My Fantasy Came True by Regina Burch The 1990 Paul McCartney World Tour was announced and I could feel the excitement start at my toes and move achingly through each segment of my body. "I want to see Paul!" my soul cried, but I knew my parents wouldn't approve. Money was tight in our family. There was never enough to pay all the bills, and now that I was finally in college, there was even more need for frugality. Scholarships might pay tuition and fees, but it wouldn't touch the cost of a ticket to see Paul and the band. A girl on our hall announced to all of us that she was going. She apparently had lots of money because Paul's posters wallpapered her section of her dorm room. I would go sometimes and sit on her bed just to see Paul's huge eyes stare dreamily back. About the third time I did that, she sat down beside me and said, "You wanna go to see Paul? I've got an extra ticket. My Dad sent them to me and now my roommate can't go." I almost fell off the bed nodding my head. We both laughed hysterically until we fell in the floor. I anxiously waited for the day to come. Melanie and I took turns marking off the days on her Beatles calendar until it finally came. The day was a gray one with northern winds blowing in threatening rain clouds. Melanie and I were so psyched up, we didn't even care. "Let it rain! We're going to see Paul!" we chorused from the windows of her little green Triumph as we chugged along toward the stadium. Evening arrived without any rain, but as the sky darkened we couldn't see a single star. But the stars didn't matter anymore as the huge spotlights poured brilliant light onto the stage and a film began to warm up the crowd. "Yeah!" I screamed when Paul and the band finally came on stage. The concert was the most exciting and moving experience! When he sang cheek to cheek with Linda there seemed to be the most incredible rapport, almost like they were telepathic. Then he dedicated Hey Jude to Ringo, George, and John, and I thought I would lose control. Tears streamed down faces everywhere in the audience while huge photos of his ex- band mates were shown on screen. The memories were so good, but so sad too. Live and Let Die created explosions of excitement in me as well as Melanie. She had found a guy she liked. They were hanging all over each other, rocking to the beat as the sizzling rockets of light shot into the air. Our seats were about 50 rows back, in the center, so we could see pretty well. I really envied those lucky few who were able to crowd around the stage and be close enough to almost touch Macca and his mates. As the band began to play the last song, I began to feel a little disappointed. I had had this dream a few days before the concert that I would meet and talk to Paul. It seemed so silly now when I looked out over the thousands of people that cheered and wept and danced and clapped for him. I was so thankful to Melanie for the chance to be here and enjoy this fantastic performance, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was still holding out a tiny hope that my fantasy would come true somehow. After the concert, I turned to Melanie to thank her again, but she was gone. The crowd was slowly filing out, and I dashed around frantically looking for her, but no Melanie. What was I going to do? Cab fare all the way back to the University would cost a fortune, probably $50 or so. I couldn't, no, I couldn't call my parents. They would be so disappointed in me to need money to get home when I shouldn't have accepted Melanie's "charity" (as they would call it) in the first place. The money I knew they would gladly spend to come and get me would mean my sister probably wouldn't get her Spring prom dress. I just sat down in my seat, pulled my jacket up around me and thought frantically about who I could call or what I should do. That's when the skies opened up and sheets of rain started their assault. I don't know how long I sat there shocked and miserable when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I gazed up into the huge brown eyes that had graced Melanie's wall. Paul in a rain slicker was holding a huge striped umbrella over me! "Hey, luv, what you sittin' here for?" I couldn't speak. I tried. My mouth moved, but nothing came out. He laughed. I became aware of roadies tearing down equipment nearby. "I...I...don't have a way home. My friend with the car left me," I managed to squeak. "Here, you're all wet. Come on. We'll get you home." and he took my arm and helped me up out of my chair. Numb legs carried me beside him to a hallway that led to a series of dressing rooms behind the stage area. We entered an open door and he called, "Linda!" as he put the umbrella in a corner. "What's your name, luv?" I managed to say "Regina," just before Linda entered from an adjoining room. I saw her glance down at the puddles forming on the carpet around my feet. "Linda, this is Regina. She needs some clothes, don't you think, before we drop her by the University?" I was prepared for Linda to be angry. I know I looked awful and it would be trouble for them to go out of their way helping me. "Sure! You poor thing! The rain's awful! Come on! We'll have you fixed up pretty quick," and she motioned me into the room she had just come from. She had a breezy happy manner that made me like her right away. As I followed her, Paul called to her, "Now don't try to get rid of that horrible orange thingie you bought in Seattle on her!" Linda just flipped her hair and stuck out her tongue at him. They both were laughing. I felt as if I had known them my whole life. People were in the room packing up boxes of things. Linda pointed out a section of clothes that looked like things you'd wear on a weekend, jeans, slacks, sweaters. "Here," she waved her hand at them. "You're about the same size as me. Choose what you'd like." After thanking her and putting on the clothes in a nearby bathroom, I returned to the room where Paul was. People were walking in and out of the room visiting with each other. I recognized the other band members, but some of the people were much older and I didn't know them. Paul was talking on the phone at one point to Ringo, and laughed a long time over something he heard. I found an out-of-the-way chair and just marveled at all the love everyone seemed to have. Linda sat and smelled flowers they had received and wrote in a little notebook. She'd snap a photo every once in a while too. Too soon, it was time to go. Paul and Linda said good-bye to everyone with hugs and kisses. I meekly followed along behind them. When we got to the sleek black limousine, one of the men that had been around Paul a lot all during the evening said to me, "You need to go now. The McCartneys are leaving." Paul heard it and swung around. He had one arm around Linda's shoulders and then he put the other arm around my shoulders. He said "Hey, John, she's with us. She'll ride with us." The man called John nodded and went up to talk to the limousine driver as we got in. In the limousine, Paul and Linda wanted to know all about school. They told me about their four children and what they were pursuing in their lives. I was so amazed at how normal and genuinely friendly Paul and Linda were. When I asked for an autograph, we all fumbled around looking for paper. When we didn't find any, he said he'd autograph my shirt Linda had given me. Linda was sitting next to me, so she held it out from my body while Paul leaned over her and wrote his name very large across the front with a marker. "There, luv, you're official now," he said with a mock 'upper class' accent. I loved the way he put his nose up in the air and shook his head slightly from side to side as he said it. I'll never forget my experience with the McCartneys. My friend Melanie found the boy she married at that concert, but their marriage only lasted a year. I acquired a cherished memory of the most thrilling encounter I could imagine with Paul and Linda McCartney, which will last a lifetime. It was a fantasy come true. Regina G. Burch P.O. Box 99246 Raleigh, NC 27624-9246 http://www.lovethebeatles.com