The Longest Hour of My Life

The Longest Hour of My Life
Have you ever felt that you just didn’t fit in? I have been a Hanson fan
since I was three years old, so I have never really fit the world’s view
of “normal.” Even though I had seen Hanson several times before that day,
I was still extremely excited for the two week tour that my friend Trish
and I were embarking on. This journey started in our hometown, and we did
not expect our lives to change in such a familiar place. That day I
learned that it doesn’t matter what other people say, you have to stay
true to your passions, through friends, fun, and ironically enough, my
idols.
The day started off better than anyone could have expected. I woke up
fairly early and turned on the news while waiting for Trish to get ready.
Suddenly, I heard randy Naughton babble the word, “MMMBop” and I knew
what was coming next. Hanson was going to be on Fox 2 News, and no one
was even aware of it. At that instant, I bolted up the stairs, and Trish
heard me before I even reached the top. We jumped into the car faster
than a speeding bullet, and were on our way to the news station on
Skinker Blvd. When we arrived, the Fox employees would not let us watch
the performance on their television because of “security issues,” so we
went outside and waited by Hanson’s tour bus instead. After a few minutes
of waiting, we heard a voice in the distance. “Look both ways!” Taylor
motioned from across the street. The street was a mile wide as we walked
toward the Hansons, but luckily we were being greeted with warm, welcome
smiles.
“Hello, again…” Isaac called as he reached his hand to mine for a generous
handshake.
“Hi,” I echoed without even thinking. Taylor then complemented on our
Hanson gear before the conversation continued. “Are you coming to the
show?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.
“Of course!” Trish and I replied in unison, there wasn’t a chance in the
world we would miss it.
“Can we take a picture with you?” was the next question on the agenda.
“Yeah, COOL!” Zac said, finally glad to be included in our conversation.
Bex, Hanson’s tour manager, gladly took the photo for us. “This is one of
the best pictures I have ever seen!” she said, laughing with triumph.
Trish and I could not wait to see our photo. Soon, we said our goodbyes
and the whole ordeal was nothing but a memory; but after we found a
WAL-MART photo printer, and took our place in line, the day had much more
important experiences in store for us.
“It’s hot!” were the echoes of about fifty Hanson fans on the charity
walk that Hanson hosts in every city. The ninety degree temperature
didn’t seem to care that we were walking barefoot for children in Africa.
After sweltering on the newly paved concrete for a few hours, Hanson came
out to walk-late, as per usual. Isaac immediately asked if he could take
photos of our unusually large posters, and how could we refuse? As we
paused for the pictures, we suddenly got behind the group. “Why are you
walking?” a random by passer asked Isaac. As he stopped to give him the
same, generic speech all of us had memorized, we became even more behind.
He helped me hold the poster for awhile, but then he made a suggestion,
“Let’s run to catch up!” Trish and I ran with Isaac, and sang some Hanson
songs about running before we caught up to the group.
After I won the race, it was time for Taylor’s mid-walk speech. Since no
one even listens to him anymore, I was planning what I was going to do
next. I wanted to talk to one of them about trying to host a walk at my
school, but I didn’t know who to inquire with. Just then, the speech was
over, and Taylor was suddenly right next to me. I thought about it for a
few seconds, and realized there was probably not going to be a more
perfect time. The mauve colored pillars of Blockbuster in the Loop marks
the place where we began our conversation. “Hey,” I started off lightly.
“What’s up?” he echoed, a normal, human response.
“Well um, you see, I am fifteen, and I want to host a walk at my high
school, but no one will walk with me because people think you’re dumb.”
The crowd’s buzzing remarks did not exactly calm my nerves as I scrambled
to defend myself.
“I mean, I don’t think you’re dumb, obviously, because I wouldn’t be here
if I did.”
“I never thought that you were implying that when you said people think
we’re dumb. So you said you were fifteen, how long have you been a fan?” I
had been waiting for him to ask that question, since all of the other
Hansons already knew.
“Since I was three...” I stated clearly, with a sense of pride evident in
my voice.
“Oh god, I feel old,” you could tell that he really was not joking, “So
did you have an older sister or someone else that got you into us?”
“No, my mom just turned on TRL one fateful day in 1997, and I fell in
love.” I could just see the shock on his face, no one else had ever told a
story like mine.
“So why can’t you get anyone to walk with you?” It seemed like he was
just as distressed as I was.
“I tried hosting a walk at my school before, but no one besides Trish and
I even bothered to show up.” Anyone could hear the defeat in my voice, I
just could not comprehend the reason why nobody cared.”
