Total Pageviews

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Imagine a Man....

     Think about it.....you're a teen who has been bitten by The Who bug. That's a helluva sting. And it's a bite that gets worse before it gets better....You've seen Tommy, and been hit hard by the R0ger Daltrey tidal wave. A few months later, you're seeing the band perform....Shortly thereafter, you've gone from the nosebleed seats to the front row. Hours later, you have found yourself face to face with Roger Daltrey in his hotel room....his parting words to you are,
"If you're ever in England.....look me up."

and a few months after that....

We took the train to the sprawling hills nestled in the countryside a couple of hours outside of London. We have done enough digging to chart where we believed Roger lived. This picturesque, tho vast region, has but one taxi driver. He'd warned us that Roger does not respond well to fans and intruders....two girls just like us had been thrown off his property a few weeks back- by Roger himself. We'd like to say we were undaunted by that, but in truth, we were terrified. We were nervous, excited, and overwhelmed by the fact that he was steps away. Was he home? Would he toss us off the property? No....he didn't.

Heather saw us first...and she left us to sit on a little cobblestone ledge in front of the house, while she went to get Roger down from the roof...yeah...Roger Daltrey fixes his own shingles...We were seated next to a pair of jean shorts that we knew were the pants he wore in Tommy...we just knew it...and of course stole a couple of pieces of fringe as keepsakes.

In the heat of an absolutely gorgeous afternoon, we....were....waiting for ....

ROGER DALTREY....AT HIS HOME~

And then it happened....he came around the bend, and stood before us in nothing more than a pair of faded, and very low slung denim jeans. No shirt, no shoes....nothing. Bare chest, bronzed skin, blond curls falling around his face....and sweat dripping down his neck....That was some vision... HE WAS STUNNING...HE JUST STOOD THERE... IN ALL HIS ROGER DALTREY GLORY......

He didn't say anything. He looked at us. We looked at him. He didn't smile...but he didn't snarl either. He just cocked his head to one side and with a nod gestured for us to "FOLLOW HIM." Far be it from us not to abide by the rules of the manor....

He did say something as we trailed behind him and followed him into the house....something along the lines of, " Here- let me show you around the house." But it was clear that it was half hearted and if you think about it, Roger Daltrey isn't exactly the 'lemme give you a house tour type!' He quickly gestured which room was what on the main floor...." this is the living room, here's the pool table"...like that. But the house is laid out in a way that you can stand in the main entrance and it's open, so you can kind of see everything at once.

    We all went into the kitchen...one of us needed a glass of water, and he pointed to where the glasses were kept. GOD ....HE IS JUST EVERYTHING!!! Sorry- just needed a moment~ The kitchen has a door that leads to the back yard....and we all went outside. From this part of the property, which stands high on a hill...you can literally "SEE FOR MILES." It is breath taking. That's all there is too it....paradise.

He told us that he was in the middle of fixing the shingles on the roof. We anticipated that he was going to tell us to leave....but he didn't. He said that he had been up on the roof fixing the shingles and he had to get back to it.

"Why don't you wander around the property and look around...I'll be done in an hour or so."
Wander around the property and enjoy ourselves while he took care of what he was working on, and he'd meet us back in the yard in an hour or so???? What???

Okay...ARE YOU GETTING THIS????? Roger Daltrey, wants US to wait while HE
finishes up his domestic detail! We would have done just about anything he asked us to do....we would have fixed the fucking shingles! But, we nodded and mumbled something- who knows what...and as he disappeared into the house, we took off down the path to amble around until he was done.

We found a picnic table and took turns standing on it imitating Roger's onstage poses...pretty hysterical...We also came across the capsule from the spaceship in Lisztomania, as you can see in the photos in this post.

We were having an afternoon on Roger Daltrey's farm....and it was a good thing he had things to do because we did too. We needed to pull ourselves together. We'll say this, and it's as true today as it was then....you cannot be around Roger for too long without needing a bit of time to pull yourself together. It's not just his physical presence, which doesn't even need an explanation, it's everything. The way he looks at you, the way he speaks to you, he is just so intense in every way that it's almost indescribable. He doesn't waste a move. Every step he takes has power. He doesn't speak unless he really has something to say....there isn't a drop of wasted thought or emotion or energy in his whole being.....and that put together with just looking like he does....you have to regroup.



One of our cameras was acting up and he took it - tried to fix it...he got it up and running and started taking pix of the two of us- yes....those photos of us together on his farm....Roger took them....We talked about his trout farm and he went to get his fishing pole to show us....soooo cute....like a kid with his toys.

It was late in the afternoon...we were all winding down. Something happened in his head...a shift in his gears. He decided he wanted to "show us around" some more....He walked us out beyond the back yard, where he has a caravan. It's actually like an old fashioned gypsy caravan and there are a few steps up to get inside.

      Hard to know how even though he was walking behind us, he was leading the way. He got us right up to the steps of the caravan and he was very, very close behind us. We were on the steps and suddenly, his arm reached past us and pushed the door open.....We turned around and looked at him....we froze. Newly 18 years old, naive....inexperienced... We knew from the beginning that we were way out of our league...maybe that's why we liked it. Who knows...but right then, there was no place to hide. The look in his eyes was no joke. He said, " go on...go inside and take a look..."

Put yourself in that place and ask yourself, honestly....what would you do?


The remainder of the afternoon was magical. Sitting in the back yard, just the three of us with the sun setting over the hills. Roger was perched on the arm of a chair. We sat on the ground looking up at him ....a yellow jacket was buzzing around his head..."Roger...be careful...watch out..." He didn't even flinch. "Nah...don't worry about it....if you don't trouble it...it won't trouble you." And with that, the bee literally landed on Roger's index finger. He sat there, the ruler in all worlds magical and real....undisturbed by the bee. He looked at taking it in and said quietly..."Ah...you're lovely..."

      The bee flew off his finger tip. Something in that moment, and, all it's quiet perfection was something the three of shared in such a personal kind of way. So much so, that many years later....he still wanted to take our picture...said Heather would never believe it...

      We could not have asked for more perfection in a day, or time with him...and we would have been quite content to leave our live as we knew behind and stay with Roger for as long as we could....but we never allowed ourselves to be in a position where we might have overstayed our welcome....so we suggested it was time for us to head back to London.

" You've been amazing....but it's getting late and we need to catch the train back to London. We've got to get going. Roger....can we call a cab?"  Never, ever did we expect him to say...."No."

5 comments:

  1. I look forward to your weekly installments more than any tv show on the air. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just find it funny that whats er name just goes off shopping and leaves her old man alone with two pretty and young American girls. That is trust or does she not care? And what if he fell off the roof(God forbid)while she was out spending his money and the two of you weren't there? Not that she could save him but just the thought of leaving him behind up there. I guess I have worked in a hospital far too long and look at the safety issues. This was a great episode btw!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ha! "er name" ...wow...well, flattered that you think we're soooo dangerous....and no comment...well, comment...but no comment! Most importantly, thrilled you're enjoying it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. One of the neatest (in memory) interviews I have listened to on The Story (aired on American Public Radio) is of a woman who has a young gal (with her pal) LOVED Keith Richards. She met Mick Jagger...and I won't say anymore.

    Your story here reminds me of her story in that I wonder what you had each imagined meeting him would be like.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Who bug bite! It lasts a life time..... A lovely wonderful sting

    ReplyDelete