We know that you love Danny and want to do everything you can to help him so we compiled lists of things we can do for Danny besides buying his CD, singles and going to his shows!

Connie’s Recap: City Limits in Raleigh, NC

Connie has already provided us with great photos and videos.  Here is her recap.  It’s quite long so click more to read it!

From Connie:

I am an American Idol fan. OK I admit it. No need to go to AI Anonymous, I embrace my fandom. My family smiles politely when I discuss song choices and wardrobe like others discuss the bouquet of a fine wine. Not to mention that I live in North Carolina where we grow more American Idols than tobacco. Clay Aiken, Fantasia, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Annop Desai and oh, and some guy named Chris Daughtry.

By season 7 I was hopelessly hooked, I voted for David Cook and could hold an intellectual debate on the merits of respecting Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom enough not to change a note. After the show was over I bought every song from him on iTunes. I looked for an found every song by Cook from his early Axium days to Midwest Kings to Analog Heart.

After 6 weeks of AI withdrawal I convinced 2 of my sisters who happen to be AI fans to go to the tour concert in Washington DC. We have a fourth sister who lives in the DC suburb and this would make a great girl’s weekend. I never read a blog or knew about the meet and great. When we got to the venue, we went straight to our seats, and if by nosebleed they mean the very last row at the top of the rafters then nosebleed is a misnomer. No blood, just some dizziness and possible lack of oxygen. Where we were didn’t matter. The show was unbelievable and I was forever hooked. My next encounter with Cook will be another story.

By January, I was eagerly awaiting the return of “The Show.” For 13+ weeks I could forget about all the really bad things in my life. I could involve myself in the fulfilling of a dream of someone else. I could personally experience so much through the eyes of these performers when they succeeded. Their joy is transferred to all fans. We all experience this, it is the drug of the show.

On a Tuesday night I was tremendously struck by the story of a young man who had just buried his wife. The tears rolling down Danny Gokey’s face made me catch my breath. Somehow in a 3 minute spot, he touched a nerve. Here was a guy who reached bottom and picked his backside up and went ahead with a dream. Given the same circumstances and age, I would have been in the fetal position in some dark corner, but he chose to honor his wife’s wish to audition.

From week to week I saw others perform, but not even a fellow North Carolinian could pull me away from my chosen idol. Sort of reminds me of the Twilight series wolf imprinting. Once you see the person, they are chosen. Not even elimination can break the bond.

Through the weeks I saw him perform and grow stronger. There were some judges comments that were ridiculous, but that is American Idol. What I hated were the blogs. I know that AI fans are fanatical but I was shocked at how vicious people can be. I was upset at the lack of compassion and human empathy and basic emotions our society can really express.

Danny rarely mentioned his wife. Any “pimping” was not done by Danny himself. I remember the segment about the birthdays at the mansion where Danny and Allison shared a birthday cake and a food fight. Somehow I knew that when the cameras stopped rolling and the lights were turned off, and Danny was alone with his thoughts that the emotion of spending his first birthday without Sophia would overcome him. How many tears did his pillow soak up and how many sighs bounced off his bedroom walls.

I voted for Danny numerous times but not even my endless voting could beat one Fray arranged Heartless song. I believed a serious injustice was committed, but I am a Danny fan. When Kris beat Danny we all knew that whoever won that race would take the crown. Non urban America may have elected an African American president, but they would never vote for an openly gay, flamboyant, theater performer like Adam Lambert. And I was a fan of Adam. When others claimed to be Kradam fans (Kris and Adam) I was a Dam fan (Danny/Adam).

This year I would be smart about the concert. The day before the tickets went on sale, I received an early bird email and bought tickets before they were open to the general public. No altitude sickness this time.

The distance between May and August was very long. Time reacts differently when your life is spinning out of control and the tunnel you are falling into is getting tighter. In the span of a few months I got to explain, by myself, to my terminally ill 86 year old mother that while the heart procedure could prolong her life, it would not prevent her from dying a painful death. After declining the procedure my mother passed away while I sat in a chair in her hospital room. A few weeks later, I was then informed by my doctor that even though I was 46 years old, my knee was beyond repair/rehabilitation/treatment and I needed a knee replacement. Hey can life can any better? Just a few more twists. Near my 47th birthday, an annual checkup announced I was obese, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and my sugars indicated I was a diabetic.

Within 72 hours of that cheerful news I was off again to Washington to see the AI concert. Throughout the season I dutifully bought every iTunes item Danny produced. I burned all of the songs on to a CD. My goal, to have Danny sign the CD. But in the days before the concert I found it hard to function. I distanced myself from everyone, including my husband who stayed behind in North Carolina. Too much crap in my life to go sightseeing. The corner in a fetal position looked inviting. Had lots of thoughts going through my head, a very dark place.