“Not even your friends showed up?” he said, hoping to numb the pain.
“Well, you see, I don’t really have any friends at my school because I am
a fan of yours.” He knew that being a Hanson fan was socially
unacceptable, but had he ever heard a story of this magnitude?
“That’s dumb, people shouldn’t be defined by what they like, they should
be defined by what they do.”
“I know,” I sighed, “But things don’t always work out the way they should,
especially for me!”
“Well, you just can’t let people bring you down.” I could not believe that
the encouragement I so desperately needed was coming from someone who was
nothing more than a fairy tale to me for so long, someone who had more to
worry about than the random, socially awkward girl from St. Louis.
“It used to bring me down, but after a while it just became numbness. It
still hurts, but then I just remind myself of what I have, and what they
do not.”
“I wish more of our fans were like you.” As the words were spinning in my
head I realize that it was suddenly all over. Although I knew that Taylor
would rather be talking to me than the random stranger trying to sell him
hair balm, I dare not interrupt them for fear of waking up from a dream.
When I became consciously aware of what was happening, I realized we were
back in front of the Pageant. The cream colored building seemed as if it
were going to collapse on me. Why was everything around me swaying?
Suddenly, Taylor grasped my shoulders for support as he to began to step
on a table for support. After a few minutes of babbling on, he shifted his
normally set-in-stone speech material, which seemed to surprise everyone.
"My friend Morgen here wants to host her own walk, but she's afraid no one
will come. Who's willing to say, 'I'll take a stand, I'll walk with you
Morgen!?'" As Isaac counted the strewn hands throughout the crowd, my eyes
became welled up with tears. I don't think that anyone could ever
understand the sheer amount of emotion, relief, and love that I felt at
that moment. My entire life, I've wanted somewhere to belong, and someone
to understand, and finally all of my dreams were coming true. Even as my
mind was reeling, it became better. Taylor walked off the table, patted my
shoulder, and told me that everything was going to be okay.
Trish and I were both in shock as we waddled back to the car, a safe
place to cry. We sat there for a while, until Trish came up with the
perfect idea, "You should write him a letter..." Before she even
finished her sentence I knew what I would have to do. Since I
collected mounds of homework from my teachers the day before, a stack
of paper, and a black, ball-point pen were readily available in the
backseat. I had so many things to say, and no matter how many times I
tried, the words never came out right. Killing almost five trees was
not my goal in writing the letter, but somehow that is what I
accomplished. Trish decided that she would give the letter to him
during her Meet and Greet, so I had nothing to do but wait. As I
waited outside with my new friends, Tracey, Drea, and Amber, Trish
was inside, giving Taylor my letter. Never in a million years would I
think that he would actually care enough to read the letter; but yet
again, I thought wrong.
As I settled into my front row position, directly in front of
Taylor's piano, Trish began to tell me everything that happened in
the mere thirty minutes we were apart. "I gave him your letter, and
he read it right there. I couldn't believe it, he looked like he was
sincerely interested, and that he cared. Then we talked about you for
a few minutes. We talked about how things with your family are messed
up, and how I spend a lot of time with you. I thanked him from the
bottom of my heart because seeing you happy makes me happy..."
Suddenly the usually endless waiting period seemed momentary as
Hanson bounced on the stage. With everything that happened, I needed
a few hours just to think. Luckily, I could see Taylor smiling, he
was glad that Trish and I had the perfect spot underneath his piano.
As the song "Great Divide" began, everyone started jumping, but by
the end I stood completely still. Anyone could notice that Taylor was
singing the line, "Have no fear..." directly to me. The refrain that
had just been a dance beat for years, suddenly became personal. It
had been so clear, but yet so clouded before that day. Fear is such a
useless virtue, why not stomp it out completely?
Although I have been a Hanson fan for nearly three-fourths of my
life, I never understood the magnitude of what that truly meant
before that day. I never understood that even though I never fit in
at school, there was a fan-base that was missing a puzzle piece, and
was glad to fit me in. As unbelievable as this all may seem, the one
person who told me to believe in myself, was the one person I was
striving for so long to impress. I've learned countless things from
this experience, but I think one outshines them all. It really
doesn't matter what other people say, you just have to be true to
yourself. The people that really matter will see through what society
doesn't. Plus, what you are passionate about does not affect other,
closed minded people.

