| Submitted by: Jane Gilmartin (imadj@davidbowie.com) On September 16, 1995, at the start of the Outside tour, I had the privilage of meeting David Bowie, a seemingly unattainable fantasy of mine for years. It came about because I won a contest on a Boston radio station. They asked the question "From which Bowie-related work comes the line 'per adua ad astra'?" They announced the question one day previous to the contest, and when they asked it again the next day, you had to be the right caller to win. I had everyone I know armed and ready with the answer (which, of course, is "The Man Who Fell to Earth"). When the question came, friends of mine all over the city were trying to get through. My husband even double-parked the car and frantically pumped quarters into a payphone. But, as fate would have it, I was the right caller. When they told me I'd won and would be meeting Bowie before the show the next night I literally went weak in the knees. I couldn't believe it! All I'd wanted, from the time I was 16 was the chance to meet him and to somehow make him know -- just for a moment -- what he'd meant in my life. On the night of the show we (me, my friend Tammy, and a bunch of radio and record company people who were also there) were escorted backstage to a tented area. We were told to form a line and that Bowie would come out and say hello to each of us in turn. They said there were to be no pictures, other than a group shot of which we'd all get a copy, and no autographs. I promptly put myself first in this line. Everyone there could see that I was more than a bit nervous while we were waiting, so no one even asked to get in front of me. We waited more than a half hour and I thought I'd faint if I'd had to wait any longer. All that day I'd just been praying that I wouldn't cry and that somehow I'd find the voice to say something halfway intelligent to him. Finally, out walks David Bowie. He was dressed in his stage clothes (shiny black pants and jacket). He was smiling and he walked right over to me, took my hand and said "hello, how are you." I can't describe the feeling...after all those years of scheming and dreaming, chasing limos and loitering in hotel lobbies just to catch a glimpse of him, here he was, shaking my hand and smiling at me of his own accord! To me, this was a miracle. Well, all my cool went out the window. I could already feel the tears come to my eyes and I said the only thing I could: "Mr. Bowie, this is such an important moment for me." In an instant, his smile sort of melted and he leaned in closer to me, putting his other hand on my shoulder and said "don't cry!" And he looked genuinely touched. "I love you so much," I told him. And, before the words were even out of my mouth, he was hugging me. And the hug was so tight! It was a *real* hug! I just kept saying over and over again "I love you so much, I just love you so much!" Crying the whole time. And the hug lasted long enough for the fact to really register that this was, indeed, David Bowie and he was, indeed, hugging ME!! And when that hit me I blurted out "Oh my God!" He and everyone waiting in the line to meet him started laughing. When he stopped hugging me, he was still holding my hand and leaning in very close to me. I gave him a copy of a poem I had written about him in 1980 -- something I had always carried with me, just in case -- and he took it and put it in his coat pocket and sort of gave it a pat as if to assure me he had it. And then he waited there with me, giving me his absolute full attention while I thanked him and told him I'd never forget this moment. He never once let go of my hand the whole time we talked. When he went on to greet the next person in line, my friend Tammy, he jokingly said to her, "okay, where are my tears? Where's the emotion?" Everyone in the line, actually, said something like, "well, I can't top that first girl, but it IS nice to meet you..." I, meanwhile, stood shaking and freaking out in a corner, while Bowie's staff tried to make sure I wasn't about to faint on the spot. (They were very nice). When it came time for the group photo, I didn't even think I'd have the strength to make it across the room to join it. But then, as everyone was assembling, Bowie looked around the room and, when he saw me, he held his arms open and said "come stand with me." I never ran so fast in my life! I figured maybe he'd just let me stand next to him, but, instead, he put me in front of him and wrapped both his arms around me and that is how the photo was taken. Afterward, even though they'd said no autographs would be signed, he saw me holding my album cover of "Low" and signed a personal autograph for me. I never imagined that he would be THAT sweet to me. He seemed honestly touched by my emotion, and he did everything he could to make that moment as special as he could for me. For someone of his stature to do that for a fan is, in my opinion, the epitome of grace. I don't think I could have loved anyone more at that moment. And the only way I can describe how it all made me feel is to say that the universe seemed to me then to be a very just and fair place. Jane Gilmartin Hingham, Massachusetts
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