A Parrothead is Hatched
The story of how we came to be Parrotheads!

Michael and I started dating back in 1996. We had both heard of Jimmy Buffett and knew some of his songs songs, but neither one of us knew anything about the Parrothead following (or should I say, flocking?) Mike had a few of his CDs, so one day while barbequing (during the summer of 1998) we popped one in the radio. We danced and sang to all of the songs for hours! Oddly enough, that night there was a special on television about J.B. and we watched it. We were immediately drawn in by Jimmy's charismatic ways, not to mention his unique and lovable lyrics.

From that moment on, we were hooked (no pun intended! LOL) I bought Mike and I tickets to one of J.B.'s concerts for Christmas that year. I'll never forget... the morning that I bought the tickets, I was sick with the stomach flu and had to take a final later that day. I got up at 5am and went to stand online (sick as a dog) for 4 hours! Well, it payed off because I managed to get 15th row for the "Carnival" show at Madison Square Garden in NYC for Monday, February 22, 1999.

I have to say, that was the most memorable concert of my entire life! The show was incredible and we didn't sit down for one second... we were on our feet, dancing and singing the whole time! I actually cried when the show ended because it was over. We didn't stop talking about it for months!

Then, in the beginning of April 1999, I was reading the NY Daily News and they had an article about NBC's morning show, The Today Show's, Summer Concert Series. Guess who was the first performer to open the series? YUP! Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers! They were scheduled to perform on May 22, 1999. Nothing was going to keep us from attending that! We left the house at around 2am and headed into Manhattan with our best friend Erik, who was not a Parrothead, but was quickly converted after hearing just one song! LOL We stood and waited for almost 4 hours until Jimmy and the Reefers came out for a dress rehearsal. They were so nice! They came around and signed autographs and took pictures. Since we got there so early, we were right up front and I was able to get my Carnival hat signed!

The show officially went on at 8:30am and let me tell you, it felt like we were down in Margaritaville! A few thousand people showed up for this, and it was probably one of the most popular morning show concerts in history! For pictures of that day, CLICK HERE!

We were then supposed to see J.B. perform at Jones Beach, in Long Island, NY that summer, but for some reason it was unexpectedly cancelled. We were very upset, and grew even more upset when Jimmy's fall/winter concert dates were posted, and New York wasn't there. It wasn't until March 15 when I received the Maragaritaville Newsletter that I saw the summer dates. JIMMY WAS GOING TO PLAY NEW JERSEY ON JUNE 8 AND 10!!

So, on Saturday, March 18, I got up and started calling Ticketmaster from 8:30am on. I finally got through at 9:50 (tickets went on sale at 10am) and asked about a few other shows, trying to buy some time until the saletime hit. Finally!! 10am!! I asked my agent about the show and she pulled up two tickets for me... in the SECOND ROW!!! I almost had a heart attack! I thought I was hearing things, and must have asked her to repeat the seats three times! LOL

So that is where I leave this story for now. I am eagerly awaiting the show and will update this after it! All I can say now, is I have never been happier in my entire life! This is going to be the night of my life and I can't wait! Hope to see you at the show!

Melissa :-) 1

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