Memories

Wow...I was just re-reading my blogs from over the summer and I realized that I met a lot of people that made my summer so special. I mean CG taught me how to rush the stage, Bitey....well...lets just say it was fun playing trivia with her, and a lot of other people. Not to mention the ones who introduced me to Philip and made me not only a Melissa fan but a Philip fan too. So I just want to say thank you for all those memories.

Dakota - what's in a Name?

*There are 1,500 people in the U.S. with the first name Dakota.

*Statistically the 4019th most popular first name. (tied with 1145 other first names)

*More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Dakota are female.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 4 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

another post....with pic's

"But the absolute highlight of the night was Dakota's moment... One of Dakota's many signs was that this was her last show (and I was very glad that she got to hear Mercy -for her AND for me! :-) and that Melissa honored her and Tigger's request for Sleep- and thensome!!!)... So... Melissa finishes singing "All The Way To Heaven"... and comes by shaking hands... as usual... When she gets to Dakota, she kneels down, grabs her whiteboard and pen and signs her name on it. Then she writes "Thanks!" on top of it."
~A portion of the review that BSST did on the Orlando concert (Thanks BSST!!) with a picture of my whiteboard.......wow.....also what BSST didn't mention was that on my whiteboard during All The Way To Heaven I put "Am I in heaven or what? I wish it would never end.." Melissa looked sad yet happy that I put "am I in heaven or what?" Philip, Fritz, and Mark all looked sad and happy....that was a concert that I will NEVER forget.....I just wish I could have said thank you to Melissa, Philip, Fritz, and Mark for making my summer the best summer EVER.....well...face-to-face that is.....but during the concert was fine....now I'm going to miss talking about my summer, going to Melissa concerts, getting to meet new people, and I am also going to miss thinking of new signs to write to Melissa, Philip, Fritz, and Mark...lol....now if only someone would invent a time machine....

Thanks!!!

Hey guys!!!!! I just wanted to write this blog to say Thank you to all the people who made my summer the best!!! So Thank you CG, Gino, Bitey, BSST, Kimber, IzKelly, AB & Al, Allie, SA, and A LOT of other people...sorry if I spelled your name wrong and sorry if I left your name out, if I did thats because I met a lot of people and those that I mentioned are the ones I remember.....I also want to say Thanks AB & Al for the gift...that was really cool.....I also want to say a very special thanks to my mom.....she didn't have to bring me along but she did :).....I LOVE my mom!!!!!!!!!!!! Well I hope you have a great rest of the year!

Love,
Dakota

P.S. if you want the autograph you might have to wait awhile....I'm backed up in sending them...lol

Orlando!!!!!!!!

