Your Weekly Townsend Fix Column 35

Hello Everyone!!!

Good morning (afternoon or night, depending on when you guys read this.) :)
How are you guys doing? Hopefully good! Yesterday afternoon, Kristen asked me to do a huge favor for her. She told me that she¡¦ll be busy all weekend and wouldn¡¦t have time to write this week¡¦s YWTF column. Way in the beginning Kristen stated that I may occasionally stand in for her if something major happens. I guess that time is now. I seriously didn¡¦t know what to write but I knew that I didn¡¦t want to disappoint my partner in crime and all you lovely R.P.C.C. members! So, I¡¦ll give it my best shot and try to at least write a decent column. For those of you that don¡¦t know me, I'm Holly (1/2 of your R.P.C.C. founders). I am currently 15, a sophomore at Independence High School in San Jose, CA. Some people call me Holz, Lolly, GotRyanChick (thanks Aileen¡K btw, that¡¦s just because I made that flyer way long ago), Jr. Wu-Holly, Holley (my name as spelled by Nick... lol), one of Matt¡¦s whores, and the list goes on and on. If you have seen me at a Townsend event, I¡¦m usually wearing some shade of blue, whether it is a light or dark shade. Blue is my absolute favorite color and I guess you could say I have a fetish for the color blue. That probably explains why my AOL screen name is: TrUebLuGrL637.

Anyhow, some of you may wonder when I met Townsend and how it all began. I¡¦d have to go way back into the year of 2000. I always went to a majority of concerts here in the Bay Area. I usually attended a majority of concerts at the San Jose Doghouse Arena, unless it was a really good artist/group that I wanted to see at Oakland or Concord. Since WiLD 94.9 are always at most Bay Area concerts promoting the radio station, it became a concert ritual that I check into WiLD before going into the arena if they weren¡¦t inside. I still remember playing the ¡§Where my balls at?¡¨ game, getting the WiLD 94.9 flyers, t-shirts and bags. But more importantly, noticing Todd or Ryan. I remember just smiling shyly and that I couldn¡¦t take my eyes off of Rye. Hey, I admit it¡K Ryan is very good at catching a girl¡¦s eyes or attention for the very first time they meet. More importantly, there are much more to these guys than their good looks. I saw White Rye and Wu-Todd at various concerts¡K BSB¡¦s ¡§Into the Millennium¡¨ World Tour and TLC¡¦s ¡§Fanmail¡¨ tour, to name a few. I also e-mailed Ryan a couple of times but I didn¡¦t meet these Townsend boys (minus Matt) until October 15, 2001. In Ryan¡¦s e-mail, I would notice the CAP LOCK and endings with ¡§Stay Sweet¡¨ or ¡§Take Care ƒº.¡¨ One thing that truly amazes me throughout my whole Townsend experience so far is watching Ryan opening up, meaning overcoming the shyness. You know what I mean, he¡¦s not as shy as he was before. They¡¦ve grown a couple of years older, got a record deal, recorded an EP album, and gaining a tremendous increase of fans in just a matter of months.

The day of the Christina Aguilera concert in Concord changed my life in so many good ways. I met Frankie (an ex-party crew member @ WiLD 94.9) and he¡¦s such an amazing guy both inside and out. He¡¦s one of the coolest people to talk to and he¡¦s completely down to earth. He was also the one that introduced me to Ryan and the guys. They¡¦re still good friends and they use to work together too at WiLD 94.9. (Note: A picture of Frankie with Ryan is in the “Fan Pics of/with Ryan”) I didn’t take any pictures that day though, thanks to my cousin’s stupid camera that ran out of battery. I hate when that happens, “Out of all times this could happen, why now?” That’s life though. I remember having the chance to sit 5th row with my brother since he got good seats through the Christina Aguilera fan club but we got into an argument while driving to the Concord Pavilion and I ended up sitting in Section 200 something with my cousin. We didn’t see her opening acts because we were more interested in Townsend/WiLD 94.9 (Frankie). We did see Destiny’s Child though, they’re awesome! I will definitely go to their next concert if they come back here. I didn’t realize how many people I’ve met (as in Townsend fans) after the concert until now that went to the concert too. I probably did see most of you but didn’t realize who you were until now. It’s true. Most of the originals were there and everything.

Then I finally met Matt in July ’01 at the O-Town Concert in Great America. That was such a fun day, huh Mary? Before going to that concert, I was pretty unsure if Townsend would make an appearance but fortunately, things got through with Ashley and they made it. I thought that they weren’t going to be there but guess what? I was wrong. I noticed these hot guys from far away and saw four guys from the opposite direction we were walking. Of course I recognized Ryan and the Restani twins! I also saw this tall blonde new guy that I assumed was Matt from the pictures posted from the 98 Degrees concert I saw. I also noticed Todd was missing and later Dom told me he was on family vacation in Clear Lake. Mary shrieked, “OMG OMG OMG!” after I saw the guys and asked her, “Isn’t that Townsend???” They had that look on, the one with “Wow, we’re just normal people!” Not knowing what to do, we then followed them as they were heading for the Stealth. We sat in front of the Stealth just chatting and waiting for the guys. And now I'm questioning myself, “Uhh.. Why didn’t we just go on the Stealth too?” Oh well. We met Matt when he was on his way to the bathroom, a usual, isn’t it? Hehe. After the stealth, they shut off the ride photos since so many people wanted the O-Town pictures. The guys hung around a little and took some pictures and met fans. Thereafter, I went to various Townsend events after that and here I am telling you my story.

