang it!)
Wherever he goes, the screams on the videos are the same. The smiles on everyone’s faces are the same. The love that we have for him is considered abnormal, over the top, obsessive, and fanatic by most people without ODD. But what we have shared, and will continue to share, is above and beyond any expectation that the world could place upon us. We know its real worth and depth, which is why we cling so tightly to it, and defend it with such fervor. It is what his gift offers us, what we have been able to access because of it. The delight of discovering hidden treasures in ourselves and others, of experiencing unheard of sounds that open up a heart and mind. No one else understands this. Thank goodness we have each other. Thank you for being here. And thank you David, from the bottom of my exhausted heart.