The Orlando concert was the BEST!!!!!!!! When I went in to find my seat Philip saw me and looked extremely happy....I had a third or fourth row seat on Fritz's side....I ended up in the middle during the rush....The whole band knew it was my last concert.....Melissa smiled at me when she came out....When she was just about to play Mercy, I put on my whiteboard "Thank you for playing Mercy" and she gave me a look that said "you have been reading my set list again...." Philip had to look down at his set list....When he saw that Mercy was next he laughed....During Mercy I did cry because Melissa sang the whole song in front of me....When I looked up when Philip was singing Melissa looked at me and then looked at Philip as if to say "Don't look at me, look at Philip"....After she sand Mercy I said "Thank you that was the ONE song that I wanted to hear!!!!!!" and Melissa smiled really big and Philip looked happy....After that I put on my whiteboard "Please play Sleep for my mom" and Melissa looked at me and smiled....When she went to give her pick away before the piano song Melissa was going to give me the pick....But I didn't reach for it....She looked puzzled and gave it to someone else...(I think it was Linda).....When she went to introduce the piano song she said "You know I've sang this song, and I've played the piano before, but not together" and right then I started to cry because I knew she was going to sing Sleep.....I looked at Sarah and I noticed my mom wasn't with her and I made my way to Sarah and in between sobs I said to her "I wish my mom was down here to be with you" I think Melissa saw me go over to her.....After she finished I put on my white board "My mom thanks you so much for playing Sleep, It means so much to her" and Melissa bowed to me saying "your welcome".....After that I was writing "Thank you for making this the BEST summer ever" and I notice a pair of legs in front of me....I look up and to my surprise Melissa was trying to read what I was writing...So I quickly finished and flipped it over so she could read it....When she read it she smiled so big and said "your welcome", I showed it to Philip and he said "no, Thank you!!!".....*dies*......And when Fritz saw it he looked happy and he smiled at me.....Mark didn't open his eyes...LOL....When Melissa brings Philip to the front of the stage she brought him in front of me...(I was at center stage)....And Philip smiled at me.....When she was singing All The Way To Heaven I put on my whiteboard "Am I in heaven or what??? I wish it wouldn't end..." When Fritz saw it he made a sad face to make me laugh....Melissa saw it and she looked sad yet happy that I put "Am I in heaven or what?".....Philip saw it and he looked really sad.....Right before Melissa was going to play I need to Wake Up.... I said to her "CORN!!!!!!" and she laughed.....I didn't show it to Philip but he looked at me and pointed to me and said "CORN!!!!"....I laughed and so did Philip.....At the very end Melissa kneeled down and signed my whiteboard....My mom said Melissa was "talking" back to me like I was "talking" to her.....When she got up she patted my head and smiled.....I looked at her and I said "Thank you Melissa for everything you have done"......Philip gave me another pick and he gave me a look that said "Thank you Dakota!!!!! You are awesome!" and I said "Thank you Philip, you are the BEST!!!!" which he is.....At the very end Sarah got a Set List from Chainsaw....I think it was Philip's......So that was the Orlando concert.......And I just want to say thank you to BSST for requesting the song for me.....And to Gino, CG, Linda, and to everyone else who made my summer the best summer ever......Also Thank you mom for taking me on this tour.....
Love, Dakota
"The Kid"
P.S. I'm not spoiled....I'm just cute...

Boca - My Mom's Story

This was written by my mom (TiggerATD) about being at the concert in Boca....I just wanted to share it with all of you....

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So I want to tell you a story....but I have to warn you first this is a heart wrencher, or at least it was for me.....

tonight at the concert in Boca the stage rush came at the very beginning,.... I saw a man who was helping an very old looking, extremely frail lady to the edge of the stage, very center.....I stepped in and told him I would block her right side so she would have room and wouldn't get bumped by any overzealous and/or drunk people.

This lady captured my heart....her son (the gentleman with her) was quite moved by seeing MLE, and was very excited and happy for his mom. He was taking pictures of his mom with his cell phone and was telling me that she had really wanted to see the concert herself. She was about 4 foot nothing tall, weighed maybe 100 lbs soaking wet, if that, had very little/no hair as you could tell she had lost it but it was starting to grow back in stubbles. She had on her brand new MLE shirt that her son had bought her....and she had the eyes of an angel.

I watched her as she watched Melissa play....she sang along and clapped and stood there at the stage in the heat and humidity and in the crowd....her son went on to tell me that 2 months ago she had been in a wheelchair and now she was out taking the bus and walking where she needed to go....he told me about her spirit and her strength.....he told me she was 70 years old and had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain.....he told me that radiation was buying her time but would not cure her and she was out living her life and being at this concert was what she wanted to do....he was such a nice and caring and giving man.....

I watched him take pictures of his mom, and kiss her on her mostly bald head and I watched him cry and sing and smile, and be in this moment and enjoy every second as it was given to him and take it as the gift that it was....I didn't see most of the 1st half of the concert....I was watching these 2 incredible people embrace the experience....

I had took a piece of paper and wrote "pick" and drew an arrow ----> to point to the lady...I wanted that for her....her son wanted her to have that experience and was grateful for even the attempt.....his mom grew tired at one point and had to go sit down.....I told everyone around us that when she came back they were to step aside and let her back to the stage....she should not have to fight for stage position or have to lose her spot....I was adamant about that I guess because when they did come back the people opened up a path and let her through....her son did not want to have anyone move for him and several of us grabbed his hand and pulled him up to be with his mom, he needed to be there, he deserved to be there....

having stood at the stage for many concerts this summer I know how hard it can be....and I am healthy and younger....this lady hung in there and made it all the way to This is Not Goodbye, but had grown tired and her son took her to go....he had given me his card/email address so that I would send him my email address...he wanted to to send me a picture he took of me, he wanted to share the moments he had preserved....

