November 28, 2005

• Peter and the Chat

  I have been loving my participation in Socrates Cafe, Internet Island, and occasionally Featured Grownups, and I am meeting some great people through those blogrings, but, since my computer time is limited due to my work schedule, I have also been feeling like I do not write blogs anymore that are not topic blogs and that possibly I am being lost from my blog in some ways. This morning, I was writing a rather long entry for a topic on Peter Noone’s website, and I happened to think that this would make a great blog for those of you who were interested in what I said about Peter in my Thanksgiving blog. OK – this actually is a topic blog, but it’s not a Xanga topic blog, so that counts, doesn’t it? It shows a more frivolous side of my personality than the things I have been writing for my blog rings.

  Peter has a chat on his website. I used to chat there a lot, but I am rarely in there now. Peter does chat, but this is a story from the time before he visited the chat. The topic I was addressing on Peter’s website was “What was your favorite chat experience with Peter?”

  OK – my favorite chat with Peter took place when he wasn’t in the chat! Back in the early days of his site, before its many reincarnations, there was no chat. Then the Butt Ugly chat was born and the Butt Ugly Chat Babes lived in there. Peter never visited that chat, but he did communicate with it once. During the fan event at Carruthersville, MO, he called me on the phone and I keyed for him so that he could send messages to the chat.

  Now, before you go assuming that I was chosen for that honor because of some special relationship with Peter, that is not the case. I was chosen strictly because I had 2 phone lines and could be on the computer and on the phone at the same time. (Hasn’t technology changed since then?!)

  Anyway, I was in the chat and sitting there anxiously waiting for the phone to ring. I did not tell anyone in the chat what I was expecting, but there were about 16 people in there, which was a big crowd for those days, especially since a lot of people were at the fan event in Carruthersville. I was playing either the Glory Boys album or the Tremblers album as I waited, mostly because I thought that Peter would think it was cool if he heard it in the background.

  The phone finally rang, and my heart almost stopped! Judith was the first voice I heard, but as soon as she verified that she had the right person, she handed the phone to Peter. I could hear her in the background explaining to him who I was, and then I heard him saying very clearly, “I know who she is!” and giving her my email address. I was pretty impressed!

  I remember my surprise when I keyed “I have Peter on the phone” into the chat. Nobody doubted my word. I couldn’t believe it! Everyone repeated it, though, so all the way down the screen it read, “Nancy has Peter on the phone!” It was incredibly exciting to all of us!

  One of the first things Peter said to me was, “What are you wearing?” I don’t remember my reply, but I must have sounded pretty horrified because he quickly said, “Isn’t that what you say in a chat?” For the record, I was not really willing to actually tell him what I was wearing. It was an over-sized t-shirt that I slept in and nothing else. I did not know him well enough to tell him that! Of course, now I have told all of you.

  I soon discovered that it was very confusing to have Peter singing in one ear and talking in the other, so I had to turn off the record player. I never did know if he heard himself. My husband says that listening to my end of the conversation was very funny, because it consisted of things like, “Will you be quiet!!” and “I am trying to type here!” interspersed with things that the people in the chat were saying to him. Let me tell you, that man talks fast and I don’t key that fast! He was pretty impressed that I key with all 10 fingers though. I remember him asking me about that.

  The conversation went on for about 30 or 40 minutes. That night the chat was introduced to the Rev and told about things that would be happening with the website and the fan club. They had a chance to send messages to Peter. It was a great evening for all of us in the chat. I am not so sure that it was as exciting to all the fans in Carruthersville who were sitting there watching Peter talk on the phone!

  Here is a picture from that night. Note the bottled water and the banana split, both Peter Noone trademarks, as well as the phone attached to his ear. The picture is a scan of a picture printed from an email, so it is not very good. I have the original someplace, but this is the one I can find. Judith took the picture and sent it to me. I think this was actually the first Picture This event (something that is done at fan club events from time to time, with fans coming away with an autographed picture of themselves with Peter), since she was taking Polaroid photos of everyone with Peter and having him sign them.

  

  • 12:58 pm
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