Tinted Windows, or TAINTED Windows...That is the question.

I'm aware that I haven't posted anything in like three months, but I have reasons! I was extremely sick most of the year! Starting at the beginning of February (after having a cold, and my brother's appendectomy) I had a really bad sore throat. Actually, it turns out that I had a peritonsillar abcess that needed to be drained. To make a long story short, I had to have an emergency tonsillectomy a few weeks later, and now here I am. FINALLY I can talk, and stay awake for longer than an hour again! Yay!
Now here is the real reason why I am writing. I don't really know about this whole "Tinted Windows" fiasco. If you haven't heard, Taylor Hanson is joining a supergroup with James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wane, and Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick. Well, their first single, "Kind of a Girl" was released, and it is basically the worst thing I have ever heard. It irked me so much that I actually emailed Taylor Hanson about it. Since all of my feelings are expressed in this email, I will just paste it here, so you can read it yourself! I hope you are all well! :D
-MorgEn

My whole life you guys have inspired me to chase after my dreams and speak
my mind. Since I want to become a music critic, and Tinted Windows' first
single was just released I felt the need to tell you my true-and
honest-opinion. For all of these years I felt that we were on the same
page, or at least close, and honestly, lately I felt like you guys were
turning back more than just a couple of pages. While listening to the
"Take the Walk" EP I thought the songs sounded similar and weren't really
taking you guys to any newer heights. As soon as I heard "Kind of a Girl"
I started crying. This may sound blunt, but it is extremely pop-y and
annoying. It pains me more than anything to sit here telling my idol that
I hate his song, but I know that it will make me feel better. (Even if you
never even read this.) My best friend Emily is a Jonas Brothers fan, so I
listen to them a lot, and you sound exactly the same, almost like you are
trying to be a Jonas instead of a Hanson. What gets me the most is what
you experienced with Strong Enough to Break. I don't really understand why
you would want to get back into mainstream music when you have found
success being independent, and your fans held on. If Hanson takes this
direction I don't know if I can continue to be a fan, even though I said
always and forever. For the past few days I have been embarrassed to be a
Hanson fan because of this. Since 1997 it was the thing I have taken the
most pride in, now I feel insulted. Hanson's music is way better than
this! Your music is SO GOOD and it speaks to me even when I am at the
lowest of lows. I expected more of Tinted Windows because you guys are
amazing musicians, and the songs don't really have any depth.

2008-The Year In Review!

