The Birth of the Bitches

The early part of 1993 is when the Moody fan base really got into full swing (and when I first got on line too, with this group anyway. (I actually pioneered early BBS‘s back in 1978 in college, and it was nutty then too. People will write anything when they think no one can see them). When A Night At Red Rocks showed on PBS that Spring, it REALLY grew to wild and crazy proportions.

 1993: March 19, 20 first weekend with the Moody Bitches. By this time I have found many more friends in the Bay area, and have a very lively correspondence with over 30 pen pals from all over the country (and some in the UK too). I may have even started doing a generic letter by this time, which I eventually called *Vibrations from the Underground*. Wow did that get out of hand eventually. I didn’t tell any deliberate lies, but I sure got fed some wild bullshit. Some was so far out I published it as a joke, and people took it seriously.

 Anyway the rest of the Moody Bitches and I got rooms in Caesar’s. I think we had about five in the room that weekend. Boy was there some booze, weed, cocaine…….. I couldn’t do drugs as I was still subject to pee tests for the US Navy, but I DO drink, and I did. I got so wiped out Friday night, that in the morning, rather than face the raging hangover I was suffering, I crawled to the Caesar’s store, bought a swim suit, and hid in the hot tub the rest of the day, attempting to turn into a prune. It was really dirty too, which will tell you how dedicated I was.

 Some of my hot tub behavior was driven by my room mates behavior, too. Now mind you, I’m usually pretty mellow, but my stuff was all over the place, I HATE disorder, and several of my roomies could talk about nothing but how various Moody crotches were bulging… that sort of thing. Sailors I am used to this from, it’s a high art in the Navy. This was just crude, overt lusting with no finesse. I wasn’t sure how to deal with it (remember I‘m about as hooked as I can be on MY own favorite Moody), so I found some place else to be other than the room. Blblblb.

 One of our number, Lisa was a Scorpio. God love ‘em Scorpios are charming, sensitive, kind people to know as friends, but when they get their minds set on a sexual encounter, they are impossible to get off that track. Lisa was determined to have carnal knowledge of Justin that weekend. She had relatives in the mob there in town too, so this was no light fantasy!

 I think it was Friday night, I got word that some of my friends were up "waiting for the Moodies" on the top floor. So I took the elevator up, the doors swung open, and there were four of my friends, one of them lying on the rug (she was writhing about trying to pop her back). I poked my head out of the elevator. "Can I bring you a sleeping bag?" I asked politely.

 "Hey John just popped out of his room, wearing a fluffy white bathrobe! He saw us and popped right back in!" The poor Moodies were essentially trapped in their rooms, unable to get to the soda or ice machine, without encountering fans. On one level, they really should have just gone to the machines, carrying a cricket bat to whack offenders. At the same time, it really wasn't right of my friends (I was shocked that John was so nice and DIDN'T call security). I'm proud to say I didn't stay long, and at various intervals during the night, I rode the elevator back up, and continued to urge them to decamp. I think it was later that same weekend on Sunday that Lisa actually DID corner Justin at the soda machine, and (finally fed up) he called security on her. Served her right. At another Tahoe weekend, Lisa tried to forge backstage passes too, and really annoyed a rather hot-headed John O'Keefe, then security manager. She was bribing the maids to let her look in their rooms. I was getting an education into fan behavior in one helluva hurry, all right.

 This was also the weekend, Lisa talked me into going cruising in South Shore on the California side. It’s a cute little town, not much then, but we did go to the grocery to pick up supplies. I mentioned Justin liked to work out. "Let’s go find some gyms, I think there’s one down here" Lisa commented. She knew the town better than I what with family there. We found a gym, there was no car outside ("ah he’d have a limo parked outside if he was there" Lisa commented) but we went in anyway, just to prowl around.

 You guessed it, Justin was in there working out. I almost fainted. The place had an odd design, there was a gallery that ran over the work out machines, so you could watch from above (kinda kinky if you ask me) and as I cringed back, I handed the camera to Lisa, motioning for her to do what I didn’t have the courage to do, that is snap a shot so we would believe it ourselves later. She stood there brazenly watching him. I finally recovered my camera, and muttered I was going out to the car. I turned around, and (you guessed it) practically walked into Justin in his pink work out togs. He muttered something in a thick Brummie accent, and I just dashed by him with my hand over my face, muttering back "we’re stalking you" and after getting turned around in the upper gallery, managed to bumble my way out of the place and down the stairs without breaking a leg in the process.

 I sat in the car until Lisa got done trying to corner and talk to Justin (he had a few pounds on her, and gave her the brush successfully…. no shrinking violet!) He finally got into the limo, and escaped, and as I followed it out of the parking lot, Lisa said "hit the gas!" which was just what the limo driver was doing. NOOOooooo. I slowed DOWN. Ice, traffic, I wasn’t about to road rally with a limo down Main. The limo gunned rapidly onward, and I sometimes flash back to that moment when someone mentions the paparazzi scenario and Lady Di. How the hell can anyone speed after a limo for just a few photos? Why do limo drivers RUN??? I LIKE Justin, he’s a person, not a thing. Fan behavior is INSANE. It’s not appropriate! It’s not safe!!!

 Anyway Justin got away that time, and has several times since too, and can keep his privacy, so long as he‘s safe. The weekend wound down, we spotted the side singers and Gordon running around a few times, and Lisa and I finally drove home. About half way down the mountain, Lisa breathed heavily "we should have gotten his towel". I almost drove over a cliff!

 

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