Outside the Circle Part 2 (or confessions of a Bon Jovi addict)

New Jersey was when I became the obsessed 13 YO.

And I mean obsessed.  I had pictures of Jon, Richie, Dave, Tico and even a few small ones of Alec plastered on every square inch of my bedroom.  I had that poster of Jon with his hand on his shoulder wearing that leather trench coat on my closet door, and I had another picture of him over my bed so he was the last thing I saw when I closed my eyes at night and the first thing I saw when they opened in the morning.

When Bon Jovi played the Meadowlands in 1989 (March 15th to be exact) I wanted to sleep in the parking lot with 5000 other crazies for tickets.  My mom's questions were very exact, How were you getting there?  Who was paying for your ticket?  When my answer to both was you I was promptly told #1 I wasn't sleeping in the parking lot of the Meadowlands where I would be A) Raped B) Murdered C) both.  #2 we didn't have the money to buy me a ticket.  We were New Jersey Poor.  Being poor in New Jersey in the 80's meant if you lived in any other state in the country you would be rich, but because you live in New Jersey and had the pleasure of residing there you were poor.


So I did not see Bon Jovi in 1989 at the Meadowlands or at Giants stadium.  I recorded every second they were on MTV, you know when MTV played music.

I sat in front of the TV mezmerized by the 1989 MTV Music Awards performance.



And during this time my tape copy of New Jersey BROKE.  I listened to it so much the tape snapped.

I had bought a highly cherished vinyl version of New Jersey and played that infrequently.  But I had to save my money to get the highly prized copy of New Jersey on that new technology called the Compact Disc.  Because with a CD I could get CD quality on a memorex.  I had 15 copies of NJ on tape, I broke 10 of them from over listening.

My very first CD was New Jersey, I still have it.  The original jewel case cracked and I replaced it, but I still have the liner notes and stuff.

TBC....