Sir Elton John

Last night, Tuesday, September 19, 2006, I was privileged to see Elton John at the E-Center. When we finished our AIDS walk last Saturday, they handed out concert tickets. I got two, Chris got two, Beverley got two. Chris and I had plans to take our daughters, and my daughter, Emily, went, but Chris' daughter, McKenzie couldn't go, so I took Keri from work, instead. We met Beverley and the Judge at the concert.

The crowd was great. We obviously sat with a lot of gays, including one next to Keri with a t-shirt which read, "I Don't Do Girls". I told him I loved his shirt. He said he felt like he had a banner with it written across his forehead, because so many people had stared at his shirt. Keri struck up a conversation with him and said he seemed like a great guy. We had a lot of fun people around us, which added to the electricity of the concert. One of my best friends, Lyle, was in one of the "boxes" (for the elite, wow), and he came out of his suite long enough to wave and we all stood and waved until we got his attention. He blew us all kisses, bless his heart.

Elton started off with his trademark, "Funeral for a Friend", which starts boldly, but slow, and builds to a crescendo that got the crowd to their feet. He immediately followed that with "Bennie and the Jets", another favorite of our group. He continued with hit after hit, and never stopped, except to take a gracious bow and say a few words. Elton played about 5 songs off of his new cd, "The Captain and the Kid" which coincidentally was released the day of the concert. They were good songs, and I will be purchasing the cd soon.

After playing a string of his new songs, he returned to his hits. I kept thinking after each song that this would be the last, but he was like the Energizer Bunny....he just kept going and going and going. He did a long version of "Rocket Man", really showing his skills at the piano. I kept thinking how can someone be that good on the piano? It made me want to start playing more often, if for nothing else than it was so enjoyable to watch and see his absolute passion for the piano. "Rocket Man" segwayed into his final hits, "Crocodile Rock" and he ended with "Saturday Night's Allright for Fighting".

He then came out for two encores, both slow ballads, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", and his final hit of the night, "Your Song". I noticed couples down below who were dancing and enjoying the words to the love song. It was a great night. Elton played for a total of 2 hours, 50 minutes, with no break.

It was fun to be with my daughter, and great friends and dance and laugh the night away.

Dr. Ries

I walked Saturday, September 16, 2006, in the 10k AIDS walk-a-thon. There were six of us: My best friend, Chris; co-worker, Beverley (and great dane, Pablo); daughter, Emily; friend, Brandon; and friend, Jamie. It was a cold, overcast morning, yet those that were brave enough to come were "warm in spirit". We called our group, "Team Karry", in honor of my brother, Karry, who died of AIDS in 1991.

As we waited to begin the walk (which began at Liberty Park), a brief short program was held. Included were a few politicians, exercise motivators to "get us in the walking mode", and a few others with a story who had been touched someway in their lives by AIDS.

I was unprepared, however, for the emotions that I felt when they introduced Dr. Kristen Ries, the wonderful medical doctor for AIDS patients. Dr. Ries holds such a special place in my heart, because she was the doctor to my brother, Karry. As soon as they introduced her and said her name, the tears began to freely flow. I was so excited to actually see her, and have earnestly wanted to meet her since she so lovingly took care of Karry through his illness.

When Dr. Ries was introduced, they made the point of mentioning that she was one of a handful of doctors willing to meet with these "infectous disease" patients, who were part of a growing phenomena of people who had flu-like symptoms, and AIDS had not yet been identified. I have considered her to be a compassionate, wonderful woman who was willing to fight this wicked disease.

After her brief words, I made a beeline to meet her. I was overcome with emotion, but she was so wonderful and listened to me. I told her I was from Lehi, and that she had treated my brother, Karry, who had died in 1991. I reminded her that Karry was deaf. She remembered him, and also remembered that my mother had made her a fruitcake at Christmas time. She said Karry was a special person "that taught her a lot about life". It was a moving few moments, and I am forever grateful that I had the opportunity to meet this wonderful doctor, who played a small part in helping my brother die with dignity and grace.