just minutes after they left Melissa started into the talk about the cancer survivors, and she asked me where the lady beside me had went and I told her she had to go....Then she started to sing I Run For Life....(this is where I am gonna totally blow my tough dyke don't mess with me persona).....it got to me....the lady, knowing what she is going through, seeing her and her son embrace and celebrate life, seeing her eyes and her incredible smile, she was a beautiful spirit.....I laid my head down on the stage and I cried.....I cried like a baby....I had tears running down my face that I couldn't keep wiped away.....I couldn't stop....I didn't even know this woman existed an hour and a half earlier...those around me were asking if I was ok and all I could do is keep my head down, and listen to Melissa sing I Run or Life as I cried so hard it hurt....I cant explain it....this woman that I was lucky enough to spend a short time with sharing this experience with her changed my world tonight and I cant even to begin to explain how.....as the song ended I had managed to pick my head up and looked at Melissa through my tear streaked face (I must have been a sight) it was then that Melissa walked over to me and put her guitar pick into my hand and sqeezed it closed, I know this is not a "regular" time that she does this, it was special....I was not given this pick because I deserved it or because I had been a survivor.....I was given this pick for a different reason.....

I have this pick in my wallet but only until Monday morning when I can get to the post office and mail the pick to her son, along with a note about when it was given to me and that I am only the messenger...this is not my pick, it never was, I had looked Melissa in the eye and swore to her that I would get this to that incredible lady....and I will make good on that promise.....

so Edith....your pick is on its way....and thank you for the gift you gave to me tonight......

Jacksonville - Clearwater!

Jacksonville concert was on a school night so my mom wouldn’t let me go to this concert but she called me and I heard almost the whole concert on her cell phone. I gave my ticker tape to my mom so they would know I was listening, my mom said Philip was looking for me when saw the ticker and when he didn’t see me he looked at her confused and she pointed at her phone and he smiled. My mom also said that Melissa asked her if I was on the phone, and she said yes and Melissa smiled….

Clearwater concert - Security- at the beginning of the concert a security guard said something to me that made me upset, that’s all I have to say about that…

My mom said that she saw Melissa watching me during Philip’s solo and Melissa was smiling and doing her head bob along with me….

Newspaper Article- Melissa saw my ticker tape that said FOR YOU and she asked me “are you trying to give me something?” “I know you! You are in that article!” she took the article and said she would read it later….

Pick- Philip gave me a pick again, pick was warped
Four days- OMG! Awesome!

Kel’s call me from the tour- I finally got to make a call to Kel!! I called her for the acoustic song.

I held up a sign that said “YOUR AWSOME” and Melissa’s face lit up when she saw it…I like when she is happy…

Piece of my Heart she did the Wail- right in front of me…..WAY COOL!!!!

Best advice from the show….take time to “stop and talk to the dolphins”

For D - from your mom :-)

Slogan changes each time you refresh the page!