I awoke the day of the concert and decided to join in on the meet and greet. When I got to the spot I felt like a green pea in a bowl of rice. All around me were variations of Kradam fans. No Danny t-shirts, no sparkly signs, nothing. I felt alone. Was I the only Danny fan? Was this just another example of me making a wrong turn in the decision making process? As morning turned to afternoon, I came to realize that the Danny fans were there. We were a silent force. Maybe not a majority, but close. Weeks of being beaten up in the blogs made us hide in plain sight. We waited in the hot August sun in DC. There is a reason Congress recesses in August – the 3 H’s – hazy, hot and humid. Michael and Matt came out a signed and photographed and while we were promised more Idols, none came out. With the guards removing the barricades I sat on the curb outside the Verizon Center and just cried. My last hope dashed. I just wanted to do something I worked for. One plan to succeed.

I was too upset to eat and I felt no hunger. Coming from someone my size that was not normal. I met up with my sisters and my young Army wife niece named Kat. We decided to take Kat to the concert to cheer her up as her husband was being deployed to Iraq a few days. We bought programs and got to our seats. They were better than expected. Head on, slightly above the floor level. My mood was momentarily brightened only to be stomped when my last hope of getting the CD signed was crushed by a text message stating I did not win the Ford Challenge and there was no after concert meet and greet in my future.

After performances of various success, number 3 was counted down on the big screen and Danny Gokey emerged from the darkness to the explosion of lights, sounds and the thunderous voices of the silent majority making their muted voices heard. I remember welling up during “What Hurts the Most.” The emotion in him and the emotion in me was coming together. Then something happened. I don’t know how or why. I had heard Danny’s speech before “My Wish” dozens of times on the internet. His speech about not letting misfortune define you. About following your wishes and your dreams and not letting anything block you. I read the blogs about the “preachy sermon” over and over again. The Twitter live webcasts bashing the life out of the “sermon.” All I know is that for one brief moment I felt totally alone in a crowd of 15,000. I felt that Danny was talking to me. Not only did I hear, but I listened. I absorbed it. I embraced it. Wrapped my arms around it and held on tight.

I was doing exactly was he was inspiring people not to do. Not to let all the bad news bullshit define me. I had the power to make my future. I had the power to make my life what I wanted it to be. In that instance I changed, and my life changed.

OK now here is the weird part. Remember when I said I didn’t win the Ford Challenge, well three sisters one row behind us did. Remember my niece Kat, the Army wife, well she is incredible friendly and talked to these women about her husband before the show started. By the end of the concert they were exchanging Facebook addresses. I still had my CD in my purse and I offered to pay them return postage to get the CD autographed. They refused… the money that is. They promised to try and if they succeeded, they would send it to me on their dime. You see they were Danny fans and my niece explained about me waiting in the heat. I wrote my name, address and email address on the CD and hastily crafted a note for Danny. What could I say in 30 seconds or less. All I could think of was a blessing, so I wrote it down. Before we left the arena, one of the sisters asked if we wanted our programs signed. The cynic in me said “You just forked over 25 bucks and now you are handing it to a perfect stranger?” Without hesitation, I handed it over.

Several days passed and I heard nothing. Then one Monday I got an email from one of the sisters. Success!!! They even sent pictures to prove it. Not only did they get Danny to sign a CD of Danny’s songs but they also got Adam and Kris to sign. Trifecta!!! A few days after that I received a Priority Mail envelope. I ripped it open to discover the signed CD and the program. In the center group photo section of the program nearly every Idol signed (Adam and Lil Rounds did not). The CD included a note stating that Danny read and kept me note. That CD and program are now framed and hanging in my office. May not be professional but it is a constant inspiration.

Four months have passed and that lack of hunger has turned in a 30 plus pound weight loss. No starving just eating less and moving more. My blood pressure, cholesterol and sugars are all well within normal range. I had the power to make a change and I grabbed it by the horns. I am still riding that bull. My knee, well it is still shot, but my weight loss has made me a candidate for partial knee replacement instead of the more drastic complete knee.

And the best???? After receiving a text about an impromptu concert less than 100 miles away from my house, my wonderful niece decided to kidnap and drive me to the concert. I was still recovering from a bout of pneumonia (I still have some issues), but my daughters and husband begged me to go. This was a once in a lifetime chance and I could not miss it.

As usual my niece Kat made friends and we soon found ourselves on the front row with only feet between me and Danny. Kat sat on the stage. I was a magical. I took photos and video.

As we were waiting for the meet and greet, I scrambled to find a piece of paper in my black hole of a purse. Worse then a roach motel, things go in but never come out. One final place, I know I’ve got a piece of paper, in my eyeglass case, it’s always in the way and I keep forgetting to take it out. It’s there. I took it out to discover that it was my computer generated ticket from the August Idol Concert in DC. What a strange world. With ticket in hand, Kat and I stood in line. My turn, Kat has the camera. Kat’s fumbling with my camera gives me a moment to say something. What to say? I uttered “Thank you.” Danny looked at me with a surprised and puzzled face and said “No, thank you!” HE was thanking me. He then signed my ticket. Full circle.

I do not think I will ever have the opportunity to explain to him why I spoke those two words to him. I don’t know if he will ever know just how much of an impact one sentence, delivered by someone who has experienced more grief in his lifetime then I have experienced in twice as many years, could have on a human being. Thank you Danny. You gave me my future, and maybe, you even saved my life.

Thank you.

Connie

May God keep you safe and protected and give you all the happiness you deserve.