Chapter oneCont….
Coming off stage, Richie shouted, “Oh man, that was awesome, did you see those girls? Looking at Richie, I smiled and said, Richie bro, that’s just the start.
Moving to our dressing room, Paul our Manager caught my arm,” Jon, there’s the Radio ticket winners waiting to meet you,” he handed me a towel so I could dry the sweat from my face, Paul added be nice.
“yeah, yeah, aint I always,” truth be known I was excited to be meeting with the girls that Richie had tagged earlier, and now I was gonna have to play nice to guests that won tickets on a radio show. Oh well the price of fortune and fame I guess.
The sounds of partying were audible from where I was standing in the hallway, but I couldn’t join them backstage just yet. I followed Paul my Manager to the room where I was to meet one of my youngest fans.
As I was day dreaming about the women I’d be hanging out with tonight, Paul nudged me in the ribs, adding a little cough to get my attention. “Jon Bon Jovi, I’d like for you to meet Mara Goodward and her mom Caroline.”
Smiling I held out my hand to little Mara so that we could shake hands, she retracted closer to her mum too nervous to greet me, I continued, “Hi Mara, it’s so nice to meet you, did you enjoy the show?” I vaguely remember her sitting in the front row. Her big chocolate eyes were wide eyed and bushy tailed if that is the correct expression for someone that was star struck.
Standing in the hallway now, Mara continued to look at me with her soft brown eyes, and flushed little red round plump face, still saying nothing. Her mom stepped in to fill in the awkward silence that surrounded us, “I’m sorry Mr Bon Jovi, my daughter is quite shy, but I can definitely speak for her when I say she was enthralled and enjoyed the show immensely, she is only fourteen, but has been following your music since she saw your video on MTV. Her bedroom is smothered wall to wall with your posters. Thank you so much for taking time to meet us.”
Graciously I accepted her thanks and said it had been a pleasure, then looking down at Mara, I leant forward and kissed her forehead, pulling back I looked into her eye’s and the love that was there was totally unconditional, I couldn’t explain it, but this little girl was totally in awe of me; not like the girls who were waiting in my dressing room, no Mara was happy just standing there and looking at me. It was sort of surreal; I’d never be able to put it into words.
I went back to the backstage party and Richie had already picked out a girl for me. She was nice looking, like all ladies were, but truthfully she lacked charisma and character, it was all superficial. Big hair,big boobs, lots of make-up. But she was a willing partner and I really wasn’t complaining.
By the end of the night, I was drunk and I was totally spent and ready to get some sleep before it all started again tomorrow. I was really excited about that, but I wondered if it would all get old too fast.
I was right.
It did get old. Fast. After that first concert in 1992,Bon Jovi had rocketed to number one. By 2001, Bon Jovi had remained the number one rock band for ten years. Writing new songs, recording them and performing on stage were definitely what I was born to do, but the partying that Richie lived for was getting to prove too much. At twenty-nine years old, I felt too old to be doing that anymore. Thankfully I met Dottie, Dorethea Hurley, a wonderful women that I had dated in high school and was my true love and sweetheart, she understood my passion and was truly one of the strongest women I had ever met. Totally comfortable with my leaving home for months at a time,leaving her to fend for herself and bring up our baby daughter. Life really could not be sweeter. Of course my Manager was angry when I married Dottie, “that has blown it Jon with your fans, now what will they say”, “no what Paul, I do not give a fuck”, it’s my life, they can go screw themselves, but marrying Dottie is the best thing for us both, so stop moaning and giving me shit, that you can do nothing about! “
I can honestly say that it was because of my wife that I matured as a person.
During the months I was away on tour I would love to say I was faithful to my wife and our marriage vows but I wasn’t. It wasn’t that I could not hold out for sex until I saw Dottie again, but the lifestyle of a rock n roll star wasn’t too conductive to fidelity, especially being around Richie. He always had different women around him and he seemed totally happy to be in non-committed relationships.
After a show, in whatever city we were playing, I would resign to my hotel room while Richie hung out with the “groupies”.
There were times, though that I didn’t feel like going to sleep or being alone and I found myself letting Richie talk me into hooking up with some desperate, though beautiful women. I wasn’t proud of this, in fact I was a disappointment to myself, but I seemed to find an adulterer on more than a few occasions. I didn’t feel good about this, but none worse than the night Dottie found me in our bed with another woman.
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