I briefly mentioned earlier above that Townsend changed my life in so many good ways. First and foremost, I had the blessing of meeting so many incredible people. The guys themselves are completely awesome in like every single way possible. Words can never express how much the guys mean to me. I just wouldn’t be able to put into words how much they mean because there aren’t enough words. That’s how much, LOL! You don’t need an explanation for that, I'm 101% positive you guys know what I mean. But I honestly think, never have I met so many good people from a male vocal group or in my whole life so far. I had the opportunity to meet many new friends that I cherish with all my heart. Kristen, Lynette, Aileen, Courtney, Joy, Sara, Sheerin, Stella, Meg, Amber, Jen, Kristina, Kaitlyn, Amy, Tamara, Katie, Andrea, Julie, Whitney, Christi, Laurina, Tawny, Vanessa, Melissa, Aimee, Marina, Jessica, Heidi, Ari Ann, JB and the list never ends. You friendship means a lot to me and I feel truly blessed to have you guys in my life. You guys are great! I wish you guys the best in everything and keep in mind that I'm always here if ya need me. I love you guys! I have a good friendship with most of you and I wanted you guys to know that you have always been there for me whenever I have a problem, don’t feel too good, need advice, or just support. We talk about anything even if it’s not Townsend related, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to get to know you all better! For those that I don’t know as well, I'm looking forward to getting to know you better! Honestly though, you guys mean a lot to me =) I also wanted to share a big part of my life that I never really talked about. I usually don’t talk about this but ever since I met Townsend. I have changed too. I’ve been more open up and not as quiet as I was. I guess you could say that I was one of those quiet girls in class who never said anything to the girl that would never stop talking. Or maybe it’s because I have something to talk about, LOL, I don’t know. But I’ve changed.

Townsend has been a true inspiration in my life for this reason: they are great role models and they’re the best. My dad passed away when I was in 3rd grade and I don’t really know the details but let me tell you this, it’s really different. No one has really treated me differently though (And no one should because an individual’s worth is not based on their family, history, bank account, or anything like that.) I just feel that I lived a different life than most people. I know there are a lot of single parents raising their kids out there too, and that I'm not the only one, but I often wonder how things might have been if he was still here. I am curious to how it feels like to call someone “dad/father/pops” like he is your own, being daddy’s girl, having a father-daughter night, and just actually having a father. I love him to death though, and I know that he’s always there for me no matter what and where. He’s one of my Guardian Angels looking out for me at all times. My mom is incredible, she’s so amazing and I love her to death. She’s been raising my brother (17) and me (15) for approximately 7 years. I don’t even know how she does it. If it were me, I’d cry for help. No, just kidding. I have a really But what I'm trying to say is that I never really had a positive male-figure to look up to. And that’s where Townsend comes in. I really think that they are positive role models and it’s awesome to know a bunch of great guys. That’s why the song “Just Say Goodbye” has an extra special meaning to me too. Here’s a little advice though. “If you love someone, tell them before it’s too late.” I learn that from experience. Wow, I can’t believe I just shared that with you all. I’ve never been so open before. Well, with this, that is. I just realized how much of an impact Townsend and all my Townsend friends have had on my life. I need to put together a “me” presentation board and speak from 5 to 10 minutes in front of 30 Leadership class students about my life. Most of that time would probably be spent on how wonderful you guys are! =) I love you!

So, who checked out the Townsend Chatroom already? It’s a great addition to the site, don’t ya think? I'm probably in there like whenever I'm online, which is like most of the time I'm home since I have DSL and my own computer, I just leave it there. It’s great meeting some new fans in there and meeting fans that I’ve never met before. There are several Townsend “haters” that come in several times a day and start calling people names and start saying how much Townsend suck. My advice, just ignore them! They truly don’t need attention because they seriously have no lives! To ignore someone, just highlight their name on the right side and click the “Ignore” button on top and you’ll see what I mean. It works for me… and after everyone ignores, the “hater” doesn’t get the attention they want and they leave.

Oh yeah, I was also asked the question, “Why did Kristen and I make a club only for Ryan? Do we not like the other guys?” My response: that is completely not true! We love all the Townsend guys (yes, each and everyone of them in their own way) to death and they all mean a lot to us. We love them all the same, that’s probably why we can’t pick a favorite Townsend guy. And we made this club because we noticed that there wasn’t a Yahoo club for Ryan way back in August last year and all the other guys had their own clubs. There was the “Official Matt Yoakum Club,” “My Boyfriend Todd Dolci,” and Melissa made a “The Townsend Twins” club and she suggested that someone should start a Ryan club. I was wondering if Ryan had a club yet and I found out that he didn’t. To my surprise, Kristen was wondering the same thing and the rest was history. This club is just a tidbit more focused on Ryan but it’s for all the Townsend guys. Not only Ryan! =) We would never neglect any of the guys, right Kris? Hehe. It depends. J/k! Well, that’s all for now! *crossing fingers* I hope my column wasn’t that bad. Kristen will return next week (I promise ya!) with the original column! Hope you all had a good week! Take the best of care and stay positive!

Be you and stay true,
Holly

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