So, obviously 2008 has been a crazy year!
January-
Nothing much really happened. I was kind of sad that the "best year of my life" was over, but nothing much else!
February-
Osh Kosh BGosh Dude! Zac Hanson replied to my Hanson.net thread. My brother turned 13, and I called Trish to find out what shows she wanted to go to in April. (We got confused between Bloomington, and Indianapolis!) First time I talked to Cassie!
March-
Happy Birthday Taylor! I was spazzing out about tour, trying desperately to find a ride to Bloomington so that I wouldn't have to let a perfectly good Hanson ticket go to waste.
April-
Met up with Trish to go to Indianapolis! She surprised me by telling me she bought a ticket to go to Bloomington with me! We randomly decided to go to Covington also.
Indianapolis-EXCELLENT! I talked to Isaac on the walk about random stuff, and gave him the book. I also gave Zac the "Don't make me MMMBop yo' face!" valentine! The show was kind of lame, no one danced. I ended up rushing and ended up second row! (Better than row U!) After the show, Zac waited to take a picture with me when my camera died. I MET THE FREEZE!
Covington-We arrived at about 3:00 AM and were right behind Erin. People were getting annoyed with us because we were laughing really hard about being "Those people." I didn't really talk to any Hanson's except for when I gave Isaac our "set-list" with pictures on it. The show was bad! The lame security guard let a drunk, non-fan get in front of everyone, who was hitting everyone in the face with her long drunken arm. I wanted to cut her. She was soooo annoying! I let Cassie get in front of me because I felt bad, and didn't want her to think all Americans were evil. After the show I brought my pillow out, and Taylor and Isaac signed it. Isaac chimed in with the lovable, "Oh God!" We stopped at a hotel, and slept through an earthquake!
Bloomington-AWESOME! The walk was rainy, and crowded, but the show was excellent! My seat ended up being right next to Cassie, and Cassie's dad gave Trish her seat. Zac finally played "Oh Darling!" Other things happened, but Trish and I have a mutual agreement that those things must not be talked about to Hanson fans. (It's just embarrassing. We didn't go backstage or anything.)
May-
John committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Trish was in Asheville, Myrtle Beach, and Durham and called me during songs like, "Yearbook" and "With you in Your Dreams!" I graduated 8th grade, and started becoming best friends with Trish!
June-
I started spending a lot of time with Trish, then I went to Student Life Camp! (YAY! I met Rush of Fools there!) When I got back, Trish had gotten a dog as a dog groomer so she could pay for tour. I STARTED TALKING TO REBECCA!
July-
Trish maimed her ankle on a couch! We had an awesome time seeing Drake Bell Live OFF the landing! Fireworks were amazing, since we had a picturesque spot underneath the Gateway Arch. We started planning for the shows we were going to see on tour!
August-
I started school again! Tour planning was in the works.
September-
I turned 15! On September 23rd, the tour started in St. Louis, followed by Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Columbus. (Longer explanations will come later! I promise!)
October-
Knoxville, Nashville, Louisville.
Trish left to go back on tour, and I was freaking out because she was gone. School got really bad, where they suspended me for my doctor not turning in proper forms. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZAC!
November-
We met up with everyone to have a fun time in Chicago! I met Lindsay, Heather, Danielle, Nick, and Rebel! :D This was a really rough month. My dad had to go to the hospital, so we went to visit him. He called me ugly, and told me to leave. I didn't talk to him for a month. Thanksgiving was fun! Happy Birthday Isaac!
December-
I started talking to tour people alot, because I miss them. My finals were completely lame! Since December's not over, I can't tell you everything!

Thanks to everyone who made 2008 so great! This really was the best year of my life, even though it's been really hard, because I met all of you! I don't want 2008 to end, but here's to awesomeness in 2009!

O'Fallon Walks!

ST. LOUIS WALKS FOR AIDS!!!!!!Monday, December 1st.---World AIDS Day
O'Fallon Park--Kady Cavin's Center--308 East 5th Street O'fallon Park
I know most of you think there is something SO WRONG with you that you can't do anything to help someone in need. "I am poor," "I am just 14" "I'm lazy." All of these might seem like good excuses, but luckily I have a resource that can make all of these disappear. I am pretty sure all of us can walk, wheel, crutch, or something similar.Hanson's newly launched website (http://www.takethewalk. net) can fix all of these needs.About a year ago, Hanson embarked on what would become the greatest journey of their career, and maybe even their lives, and they asked their fans to join them. Starting on the first leg of the "Walk Tour" Hanson was doing one mile walks to start making a difference. Anyone could attend these walks regardless of fandom, or capability, therefore showing thousands of people that we care, and are trying to make a difference.A few weeks later they announced that they were partnering with a company called TOMS shoes. (For every pair of shoes purchased, an equal pair is donated to a chilld in need) before the end of the tour that year 58,000 pairs of shoes were purchased. In November Hanson personally went to Africa to deliver these shoes to impoversed children.When they got back it was time to start again. Time to do everything over, taking the walks, and selling the shoes. Only this time, Hanson encouraged their fans to start their own walks, and look inside themselves for ways to make a difference. Fans were really starting to catch on, and make a difference. Regardless of Hanson, or what anyone else thought.Now an entire year has gone by, and it is time for Hanson's third leg of the "Walk Tour." This time they are doing something much more than any of us thought they would. For every walker who registers on takethewalk. net, one dollar is donated on the walkers behalf. The walker can choose from five different causes for their dollar to be donated to. (Clean water, schooling, Helping mothers keep their children HIV free, shoes, etc;) Join Hanson to try and walk 24,092 miles, the distance around the world.For More Info Email:stlstreetteam@hanson.netiluvzwhanson@hanson.netortrish76543@hanson.net

