I can already feel it.  The anticipation is mounting.  The undertow below our feet is coming fast and hard, almost knocking us off our feet.  It is going to sound like a herd of elephants on a rampage, shaking the stadium. It will be deafening, like a sonic boom.  This will be my first Clay concert, but not because I am new to loving him.  Oh, I have been to many concerts before in my 40 years.  But nothing even touches the anticipation and the sweet, sweet agony that comes from waiting for him. I can see it now.  It's a mere few minutes before the concert. I am fidgeting in my seat, constantly glancing at my watch, looking around at all the other people thinking" could they possibly love Clay as much as I do?"  How is that possible? I look at the empty stage and realize in just a very short time, he will be up there, singing those glory notes, moving across the stage in a state of perpetual motion.  He is happy, joyous, just as excited to see us as we are of seeing him.  I can see the tug, hear the screams, feel my heart racing a mile a minute, hands all sweaty, my mouth dry. I won't be able to sit still.  I will have to stand up, all five foot, two inches of me, to see the man that has created such a frenzy. I can see him clear as day even before he sets foot on the stage.  The striped shirt.  The jeans.  Maybe the flip flops.  Maybe a tie. Or maybe something totally different.

 I will be shaking, and my insides will feel like jello. I just might, for the first time in my life, feel as if  I may faint at the sight of another human being.  I won't be able to see through the tears streaming down my face.  He is going to be a blur for awhile, as I try my best to calm down. It will be so joyous, almost a spiritual awakening for me. The music will reverberate through my body. The song will end, and the goose bumps I will have on my arms will be tremendous.  I'll hear more screaming, and I'll realize for the first time, that it is me . Wow.  What a rush.  He will be so close to me, yet so far.  I can even see Jerome.  Nick.  Mary.  Maybe, God willing, Faye.  I cannot wait! 

 I have lived and relived this moment in my mind a thousand times.  I know it's going to be good.  He'll be better than ever.  More handsome, more confident, more in tune with his singers.  He will strut, run, move, and he will even do that thing he says he can't do..dance.  I piece together all of the pictures of all the concerts I have seen other people go to. But this time, I will be there.  It won't just be just a fantasy.  This may very well be the concert of my life.
 

For all the Clay dreaming I have done, all the fantasizing, it is finally almost here.  I am barely able to wait for the Good Morning America show, let alone the three concerts I will be lucky enough to attend!  The seats aren't as close as some of the others that  people are getting.  But I don't care. At least I will get to see him! That's more than many of my other Clay friends on the west coast can say. But their time is coming.  I feel it in my heart.

 I have a feeling it will be even better than I ever imagined. Afterwards, I know I will be exhausted but unable to stop talking and moving and singing, running on pure adrenaline.  It will be  nonstop, and I will be  reliving each and every moment. I know it will be etched inside my mind until I can no longer remember. My friends and I can reminisce for many years to come.  It will be perfect.  Clay will be perfect.  It's definitely gonna be a perfect day.

                                                       By: Shari