Night 2 in Lowell

My mom sold our balcony seats to buy me a floor ticket. Someone outside had given he another balcony ticket so she could get in too and sell her pair. Before the concert started I was standing up front with a couple people we know and security was making people go sit down at thier seats and I stayed up front with the people I knew.....the usher came and made the people move to thier right seats but he let me stay with a couple other people who did have front row seats....I told him I would go back to my seat but he told me to stay and to go to the stage when the concert starts because I wouldnt be in anyones way.....I think he didnt want me to get runned over in the rush....he didnt know I am good at it already...LOL...as soon as the lights went off we went to the stage....I got my favorite spot in front of Philip....my mom was a couple people away from me but not at the stage.....I had my ticker tape again and I put it to say my name and Melissa and Philip immediatly spotted me.....I put up my moms song request for awhile....she has wanted to hear "When You Find the One" ...I had requested it last night too but Melissa didnt play it......when she was going to play "I Need To Wake Up" I put CORN on my ticker tape and Philip laughed...he showed Mark and Mark didnt understand so Philip told him it was about the Bio-diesel...when Melissa saw it she looked confused and then she realized what it meant and laughed and smiled at me.....right before the piano song Melissa took my ticker tape away from me and was trying to figure out how it worked....she said I must be one of those tech geek kids and gave it back....LOL....after the piano song she said that they were going to play 2 acoustic songs instead of one because I had been requesting a song for 2 nights in a row so she was going to play it for me!!!! everyone was patting me and telling me she was going to play my song for me!!.....my mom says I messed up her song spreadsheet because she hasnt done 2 acoustic songs in a row before now BONUS ...I put "Thank You" on my ticker and Melissa nodded to me to say your welcome......when she started playing "If You Want To" I grabbed my phone and held it up....the lady beside me held up her shoe?? Melissa tried a couple other peoples phones but didnt reach anyone....then she took the ladys shoe..."can you hear me now?"....the she saw my phone and asked me "who would I be calling?" and I screamed out "my mother" she looked confused and shocked and then I screamed out "my other mother" and everyone was pointing to my mom that was with me...Melissa laughed and then understood so she took my phone...I had already hit dial so when she listened it was ringing....all the sudden she asked whats her name so I hollered "Sarah" at the same time that Sarah answered the phone....so Melissa looked surprised and said "Sarah?!!"...she was excited to have someone finally answer a phone.....she told Sarah that she was there with me and "Tigger" my mom....and asked her why she wasnt there too....(sarah told us later she asked melissa why SHE wasnt there) and we heard melissa say "I dont think we would all fit" she asked sarah where she was and she told her Orlando so melissa asked her if she was going to come to the concert in Orlando and she said yes so melissa told her to make a big sign that said "I am Sarah from Orlando" so she would know she was there....then she started singing to Sarah over the phone but when she got to the part about "in my bed" she looked at me and motioned for me to cover my ears....LOL....when she was done she gave me back my phone and I told her Thank You again....she smiled.....the crowd was really really loud they liked that she called a kids mom from a concert.....later after she played "Piece of My Heart" she walked over to the center of the stage and then looked over at me and changed direction and walked right straight to me and put her pick in my hand!!! I held on to her finger for a minute till she pulled it away....I was sooooooo excited!!!!! *squeal*.......near the end of the concert I put the message that said "8 down 1 to go"....tonights the last concert before we head back to Florida.....I am hoping my mom takes me to some of the concerts there but I will have to wait and see......after I went to our room my mom went back downstairs to talk to some friends and when she came back to the room she handed me a guitar pick with Philips name spelled right!!! she said that a lady she knew gave it to her to give to me!!....now I have a complete set.....I have 2 picks from Philip (spelled wrong), a Fritz drumstick (THANK YOU BITEY!!), a Melissa Pick *screams*, and a new Philip pick spelled right.....my mom says we are going to take all my tickets and the picks and stick and make me a shadowbox to hang in my room!!.....everyone has been so nice to me that I have met.....there was even a couple people who came up to me after the concert and told me they have been reading my blogs *I have a following!!* my mom says a following is good/stalkers bad....so, ummmmm, hi to all of you!!....LOL....and THANK YOU to everyone I have been meeting and making this a summer I will never forget......

1st concert in Lowell

We had seats in the balcony...on Philips side....I held up my little ticker tape and Melissa and Philip saw it....when Philip saw that it said "When You find the One" he kept on smiling at me...when Melissa saw that it said "Thank You" she smiled at me...my mom said that it was killing me to sit up there.....everyone rushed the stage during the first song.....the GI 5 were on stage all night, we saw them from where we were but couldnt get a picture with our phone because it was to far away....when all four of them played the drums together that was really cool and also Philip played some Jimmy Hendrix during his solo.....and near the end a lady tried to run onto the stage.....but a guard picked her up and set her down on the floor, she was then escorted out of the building....drunks are stupid....we walked around Lowell today and checked out the Folk Festival....lots of booths and poeple but not lots going on....on our way to tonights concert now...