Cavashawn, and their sheer AWESOMENESS!

So, if you know me, you know that I do not just endorse any band. A band that I like has to have a few important qualities.
1.) They have to actually be good.
2.) They have to have the potential to make me happy.
3.) They have to be successful, by my standards. (A.K.A. Not taking crap from the
music business, and play what they want to play, when they want to play it.)
5.) Most importantly, not sing entirely about
Drugs, Sex, or Money.
Even if the specified artist follows these specifications, I might not exactly like them. This may sound like a depressing blog about how I will never like your band (which is probably true) but in all entirety, I want to tell you about an amazing band. CAVASHAWN!
I first met Cavashawn right before the walk in Chicago. Here they actually took time to promote themselves to Hanson fans, because "Hanson fans are exactly the type of fans that they would like to have." We told them that if they took the walk with us, then we would go to their show in St. Louis. Well, they did, so obviously we had to keep our end of the bargain in place.
This Saturday we went to the Creepy Crawl to see them! We were a little frightened going to a venue called the Creepy Crawl, but we thought we could manage. When we got there, it was FREEZING! Their stupid heater stopped working, so we had to freeze the entire time, but it was clearly worth it.
Even though there were only about 10-15 people there, they played like there were thousands. Unlike most bands, they had the passion, and the sense of belonging when they were onstage. You could tell that they really wanted to be there, and weren't there just to make a little money.
After the show, they spent time talking to all of us, and asking us questions about Hanson. They were seriously interested in all of the random things we had to say. The most exciting thing that they said was they actually wanted to tour with Hanson, and liked their music. If you are a Hanson fan, you know how hard it is for people to accept them, but Cavashawn does. Cavashawn is a band that deserves waaaaayyyyyyy more credit, and popularity than they have received. You should really check them out because they are amazing!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, Hanson, TOUR WITH CAVASHAWN!


(To check them out...http://www.cavashawn.com or http://www.myspace.com/cavashawn)

TRL, Oh How I Miss You So!

I remember the days when I got home from first grade, ran to the living room, turned on TRL and "Eeped" with joy when I heard that This Time Around was number one for yet another day. I remember watching Hilary Duff's "Come Clean" while going through my Disney Channel-esque (Thank God that was before the Jonas Brothers/Hannah Montana came out!) phase. I remember watching TRL the summer we moved here when there was nothing on, so I watched "Luda's" lame rap videos and made fun of them because of their hilarity! Even though I have all of these "quote-on-quote" awesome memories of TRL, one memory overshadows them all. When I was just three years old, TRL changed my life for the better. Carson Daily announced, "Here's Hanson with their brand new song, MMMBop!" and I knew that I was hooked. From the second that I saw those boppy boys on the screen, my life was different.
TRL can be described as the T.V. show of our generation. (By our generation, I am adding about 10+ years to my age because I am more involved in that generation than my own. I mean, I love Hanson, Dawson's Creek, and Doc Martens for gosh sakes!) They brought choice to what we heard instead of having to listen to what the media moguls made us listen to. We could all call in and request Hanson if we wanted to on a larger scale, and no one could put us down for our choices. It brought the youth of our generation together. We were seeing Hanson, and all types of different artists at the same time! People would gather together and hear music of all different genres, and accepting them. (For the most part!)
Unfortunately, I believe that the Internet brought TRL to it's tragic downfall. Everyone wasn't worrying about tuning into MTV after they got home from school. They were too busy checking their MySpace's or IMing their friend Billy Joe Bob while downloading illegal music from Napster. They no longer had to watch TRL to see videos, YouTube could bring it to them in an instant. Eliminating the need to sit through all those "lame" music videos that they didn't want to hear. Ratings were falling and I am honestly surprised that it lasted as long as it did.
Even though the Internet is partially to blame, the music industry is also to blame. They stopped trying to make quality artists, they only made artists that would make them a couple of million dollars, then dropped them. Since the industry was not making quality artists, the music also suffered. They treated the consumers like they didn't matter, and teenagers were the first people to catch on. The "Indy" business caught on, and music videos were probably not being made like they used to. The main reason I stopped watching TRL is because they were only playing one type of music, Rap, which a lot of people I know don't like!
I know that because of TRL, Hanson made it to where they are today, and I honestly thank them for that! Mostly I thank them for showing me my one true love. For showing me that I had a voice, and for changing our generation for the better!

