Letters

Dear KISS: Thank you for the fantasticly rockin' concert on Nov. 7! My husband has been a fan since you started (he was about 5 or so and a member of his own family band). He had a hard life growing up, traveling every summer for the band, settling just long enough for the kids to attend school, then off on the road again. The positive side of that is that the 4 children all learned to play drums, bass, lead guitar, and backup guitar by ear. (His younger brother can drum ANYTHING perfectly right down to Metallica). My husband's dream was to attend a KISS concert. He had to wait 35 years... Our local radio station put on a contest which sparked the flame for my husband. We were like the teenagers in the movie wanting KISS tickets, driving to each registration location! It was nuts - exciting and frustrating all in one. We didn't win. However, my husband's childhood friend did but couldn't attend the concert. We have been hit hard by the recession and didn't have money for tickets, but my husband traded his beloved guitar for his friend's pair of ticket for the Minneapolis show. He didn't care how we were going to get there, he just knew he was going! He sold a few musical items to a local music shop and pawned his wedding ring so we could have gas money. We arranged for sitters for our four kids, gassed up our van, and left for Minneapolis on Saturday. We got there early (3:30 to be exact). I've been with my husband for 18 years and don't think I've EVER seen a sparkle in his eyes like there was that day. His dream was coming true. It didn't matter that we didn't have extra money for a dvd or the new Sonic Boom album or even for food. All that mattered was that my husband was at KISS. He didn't even take his eyes off the stage (before anything started mind you) so I could take our picture! We arrived back home (near Mason City, Iowa) about 2:30 on Sunday morning - I think he slept like a baby,and I'll bet my life that he dreamt KISS all night!! All he's talked about since then is how you rocked Minneapolis and he wished he would have been able to purchase DVD because he might not ever see you live again. I wish we could have been fortunate enough to have meet-and-great tickets so that you could have seen the child-at-Christmas in my 40 year old husband's eyes! You guys should be VERY proud of how far you've come...there will never be anyone like you. You've made your mark, and my husband got to witness it, so thank you, thank you, thank you! Sincerely, Heather Jones