The Amazing Power of Stevie Nicks (a story of friendship)

[RavenOfRhiannon]

Come sit down kiddos, and listen to a tale of friendship, one that began in the days before interwebs.
In 1991, I was a 17 year old gay boy in West Texas, obsessed with 3 things: Wonder Woman, The New Teen Titans, and Stevie Nicks. I didn't know a single other gay person, and was dreading having to come out to my family. My one place of refuge was the youth theater troupe I belonged to. In Feburary of that year, while we were in rehearsal for 'The Velveteen Rabbit,' I was reading my latest issue of The New Teen Titans in the Green Room while I waited for my scenes. The last couple of pages were always the letter column. In those days, they printed the letter, AND the name and address of the person who wrote it. In this issue, someone had signed his letter off with, 'PS: Don't you thinkg Raven would make a terrific singer/songwriter a la Stevie Nicks?' My heart skipped a beat. I knew I had found a kindred spirit. After rehearsal, I rushed home and wrote this guy a letter (on a typewriter, kids!).
A coule of weeks later, I got a reply from this gentleman. His name was Anthony. I drank up his words, so thirsty for something more than Texas. I answered immediately, and we began exchanging letters very frequently. He sent me a CASSETTE of rare Stevie songs I had never heard (including Silver Springs, pre-boxed set). We phoned on occassion, but mostly wrote.
In July of 1991, Anthony attended the Whole Lotta Trouble show in Philadelphia. Because he knew Henri David (the guy that makes Stevie's jewelry), Anthony was invited to sit with Stevie for a few minutes while she shopped in Henri's store. Anthony told Stevie about our friendship, and she signed the copy of The New Teen Titans that had his letter in it.
In 1992, I rode a greyhound bus all the way from Odessa, TX to Philadelphia, PA, ALONE, to visit Anthony. We had a great time, but neither one of us thought to take pictures.
As the years progressed, letters turned into emails, emails turned into texts and phone calls. but we were still seperated by 1862 miles.
When In Your Dreams was released, Anthony and I decided that 'For What It's Worth' is the story of our friendship.
In September of this year, I was contacted by Anthony's partner, Nick. Nick was throwing Anthony a surprise 50th birthday party (complete with a Wonder Woman theme), and wanted me to be there as a special surprise. I talked to my partner and we worked out all the details. Anthony's bithday falls between Christmas and New Year's so we were able to make it a holiday trip.
Complicating matters slightly, Anthony's father passed early in December. I wrestled with changing my flight to be there for the funeral, but my gentle and wise partner told me I should be there to cheer Anthony up at the party, so that we always have positive memories to share.
We got into Philly Christmas night and hid in the city for 2 days while we waited for the day of Anthony's party. Our hotel was right across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe. We went there for dinner, and of course, I asked the server if there was any Stevie memorabelia. She told me No, and I let it go.
I surprised Anthony at his party and we hugged like crazy. Over the next 4 days, we watched the IYD doc, drank champagne, sang along to Stevie, spun like Wonder Woman, and ate at the Hard Rock 4 more times. On our last day in Philly we caught one last lunch at Hard Rock. As we were seated, I looked up at the wall over the bar, and there it was: Stevie Nicks' yellow dress, the one from the Timespace longbox and US Weekly 1990 Behind The Mask interview. The Gay Gasp ensued as I grabbed Anthony's arm. We spent the lunch taking Stevie Dress Selfies, and planning a heist.
Too soon it was time to come home, but I am still thankful for the friendship I was given, all because of Stevie's music.