BJTV and thoughts...

OH MY GAH.

I finally found the BJTV video on bonjovi.com and almost fell out of my seat laughing. I swear to God one of my favorite things in the world is to see those guys candidly - when they're natural and relaxed and personable. They all have fantastic senses of humor and I simply adore when they're silly.

Richie was clearly the star in this episode - I was literally laughing OUT LOUD and my roommates thought I was insane. In a way, he's always reminded me of my uncle, who has a similar sense of humor. So I feel a closer "connection" to Richie, and I honestly would LOVE LOVE LOVE to meet him....for many true reasons, not just because he's the sexiest guitarist I know. ;)

It's times like these that restore my enthusiasm for the band, and rev me up for the next era of Bon Jovi mania. I'm brought back to the early days when I first fell head over heels in love with them, and all the excitement and hype reminiscent of a new crush. When I was a naive, bright-eyed tween with nothing to worry about except my history test the next day. When the world was still simple, but starting to turn.

Now, I've grown in leaps and bounds, seen and heard things I'd rather have not, had experiences that tried my faith and tested my character, and generally been thrust into this big, dark world on my own. Sent out to figure it out by trial and error, learning to trust and grow and spread my wings, and dealing with the monsters of a world that "don't give you nothin' it can't take away".

But through it all, Bon Jovi was there.

Those men will never know how much they mean to me - or how much of an impact they've had on my life. They've truly kept me sane, given me faith, heightened my joy and eased my sadness, consoled my anxieties and comforted my pain. And no one in the world except another Bon Jovi fan will ever understand what I mean.

So Jon, Rich, Dave, or Teek...if you're out there, I just want to say thanks.

From the bottom of my heart.