After about an hour and a half, Phil and Rick come out. When we call out to them they say to hold on, they'll be right back. After putting their stuff on the bus they come out to see us. We are at a fence and Phil says he can't reach us. We walk down to a gate and he says that's more like it. After a few minutes of Phil signing stuff and talking to people, I walk up and tell him who I am. He gets the most surprised look on his face and says to me (very slowly and clearly) "We are coming to Kentucky". I just grin at him and say, "That's cool". He just shakes his head and tells me I am insane for driving so far to see them. I tell him that they are worth it and he keeps shaking his head. I hand him my tourbook and before he signs it he says, "Come here". I proceed to get the biggest hug that I've ever had.
Rick is standing next to Phil taking all this in. I hadn't talked to Rick before so I'm more nervous around him. I hand him my book and sharpie. He asks me where I am from and I tell him "Kentucky". He asks how long did it take you to get here and I tell him 12 hrs. He finishes signing my book and says "That's amazing."
Rick was freezing outside and I told him to go to the bus. He said he was staying as long as Phil did. Phil was talking to everyone and taking pics. I said that it could be a long time before Phil went anywhere. I asked Rick about his Raven Drum shirt he had on during the show and he told me they might be available on his website (they are). I told him that he sounded great and looked like he was enjoying himself on stage. He said that he thinks he's finally got it all together. A few minutes later Malvin comes out and tells the two of them to go to the bus. We thank both of them and get more hugs and off they go to the bus. Rick stayed on the bus, but Phil was going back and forth between the two band buses.
Viv came out later and signed stuff. He didn't have a pen but did show us what he had in his pockets, Altoids, a woolly hat (i.e. Japan) and a cell phone. I still had my sharpie so I gave it to him through the fence. I rolled up a piece of paper and handed it to Viv and asked him if he would sign an autograph to one of my students. He said "Sure, be glad to". I wasn't going to have him sign anything else but he decided he could reach the tourbooks by standing on a pile of wooden boards and having the tourbooks handed to him over the fence, so I gave him mine to sign. He stayed for a few more minutes and then headed to the bus.
About 10 minutes later we see Sav and Joe coming up the ramp. Sav walked quickly to the bus and got on. Joe walked passed us with his arm wrapped up like a mummy. He looked at us briefly and sort of waved. He got on the second bus along with Sav and Viv.
After a few minutes the busses start to pull out. We all wave and head for our cars. I say goodbye to my friends who had stayed out with me and had braved the cold.
Hope you've enjoyed my little tale."
Kat
