Wembley Stadium, 1995

Wembley Stadium, 1995... we are only two of 72.000 people... I'm holding his hand as tight as I can... I'm holding on to him so we won't get lost in the crowd... our sight cannot reach the end of this crowd... it seems like all the people of the world have gathered here today, this afternoon, June 25th 1995, on Wembley Stadium.... front row seats and the waiting is killing us... my heart's beating as fast as his, he's holding my hand so tight that I can't even feel it anymore.... we keep looking at each other and smiling, breathing heavily, feeling like the crowd is swallowing us... we are the chosen ones, to be here today... the sun is burning hot above us... the tension is immense.... we know that something grand is about to happen, but we can't estimate the power of what's coming... it's like sitting on top of Mount Olympus, waiting for the gods to sing...

Huge speakers start playing the drum beat of "we will rock you"... it's already beginning... this is bigger than the apocalypse, it is bigger than this world... this is it... the crowd claps its hands with the rhythm... we are even louder than the speakers... we're all united into one, by the uniform movement of our hands, by our hearts beating as one, by the tension we feel, awaiting the gods... suddenly people start screaming... Richie Sambora walks on stage... Tico Torres magically appears behind his drums... David Bryan's behind his keyboards... they salute the crowd... they salute us... we both scream "Richiiiiiieeeeeeeee!!! Whoah!" and we hold hands and we smile... my eyes are sparkling with tears of joy, excitement, and bliss.... we keep looking at Richie, Tico and David, we watch them as if they were going to vanish any second, we don't know who to look at next, we take their images in, and we can't believe our eyes...

They start playing our song... it's our song, baby! he can't hear me, but he understands me, he laughs and he grabs my hand tighter still.... we raise our hands and we roar with the crowd when the master god jumps on stage... Jon's smiling his specific smile that we all love, he's got his hands up as he's greeted by all his followers... it's our song... we are Tommy and Gina... we're Jon and Richie... we're forever... and this is it... this is our moment in the infinity of time, this is the culmination of our time on this earth, this is what we came into this world for... it's "Living on a Prayer", but we're not in our one-bedroom apartment worrying about paying the rent, we're not listening to our old broken down stereo, and we're not holding our heads in our hands... we're not feeling broken and helpless, taking it out on each other and fighting... we're not fighting, we're not making up... we have no cares, and we have no worries... we look at the man we both draw our forces from, we look at Jon, and we just wait for him to say... to say "once upon a time, not so long ago.................." Jon's singing our song, he's singing it right now, right here, for us... we're here and this is all we ever wanted... "Tommy used to work on the docks, union's been on strike, he's down on his luck, it's tough, so tough... Gina works the diner all day, working for her man, she brings home her pay for love, for love..." It's too much for us to live through this moment, my Tommy moves behind me and takes me into his arms, holdin' on tight... we both raise one hand for what's next, for the hymn of our lives... he's still got one hand holding me tight, as our free hands meet in the air, and unite as we both shout "he says we gotta hold on to what we got, it doesn't make a difference if we make it or not, we got each other, and that's a lot, for love, we'll give it a shot... Oh, we're half way there, oh, livin' on a prayer, take my hand, we'll make it I swear, livin' on a prayer..." In this one moment I am out of breath, I am out of body, I am out of the sky and the clouds... for this one moment life had been worth while... I feel him beside me, as he's always been, me and him against the world, always me and him... in a Bon Jovi love story...

The stage is overwhelming, and the crowd has the same immense power as their gods do, in this one afternoon... in this one chosen afternoon, when we're all Tommy and Gina, and we're all cowboys...

Fireworks shoot into the sky at the end of the song... the bang is followed by our shouting louder, thanking these gods for such a perfect show... for allowing us to actually know what perfection feels like...

"Are you ready? Are you willing? Are you able to rock'n roll???"

The rhythm of "You give love a bad name" runs through us like lightning... the crowd sings along in one voice that reaches beyond the skies... we recognize any song after its first couple of seconds, and we rejoice at every song they play... each of them is "our song"... everything they do is ours, this is who we are, this is all we got to hold on to, this is why we're still keeping the faith, this is the one unconditional and everlasting source of strength...

Suddenly I find myself back in my old room, watching a DVD... I close my eyes... I take the music in.... and I'm back... I open my eyes and the lights of the stadium are blinding me, the sun is burning me, the gods are back singing on the huge stage above us, and Tommy's arms are wrapped around me, I feel his breath on my skin, we both move as one, back and forth, while Bon Jovi's rockin' Wembley... we're both laughing when Jon's goofing around on stage, we're both dancing on their love songs... we both recall every fight we've made up on these songs... we both remember everything we've been through together, we understand once again why we're faith keepers... we understand that we're forever.... we'll never give up and we'll always have each other and this... our love is as huge as Wembley...
the music's running fast through our veins, the guitars run their sound waves down our spines, electrifying our minds, driving us crazy and taking us to the next level of life... the crowd's grown quiet as the band's playing "Always"... a kiss I'll never forget, our kiss on Wembley, our kiss forever as Bon Jovi kicks "Always" into eternity...

The awesome guitars of "Blaze of Glory".... we're it... me and Tommy, we're the cowboys, we're the outlaws, we're the rebels and the loners... feelin' sexy on "Lay your hands on me" and "Bad medicine"... feelin' playful on "I'll sleep when I'm dead"... feelin' in love on "This ain't a love song"... feeling every feeling as we've always felt it, played by Bon Jovi. This is our band, this is our faith, and this has been our Mount Olympus, where we sang with the gods...

I wake up again in my room... it's 2005 and Bon Jovi's got short hair... this ain't Wembley Stadium, there ain't no stage and there ain't no band... there's no Tommy around in my life either, there is no one to share my Wembley moments with, there is no one but Bon Jovi helping me keep the faith. For now, it's just me and this laptop, playing my Bon Jovi DVDs.... This is all I got to keep me going, but it's kept me going so far, for over 9 years now.

I ain't crying, and I ain't sad, my Tommy will come along one day, or maybe not... the expectation of him is a lot like that time when we were waiting for the band on Wembley....... I turn up the sound, and it's just me and the band, dancing and shouting on "Wanted dead or alive"... I'm happy....