I don't have a lot of friends. The end.
Just kidding. About it being the end, not the friends part. It's true, I don't have a lot of friends.
I can count on one hand the amount of truly close friends I have. I'm a league leader in acquaintances, but when I consider how many actual close friends I have, it's a number lower than this 90s boy band name.
However, if you buy into the "quality over quantity" argument, I'm all set.
I have some really great best friends. And this is a thank you to them.
***
The day is September 29 and I just returned home from a productive day of teaching. Sort of. I had this mandatory training to go to and was out of the classroom all day. Because of the sub shortage, my fellow staff members had to take turns covering my classes throughout the day while I was away.
When I got back, this note was taped to my desk. (Click any photo to enlarge.)
I returned to school to coach the 7th grade basketball game. We had our first road game of the year and came away with a win, improving to 4-0 on the season. It was a good and productive day for yours truly.
After getting home, I cleaned up and microwaved an underrated Lean Cuisine meal. (Trust me, I know about the sodium. I still love Lean Cuisine. The price is right.) I plopped myself on the couch, opened YouTube, and pulled up some fan recordings of a Killers concert from earlier in the week in Verona, New York.
I've always dreamed of seeing The Killers live, but concerts aren't really something I go to. Between the cost of a ticket, nobody to go with and my general disdain for loud crowds, it wasn't a natural fit.
My best friend Jake goes to a lot of concerts. I'd happily go to one with him and we did plan as much when we found out another one of my favorite bands, Green Day, was coming to Dallas Arlington in 2020.
Then Covid happened and the show was rescheduled for July 24, 2021. The night my sister got married. (I went to the wedding.)
The next potential opportunity came when The Killers visited Ft. Worth on September 10th in 2022. Now the problem was I no longer lived in Texas. Going to see The Killers, Green Day, Maroon 5, or a concert of any kind with Jake seemed unlikely in the near future.
So, I enjoyed my concerts through the internet, singing along to every word from the comforts of my own home. I did this all the time and enjoyed it. Still I thought, "How amazing would it be to see one of my favorite bands live one day?"
The only concert I had ever been to was *NSYNC with my mom on March 20, 2002. So long ago that it was at Reunion Arena in Dallas, which had been demolished way back in 2009.
***
On September 30, the morning after a business-as-usual day for me, I was doing something I had never done before: going to New York City.
My other best friend, Brian, was getting married that Sunday in the "city that never sleeps." Apparently, it never takes a bath either.
I was completely blown away by New York. It is both the most remarkable, fascinating, scenic place I've ever been to. It's also dirty, smelly, overcrowded and loud.
You look up in New York, you see bright lights and beautiful buildings. You look down, you see garbage and used needles on the ground.
Still, it was a great trip, and the highlight (outside of Brian getting hitched) was a moment only made possible by the power of a best friend.
***
It didn't even occur to me until the weekend was over that The Killers concert I was watching the night before I arrived in New York was, in fact, in New York. A city called Verona that I had never heard of. A bus ride from this mysterious place to Manhattan would be about four hours.
But I digress. And also would digest some New York pizza with Jake and his girlfriend Lianna.
After landing in New York, I planned to meet up with Jake and Lianna at our hotel in Times Square. (I feel like such a big shot describing all the famous New York destinations.) While sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic in my $100 Uber ride, I get a text from Jake.
(Side note: Brian covered the cab ride because he's a banker or something and I'm a teacher. He didn't even ask, just Venmo'd the money. What kind of person outside of a BFF does this?)
I opened my phone and text from Jake read: "Lianna and I just walked past Madison Square Garden and apparently The Killers are in town! Should we go?"
My first reaction was, "How did I not know this?!" My second was a chuckle, treating the proposal as a joke. My third was goosebumps when I realized Jake is exactly the type of person to say, "f--- it, let's do it!"
I looked at my watch phone and checked the time.
6:15
The concert was at 7:30, but Jake says an opener usually plays for about an hour.
We had time.
At 6:23 and 11 seconds, Jake sent me a screenshot of the tickets.
It was happening. I was going to see The Killers. At Madison Square Garden. In an hour.
If not for Jake walking by Madison Square Garden --the venue also known as "The Mecca" despite the New York Knicks playing there-- and seeing the promo, the three of us would have ended up having a very nice dinner. Instead, I had one of the greatest nights and best memories of my life. Because of him. Because of a best friend.
I was in such a euphoric mood I could barely get out of my Uber. The driver literally started pulling away before I had my wedding tux out of the trunk.
After arriving at the hotel, I quickly checked in, threw my bags down and hustled to Jake and Lianna's Honeymoon Suite room. Apparently, marijuana is legal now in New York and a lot of people were taking advantage. Including at concerts. The smell had attached itself to Jake and Lianna like a tick and was painful, obvious, and painfully obvious.
But nothing could bring me down on this night.
We grabbed a slice of New York pizza, one of the countless pizza places within walking distance of the hotel, got on the Subway (which was exciting for me but not the locals) and by 7:15 we were at Madison Square Garden.
Jake was right about the opening act, and we made it in plenty of time. We grabbed three drinks --for a whopping $37.95 and I got a soda-- and eagerly awaited for The Killers to take the stage.
When they did, it was magic. I sang, I danced, I hugged strangers. I took photos. I took videos. I followed every word to every song. I was ecstatic to simply be in the same room as (lead singer) Brandon Flowers, someone I admire so much as a musician but even more as a human being.
It was an out of body experience that I will never forget and always struggle to describe. It was --to quote the other band I hope to see one day with Jake-- the time of my life.
All thanks to Brian. About 48 hours later, he got married. That was pretty cool, too. :)
