The weather was horrid in Greenville!  Temps right at the 100 degree mark, with humidity that made you sweat just breathing.  We were very thankful that the Bi-Lo Center was an indoor venue! Joyce and I arrived late Monday afternoon, had dinner at the hotel, drove to the venue, then did a little shopping.  Tuesday morning, we headed straight to the mall to buy the new Moody Blues CD, Strange Times.  We had breakfast and walked the downtown area, before it got too hot.  After 11:00, we just stayed in our room, with the air conditioner, and CD player, blasting.  :-)

I tried not to think about what I'd be doing that evening because, every time I did, the butterflies would start dancing furiously in my stomach.  I'd been backstage before, but it was now nearly 4 years since that experience, and I'd only had the opportunity to talk to the band once since then.

We had dinner, and arrived at the Bi-Lo at 6:30.  We met Maggie right away, then Mavis and Lila.  I only knew two of the other winners, both from Blue World, Maggie and Paula.  At 6:40, Maggie went to will-call to pick up her concert ticket, then informed me that they were giving out the passes, too.  I got mine, and the woman at the window told me to go to the door and the guard would let us in.  So, at 6:45, we entered the building, and were led around to the other side.

We waited about 5 minutes for any "late" arrivals, even though the letter from the fan club specifically stated the passes would not be available until 7:00.  Paula came in that few minutes, as did one other person, and at 6:50, we were taken backstage.  There were eight of us altogether.

We all agreed we would each take as many pictures as possible, and swap them later, rather than trying to pass cameras around.  Little did we know, at the time, how many problems we would have with those cameras!

I was near the end of the "line", talking to Maggie when, suddenly, Ray appeared in front of me.& We exchanged greetings, and I asked if he would sign my Strange Times insert.  He whipped out his Sharpie, and I laughed as I told him I was impressed with his preparedness.  :-)  I didn't get to talk to him much just then, as the other Moodies were moving right along.  Fortunately, I did get the chance to chat with him further a little later on.  This photo was taken just after I told him how much I adored My Little Lovely.  He beamed as he informed me he'd written it for his grandson.  I then told him it reminded me so much of my own grandchildren, and we proceeded to talk about our respective grandkids.   Had there not been more pressing "business", we probably could've swapped stories for hours!  :-)  Typical grandparents!