First Hanson Concert Anniversary!

I can't believe it! My first Hanson concert was exactly one year ago! The greatest year of my life is officially over, and although it is pretty much the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced, I am so looking forward to the next best year of my life. I don't know when or if that will ever happen, but like Zac said, "You have to live life day by day!" I'd like to thank all of you who helped me grow so much this year, even though I just met you! Becca, Cassie, Beth, Valerie, Erin, Whitney, Holly, The Freeze, Whitney, Rae-Rae, Katie, Berkley, JoAnne, Lauren, etc, and most of all Trish. I love you all so much, and seriously do not know what I would do without you. This year has been full of experiences, good and bad. From starting High School, to being known by my favorite band, obstacles have placed themselves in front of me and I've had to deal with them as they come along. Even though sometimes they have been to much to handle, I always remembered that you guys were by my side. That you guys understood me, even though we are all so different. We will always have this one thing in common...a love for each other that I know will never die! I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you! (This sounds like a marriage proposal, doesn't it???) I love you more than any words could ever effectively say!



And to Trish:
You have no idea how grateful I am for everything you do. I know that I do not deserve a friend as great as you, and I can say that you honestly changed my life. I love you so much, and even though I never wanted to tell you this, I think that I have to. The main reason that I was crying in Chicago is because I don't want you to leave. I know that you will always be here, but the thought of you leaving scares me to death. Mostly because of what my dad did to me, even though I know that you are nothing like him. It hurts me so much, even though I know you have to go. So as I am sitting here balling my eyes out, all I can think is how horrible it will be when you leave. I hate that this is all I can think of, but my entire life consits of constantly worrying about everything. Don't worry about me, I am always too emotional, but thank you for all that you do! I love you so much, and no one can ever replace my new best friend!

Hecticisms

Well, life has been hectic the past couple of weeks. On top of Chicago, I have been going to church camp, sleeping, doing school work, cleaning, being depressed, and trying to organize a walk. All of that on top of each other has been like a stress pie eating away at my soul. It is nice to just have a minute to catch up with old/new friends and read the 43 page long "H 2 Asian" thread on Hanson.net (WOOT WOOT!) On the plus side, I have 5 followers now. YAY! I love it when people read my pretty much pointless day to day writing sessions because they care about me...it soothes the soul! Anyways, I wanted to tell you about planning this walk. Not only has it been crazy, it has been really challenging. Today I went to my principal to ask if I could do the walk at my high school, but really just asking for the school's support, and guess what??? He put me down, "I have a letter I can print out for you...hard copy...people around here need help making baby blankets, if you are looking for ways to help."
Actually, I want to walk for AIDS, not make a baby blanket, so no. Also I went to talk to my Interact club to see if that teacher would sponsor my walk...No! Our club is "too" busy doing Secret Santa, which takes up NONE of our time by the way. After two depressing let downs in ten minutes, I decided to go talk to the people at my church. Luckily, they are more supportive and support my ideas. They said it sounded like a great idea and would ponder the thought for a while, even though I didn't necessarily tell them what to do. Excerpt from my school handbook..." The Mission of __________ is to access the talents of community, family, and staff to provide a positive environment that maximizes the potential of students to become informed decision makers, engaged learners, and responsible citizens in an ever-changing and diverse society...We believe in a comprehensive high school with a balanced curriculum designed to serve the interests, talents, and needs of all of our students. To accomplish this objective, we provide a widely varied curricula that helps prepare our students for a more fulfilling and happy life whether they pursue a college education or a vocational career." Hahaha Yeah right. See why I hate this school?? See why?? You might have just thought that I was looking for ways for myself to hate the school, but no. They say that they want to include EVERYONE's interest, and what is important to them. The one thing that is important to me, they will not even support. The ONLY thing I want them to do is tell people, that is all. They don't have to pay, or even walk, just spread the word. It is just sooooo ridiculous. They are completely not even remotely recognizing my potential, which is one of the first points of the handbook for students to follow. I hate this town so much, and really do not want to deal with it any longer. People here need to stop thinking of themselves, and do something good for a change. I want to walk, not make baby blankets for unwed mothers! This is my calling, let me help! LET ME TAKE MY WALK!

