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Random thoughts from his grown fans, on finally meeting an untouchable man. |
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Meeting Les as a teenager...
It was the weekend of August 15/16 1977. (The same weekend Elvis died.) Some friends & I went to the Illinois tate air to see the Rollers. I don't really know how, but we found out names of hotels the guys were registered at. We picked one & set out to find us some Rollers! One of my girlfriends was more "equipped" than any of the rest of us. She was prepared to break in to their room. She thought that surely it was the best suite in the hotel, so off she went to check out the lock on the door. We stood guard at the ends of the halls. While there, a young girl who worked at the hotel came by and informed us that they were on floor ___. We tried to get to that floor but security was naturally heavy. Feeling very discouraged, we went down to the lobby / snack bar area & called a taxi. We sat there drinking chocolate milk shakes and waited. Lo & behold, who walks in a few moments later, Leslie & Eric! Les looked sooo sexy. All he had on was a snug pair of jeans & tennis shoes. They were surprised to see us, but not wanting to get roughly escorted out, we stayed pretty cool for 4 fifteen year olds face to face with their idols. They chatted briefly & we took a few photos. Then off they went. I had been unable to do anything but stare. I just couldn't believe I was in the presence of this man I had adored since I was 13. Once he was gone from sight I cried like a baby. I hated that I was so star struck that I couldn't speak.
Meeting Les as an adult at Rave 2002...
What can I say other than it was the BEST WEEKEND OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!
I got to the hotel Friday around 1:00 PM. Got unpacked & went down to the food court for lunch (frozen yogurt). I met a couple of the people attending the Rave. One woman, Beth & her husband, Greg, were very nice and we spent some time chatting until it was time to go pick up our "goodie" bags. As we headed towards the room, who comes out but LESMAC himself! He looked exhausted, so we only said "HI" then almost collapsed! No more Les sightings for us that night, though if I hadn't been sitting in my room waiting for a call from home (which didn't come until late - boy was I bummed) I could have partied with him & some others in the bar.
Saturday at 11:00 am was the Sponsorship Event. Les had planned it himself. He wanted to go bowling! I am so bad at that! When he walked into the bowling alley, I turned to jelly. Les sits down beside me to put on his bowling shoes. I almost faint. He's not as tall as I thought he was. I'd say about 5'8". At this point I am trying to get up the nerve to talk to him. When Les & I happened to bowl at the same time, I teased him about his skills & he said he could "kick my ass in bowling". I told him no way since there are no bowling alleys in London. (Ha-ha) He really wasn't bad - not compared to me anyway. At one point I got a hug from him & promptly rolled a strike! He said he brought me good luck. I told him that if a hug did that think of what other things could do. He liked that one! He is a real clown and has quite a knack for making people feel at ease around him. At one point, he grabbed two big blue balls & held them right THERE. He even posed for pictures. He did end up winning and gloated big time! I told him we let him win.
Saturday night was the actual Rave. The party started at 6:30 with food & music (CD's). We danced some & talked lots. There was an opening band, but I was more interested in the main attraction. Les & Legendary came on around 9:30 & played great! This night showed me that Les definitely does not need the Rollers. He IS the Rollers! His voice is better than ever! His band is great too. All a good bunch of guys. He did some Roller songs and some stuff I had never heard including a song called Killing The Blues. It is sooo beautiful! It's one of those tunes that gets right to your heart. He also sang The Way I Feel Tonight. Once at a concert he sang part of that to me years back when I had 1st row seats. I was sitting on the stage & he stood right near me & looked down at me every time he sang "Baby I Love You!" I sat there with tears running down my face. This time, when he sang "Let your body melt in mine...", he looked down at me raised his eyebrows and licked his lips. I thought I would die. I can't tell you how excited I was! He came down after the show and came over to me and another woman & put his arms around us for another hug. He had to go do autographs next. We waited in line for some time, but the picture I got was well worth the wait.
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