NYC

Penn. Does not grow corn and it is VERY big….we did not stop until it was 1 am….I was asleep In the back seat….apparently that much driving makes my mom cranky…when we got into New York City it brought out a whole new language in my mom….I was told I couldn’t repeat it here or until I was 18…LOL…when we got to the hotel we gave our car to some guy named Vinny….we didn’t want to see the car until we left for Lowell…..one of the first things we learned in New York was that crossing the street is even scarier than driving….our hotel was made in 1919….and so was the comforters…..our room was on the 16th floor…when we took the elevator my ears popped around the 5th floor…LOL…. I am not used to being that high…the first concert in NYC was cool…we had seats in the 206 section and we weren’t supposed to rush the stage but as soon as the guard left to go on break I got up and ran past the two other guards and ran up to the stage…apparently CG taught me good…the audience in NYC was different then the audience in Chicago…the one in NYC wasn’t standing up like in Chicago…and I got to touch Melissa’s hand again….on Tuesday we went to go see the Empire State Building…and so did GI Kenny…..he got his picture taken by a stranger….apparently when you carry around a GI Joe doll with a face taped to it…it makes people want to take its picture…we saw a keychain with Philips name on it….spelled right…but my mom wouldn’t let me get it L…that night at the concert we bought better tickets on Philips side and my mom told me to smile at Philip…that wasn’t hard…when we rushed the stage Philip smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up…after the encore Philip gave me his guitar pick…he made sure I got it…he held onto my hand longer then he held onto the other persons hand…I was speechless….my mom says I was mouth breathing…I wouldn’t doubt it…on Wednesday we went to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway…GI Kenny went too but we weren’t allowed to take pictures….at the concert that night I had a little electronic belt buckle that you could program words and phrases into…Melissa called it a little ticker tape…I put on there “Hi Philip” and he waved to me….when Fritz was sitting on his little box I put on the ticker tape to say “Fritz Rocks” and Melissa stopped Fritz when he was playing to make him look at it…Melissa was saying “Look Fritz…NO! NO don’t look away…Look there’s your name in lights!” and all through that song Fritz kept on looking at me and he had this big grin on his face….that made me feel really happy!!!!!!.....then during another song I put on there “Mark Jams” and Philip saw it first so I pointed to Mark….when Philip got Marks attention he pointed to me….when Mark saw it he smiled really big and again all through that song he kept on smiling at me….he also looked at Philip and mouthed “wow”….right before Philip was going to do his solo put on the ticker tape “Philip Is A God” and he looked shocked and then flattered….he kept on smiling at me and making his faces…when I held up the ticker tape again it said “See You In Lowell”…when Melissa saw it she said it back to me…then Philip saw I and gave me a thumbs up….at the end of the show I touched Melissa’s hand again….and Philip grabbed an unused guitar pick and started to walk towards me…he handed me his used pick, shook my hand, and said “Take it easy”….by the time I got my voice back he had already walked off the stage….I wish I could have told him “Thank You! You are awesome!”…..and that is how I died…LOL….well I hope that was what you guys wanted….

Saturday's Adventures

Saturday we went to Millennium Park…I got the GI Kenny’s picture with some Navy guys, a couple that just got married (their official photographer even took their picture with GI Kenny…LOL), and a security guard…at the Saturday night concert Philip blew me an air kiss and he smiled at me….*screams into a pillow out of joy* ……and MLE kept on smiling to me and I got to shake her hand…again….I got an official MLE tour bear….Chicago was great and I met a lot of new people that are really cool... Bitey, Trixi, Kimber and her partner, CG, Gino, Felty and her partner, BSST, Tracy, Rhondda, Isis, AB and husband, Ali, Kelly and her partner….that is who I met…..If I left anyone out ? there were soooo many people!!

I am starting to lose my voice (I think my mom is happy about that!)……I guess that’s what I get for screaming for three nights in a row non-stop…..Fritz is an awesome drummer…..mark is great on the bass guitar….Philip is...very entertaining to watch when he plays his guitar….Melissa is a great singer and she just loves interacting with her audience…CORN!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait till the next concert in NYC …..MLE sang to me….the pit is crowded, hot, sweaty, and I wouldn’t miss it for anything HEHE…fritz looked in my general direction….MLE played Philips guitar with her hands through his arms….that was so cool….after she was done she looked at him and said “I’m still gay” LOL….I tried to give her my cell phone to call Sarah but she got Trixi’s phone and called south Carolina….that was really funny!

The blog...