My First Hanson Concert-St. Louis 11/13/07

*The concert was supposed to be Saturday, October 6th 2007, but unfortunately Isaac Hanson was facing some problems with a pulmonary embolism that he was having. :( Luckily he quickly recovered and the concert was rescheduled for Tuesday, November 13th.*

I woke up at 5:00 A.M., (I went to sleep at 3:00.) jittery and anxious. This was the first time that I had EVER been able to see Hanson in person, so you can imagine how much I was freaking out. I stayed home that day because of not wanting to miss the walk, and to have that on your mind at school is not exactly a good combination. Spending mostly the entire day on Hanson.net while thinking about the concert is also not a great combination, but at least I would not be academically penalized for it. 

When my my mom got home from work at noon, I was spazzing out! Every little thing that she did seemed to be taking her hours on end to complete. Even simple things like changing out of her work clothes. After finally leaving the house at 1:00 P.M. I swore we were going to be late. Luckily, Hanson was the ones that were late, and we got there with plenty of time to spare! I met up with some cool people (Maggie, Berkley, etc;) and we started talking until I saw Zac get off the bus. I ran over there to see him and I started crying! FINALLY MY DREAMS WERE COMING TRUE!

The next thing I knew we were in front of the St. Louis Pageant waiting for the walk to begin. We were at the doors where no one was, because we did not feel like being in a mosh pit of crazy fans. All of a sudden Isaac, Taylor, and Zac walked out of the door in front of me, and I had to try with all of my might to not burst out a sudden scream of excitement. Unfortunately I failed with that task, and let out a small EEEP! Luckily I wasn't the only "EEPER!" and others soon followed. After on that it was fairly easy to keep my cool. I walked by Zac for awhile, but he was being mauled by people with really short skirts, so I left. Then I walked next to Isaac and asked him the question, "How did you find out about TOMS shoes?" He said, "We were just looking for a place to start making a difference, and we just happened upon TOMS!" 

Towards the end of the walk, and after reprimanding my mother for being extremely rude, I walked by Taylor. Since I was kind of afraid of Taylor at that point I didn't say anything to him. When we got back to the Pageant, I saw Trish and ran across the street! I met Trish a few weeks before at a WalMart because I was wearing a Hanson shirt. At the same time, I didn't realize that I skipped out on about half of the walk. Oops, oh well Trish is amazing! 

Since the walk was over I whipped out my amazing sign that read, "STL Meet and Greeters Meet Here!" It was so amazing that I got complements from Taylor and Isaac. The compliments included: "Nice sign!," "That's Awesome!," and even a pat on the back! Now it was time for the waiting portion! Some of my fellow Meet and Greeters saw my sign, so we met up like we were supposed to. After that we went our separate ways to get dinner! My mom had to go back to her car to get some money, so we went to the parking lot. There we saw the lady from Deal or No Deal with Hanson. We chatted for awhile and then were off to go get some dinner at...Shell. I grabbed a bag of barbeque chips, apple juice, and sugar babies and went to sit by Trish. Trish realized that my breath was going to be rank for my Meet and Greet, so she gave me some "burn-your-mouth" flavored gum. 

