Black Cloud Polly Will See The Mac

[michelej1]

[A fan who travelled far to see the cancelled show won't end up being disappointed. Band promises to make it up to her]

The Truro Daily (Nova Scotia) May 14, 2009

http://www.trurodaily.com/index.cfm?sid=251310&sc=72

Unlucky Fleetwood Mac fan gets lucky with band after cancelled concert
THE CANADIAN PRESS


EDMONTON — Black Cloud Polly finally found a silver lining.
Polly, also known as Pauline Doucette, earned her nickname in her hometown of Summerside, P.E.I., where her rotten luck is legendary.

But that all changed Wednesday when her lifelong idols, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, sent her a message promising her “an unforgettable concert experience.”

This week’s trip to Edmonton to see Fleetwood Mac perform was supposed to give her a break from all the hardship she’s endured in her life.

Instead, it seemed like the hardship followed her.
The concert she had been waiting her entire life to see was postponed due to an illness in the band.

“She was just crushed,” said best friend Shannon Doyle, who moved to Edmonton three years ago and got her the tickets. “She’d worked so hard to save the money for plane fare.”

In fact, the single mom, who is trying to get by on a disability pension, spent four months collecting nickels, dimes and quarters to pay for her airfare to Edmonton.

Doucette said she’s been a huge fan since she was seven years old, but has never had the opportunity to see Nicks perform live.

But Fleetwood Mac’s representatives heard of Doucette’s story, they passed the word on to the artists and the band issued a brief statement:

“Fleetwood Mac’s heart goes out to Pauline Doucette and her unfortunate circumstance. We are taking steps to accommodate her needs for an unforgettable concert experience at a future date on the `Unleashed’ tour.”
Spokeswoman Eve Samuels said the exact details have yet to be worked out.
Doucette melted into joyous tears after hearing the news that her idols had taken an interest in her.

“Oh my god — that’s amazing!”

Doyle, who’s known Doucette for 12 years, said everyone in Summerside knows what a big Fleetwood Mac fan she is — and how plagued she is by misfortune.

Eight years ago she slipped into a mysterious coma for two weeks. It turned out to be encephalitis, the same disease that was depicted in the Robin Williams/Robert De Niro film “Awakenings.”

“When I finally started to come around, I didn’t know how to do anything, so I had to learn everything again. I was in a wheelchair for six months and had to get a speech therapist to talk again.”

Then, just as she was ready to resume her life, Doucette sustained a brain injury in a car accident, leaving her with short-term memory loss and unable to work.

Doyle said bad luck just seems to follow her.
“Summerside is a quiet, laid-back place with almost no crime,” he said. “But if some car gets randomly vandalized, you can bet it’ll be hers.”

But Doucette doesn’t want to be considered a “pity case.” When times get tough, she turns to the music of Nicks for comfort.

“First time I ever heard her sing, it was so inspiring to me,” Doucette said. “I don’t know, something about her just inspires me. That’s the only way to explain it. I live for Stevie Nicks.”

[BTFLCHLD]

whenever I read publicized stories like this they always seem to be applicable to one person. what about the rest of those that went through the same hardships to get there, etc only to have their ~dreams~ squashed? huh, what about them?

[michelej1]

May 23, 2009
http://www.journalpioneer.com/index....=253756&sc=118

Dreams are made of this
Pauline Doucette’s hard luck story is taking a turn for the better

LORI A. MAYNE
The Journal Pioneer, SUMMERSIDE

It was just her luck. Pauline Doucette flew all the way from Summerside to Edmonton to fulfill her lifelong dream of seeing Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.

A band member got sick, the concert was postponed.

“If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen to me,” Doucette says friends will tell you.

But something good came out of that heartbreaking trip.

Fleetwood Mac learned of her story and promised an “unforgettable concert experience” to make it up to her.

“I have my phone attached to me constantly,” says Doucette, now home on P.E.I. hoping for news.

Doucette, 44, is known as “Black Cloud Polly” for her notorious bad luck.
Twelve years ago, she went into a coma for a couple of weeks with inflammation of the brain. Doctors warned she might not survive, or would likely neither walk nor talk if she did. Doucette fought back, moving from wheelchair to walker to cane and ultimately, back to her feet. She started fighting her way back to work despite memory problems.

But that ended when she got into a car accident, hit her head and was set back again.