In the hotel that we were in last night we had trouble getting a signal.....I have lots to say about the concert last night but I will be writing it while we drive to New York and as soon as we get to the hotel I will post it.....I loved the concert last night!!!!!!!!!! So check back soon.....

Yesterday...and last nights concert!!!!!!

Yesterday me and my mom went to go see Buckingham fountain. Across the street from the fountain was Melissa's crew bus...I got a picture of me holding up the bus...LOL....Then we talked to the security guard that was watching the bus....After that we met some people for pizza....and then we walked to the concert.....and it was AWESOME!!!!! MLE sang to me, she kept on looking at me, and I got to shake her hand........again....*squeals and jumps up and down*......LOL... and again thank you to all the people who helped me last night!

OMG the MLE Concert!!!!!!!!

We started out with nosebleed seats......and than we heared some person say to some people if they wanted to move to the floor seats.....we followed them...lol....When the concert started we were in row P...then 1/4 through the concert I went to sit with CG...we then moved to the stage with the GI dolls for the whole band...and Tammy....when MLE saw the Tammy doll she said "OMG you even have a Tammy doll....Y'all are crazy!!!" I even saw a rocking chair and a pair of legs...I think they were Tammy's....During the concert MLE kept looking at me and smiling....I felt so special....when the concert was over I shook MLE's hand...*squels*.....I LOVED THE CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) I can't wait till the next concert.......I just have to say thank you to all of the people who helped me....oh and Hi Mish!!!...I also met a lot of people...I will put all their names tomorrow when I can rember them better... :)

Getting to the Chicago Hotel!

We ate in a Cracker Barrel in Lafayette and we had this waitress named Martha, she was really nice so my mom gave her a big tip. Then we started to drive to Chicago, we thought we had waited till the rain had stopped but half way there we saw Noah loading the used cows two by two on to his ark. When we were on the highway, we saw LOTS of corn....all of a sudden I wanted corn the cob REAL bad.

When we finnaly got to Chicago, we hit traffic and got lost. We saw different parts of Chicago. My mom kept asking me "is your door locked?" "keep your window rolled up!" "your door is locked, right?" It took us longer to get to the hotel once we were in Chicago than it did to get here from Lafayette!

We got to the hotel and my mom told me to stay in the car while she checked in....I was rocking back and forth singing the RENT soundtrack to myself......we were a little uptight after our unplanned tour of Chicago's "other side". We just checked under the matresses and there is NO toilet seat under them......yea!

Only five more hours till our first concert!

Day 2 - GA to Lafayette, IN

On Wednesday Lizz made us breakfast. After that we left for Lafayette, Indiana. When we were driving along the back roads of Georgia we saw downtown Talking Rock. It had four little wooden buildings and one said Town Hall. It took all of three seconds to get through town.

When we were on the highway in southern Indiana we saw a sign that said USED COWS for sale…we want to know what a used cow is. Somewhere along the way we also saw a sign that said MUSEUM OF DRAG….my mom started to get off the highway...RACING…my mom kept going.

Also we saw a small sign nailed to a tree that said “Jesus is Coming”…apparently he is coming to that tree……it didn’t say when. There are also a LOT of Adult stores along highway 65. There was one that was an Adult Superstore…at the exit on one side is a huge sign that says Books, toys, peeps, Adult Superstore…..on the other side of the highway was a huge black sign that just said “HELL IS REAL”…ummmmm….yeah…..ok??

We drove for about 11 hours and finally stopped at a Motel 6 at exit 172 in Lafayette, IN. We chose it only because it had wireless internet….my mom has her priorities….LOL.

1st Day on the Road

My mom and I left Florida yesterday (Tuesday) at 10:30 AM. Our first stop was to get the air in the tires checked because apparently you can't travel without air in your tires. After that we only stopped for gas and food. At 7:00 PM we arived at Lizz, Pam, and Ben's house. Lizz cooked for us, we had chicken, steak, corn on the cob, shrimp, and some kind of sausage. It was all real good.

I played with her dogs Chloe, Buddy and Arial. She also had a horse and a cat. We met a couple of thier friends. My mom, Lizz and Pam sat up till after midnight talking. Ben really liked my stuffed kitty. He is so cute.