Now it was time for my Meet and Greet, at least so I thought.  I had to wait even longer, so I whipped out my immense amounts of cash to buy merch! With my tan walk shirt, house party shirt, anklets, and poster in hand I had just made the largest purchase of my life totalling $85. (I had to save all of my birthday money, besides the money I spent on my 1st pair of TOMS!) When I got back they were starting to let the Meet and Greeters in, so I ran to my mom to give her my stuff, then booked it for the line. When we entered the venue they gave us 10 mins. to go to the bathroom and whatnot, so I just stood there. Then, all of a sudden Hanson walked out the doors in front of me. It was now time for me to meet my idols.

I walked up to Isaac and gave him Trish's poster, and Kadee's Rat Rescue paper, and he didn't know what to do with them so he put it by the wall.I was in the first group (First the Ticketmaster Meet and Greeters had their turn, which I believe is unfair because we ARE in the FanClub for gosh sakes, but whatever.) along with Lacy, and two other people I didn't particularly like. Since our reporter was fired, Zac had to go get his camera to take our picture, I gave Taylor my bookcover to sign. 

T-"What's your name?"

M-"Morgan, with an E"

T-"So...M-O-R-G-A-E-N?"

M-"No M-O-R-G-E-N?"

T-"So...M-O-R-G-E-A-N?"

M-"No MORGEN!"

*Blankly stares* "What?"

After that lengthy extravaganza I had to coach him through spelling it like a Kindergartner, and he got laughs from everyone in the room. (including his brothers!) The rest of the Meet and Greet zoomed by faster than anything ever had. Quick picture, then shoved out of the way is the basic run down. While waiting for the others to have their Meet and Greet I realized that I had to go to the bathroom, so I ran off really quickly. When I came back, not even a minute later they had already released people  into the venue. I didn't get front row center like I wanted, but I did get an excellent spot on Isaac's  side. Now it was time to wait some more!

About 30 mins. later, everyone else entered the venue. I saw Trish sitting on the railing, and tried to say, "Hi!" but she couldn't hear, or see me. Then my mom did something unbelievable! She pushed through 10 rows of screaming Hanson fans just to talk to me. I swear she was going to clock some B's because she was getting really annoyed. After apologizing to everyone around me, I stood there until Ingram Hill came on, staring blankly into the distance.

So, Ingram Hill was pretty boring. I probably could have gotten into them more if I wasn't so pumped for Hanson, but that was just not a good day for opening bands. At about 9:45 Hanson finally came onstage! I danced the entire time, it was AMAZING! What can I say, it's Hanson's fault that I am obsessed with concerts now.

After the show I found my mom, and realized my legs were about to fall off! I hadn't sat down in a total of 11 hours and my legs were starting to  feel like Jell-O. Even though I was sad it was all over, I couldn't wait to tell everyone all of the amazing stories from that day. I think November 14th was the day people realized, "Oh no, we thought she was obsessed before, NOW what are we going to do with her?"

 

Hanson on TMZ

So, If you are a die-hard Hanson fan, such as myself, you may have already seen the amazing Hanson on TMZ video posted today! Personally I think it is hilarious, and that Hanson carried themselves well throughout the entire affair is just amazing! I just wish that Taylor could've controlled himself a little bit better in the 'flipping the bird' situation, but what can I say, he was under some serious pressure. "Hey, Mr. MMMBop, Mr. MMMBop,  Mr. MMMBop!" Dude, just shutup already! He obviously heard you, and he obviously does not want to talk to you! I mean who would. The priceless "how does it feel to be back comment!" I love our fanbase, "They were gone?" Hahaha WOW! However, even though all of these statements were CLEARLY entertaining, none can beat Zac's MMMBop gangsta style show! Especially when he said, "Do you always talk like that, or are you just having  problems today!?" Aaaaah...and people ask me why I love Hanson! :D

REASON HANSON IS AMAZING # 659846459849465464987946512567987974564654...

http://www.tmz.com/2008/10/29/hanson-bros-mmm-what/