When something’s up – which is often – she turns to Fleetwood Mac.
“I listen to the music and it calms me. There’s just something about it that makes me feel better.”

She’s loved the band since she was a little girl but feels particularly drawn to Stevie Nicks.

The closest Doucette has gotten to Fleetwood Mac is a tribute band in Summerside. “I even waited out back after the concert was over to see if I could meet them,” Doucette confesses.

The single mom, living on disability pension, saved change in a tin for months to pay for her Edmonton trip. When she learned of the concert cancellation there, it was devastating. She curled up into a ball and bawled for hours.
“She was kind of crushed,” agreed friend Shannon Doyle, who got the tickets.

Doyle, a Summerside native now living in Alberta, alerted media to her story, hoping something positive could be done for her.

Doucette landed on the front page, on TV, and got calls from people she didn’t even know. A Fleetwood Mac representative assured an Edmonton paper the band would make it up to her and got Doucette’s contact information from Doyle.

“She really deserves it, she’s had quite a life,” said her boyfriend Dan Enman, who was on the Island as all the drama unfolded.

Still, Doucette feels thankful even for the brush of fame she received this month with her idol.

“I made the front page with Stevie Nicks, so what else can I ask for, right? If they mailed me one of her little lace gloves or a piece off her dress, I’d probably be – just excited. And then I’d sit home, put my CD on and pretend I’m at the concert.”

– With files from Canadian Press

[TrueFaith77]

At least she has a boyfriend... sheeshh. What a cry baby.

Although the Mac SHOULD cover Morrissey's "Black Cloud"... I'd remind Polly of another Moz track: "That's How People Grow Up"

[michelej1]

Edmonton Sun, No rumours: Fleetwood Mac's back with new concert date
By SUN MEDIA

http://www.edmontonsun.com/entertain...22496-sun.html

Last Updated: 30th May 2009, 2:48am


A lifelong Fleetwood Mac fan is excited to learn her favourite band has rescheduled their Edmonton concert date to June 24 after an illness kept them from performing on May 13.

Now, Pauline Doucette is hoping the band will remember to give her what they described as an "unforgettable concert experience."

"I'm really happy they've scheduled a new date and didn't cancel. I'm hoping for a miracle that I can be there," said Doucette.

The 45-year-old single mother who gets by on a disability pension travelled from her home of Summerside, P.E.I., to Edmonton in early May to see Fleetwood Mac perform at Rexall Place.

When they cancelled their Edmonton and Calgary gigs, Doucette chalked it up to her rotten luck, which she said has earned her the nickname "Black Cloud Polly."

When the band heard of Doucette's situation, spokesman Eve Samuels stated they would "accommodate her needs." But since then, she hasn't heard from Samuels and is anxiously keeping her fingers crossed she can make it.

[michelej1]

Evening News Glasgow, June 25, 2009

http://www.ngnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=264096&sc=52

Fleetwood Mac ensures P.E.I. Steve Nicks fan sees Edmonton concert
THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON — A lifelong dream finally came true Wednesday night when a fan from Prince Edward Island finally saw her idol Stevie Nicks up close and personal at a Fleetwood Mac concert in Edmonton.

“I am beside myself, I’m ecstatic,” Pauline Doucette said before the show, wearing a black T-shirt bearing the singer’s image and holding a bag of gifts for the band.

“This is unbelievable, a memory of a lifetime.”

Doucette originally held tickets for Fleetwood Mac’s May 13 concert in Edmonton. She had saved money for months to pay the airfare.

But the concert was cancelled at the last minute when a member of the band fell ill.

In some ways, it didn’t surprise Doucette — in her hometown of Summerside, P.E.I., her nickname is “Black Cloud Polly,” an indicator of a long string of bad luck and her struggle as a 45-year-old single mother living off a disability pension.

But her luck changed when the band heard her story.

For the rescheduled concert, they ensured she had a room at a posh hotel, filled with band memorabilia including T-shirts and autographed photos, as well as a chance to meet the band members with a backstage pass.

The band had also offered to fly her back out to Edmonton, but she had already accepted an offer from a woman — a complete stranger — who offered to give Doucette her Air Miles for free.

“I’m still speechless,” Doucette said Wednesday. “It’s beyond anything I had expected.”

[ThunderHappens]

Good for her! And good for the Mac!

I'm glad she was able to attend and had a good time.