Gas to London: $40, Crutches: $60, Meeting Hanson: Priceless

Like a little girl again
By Rosalyn Stevens

It started out as a little girls’ dream, and ended with this writer in crutches. Gives new meaning to the term ‘no pain, no gain.’
But who cares if I couldn’t walk for a day, was in excruciating pain and spent hours sitting in a wheelchair at the Civic Hospital emergency room. I met Hanson.
Following my initial interview with middle brother, Taylor, I wasn’t sure I’d have the chance to meet the band, and have another interview in person. But it seems someone upstairs is smiling on me lately, because it happened.
The story of my incredible two-day Hanson spree actually starts last Sunday, when my friend Daniela (remember her? My childhood best friend, and fellow ‘Fanson’) drove to Toronto to catch the band’s first Canadian show. We were on the phone off and on throughout the morning, and for the minutes leading up to the scheduled 3 pm walk with the band. During one of those phone calls, I had my first brush with Hanson.
Walking side-by-side with Zac, the youngest (our age) in the band, Daniela asked him to say hello, just for a sec. True to his style, the jokester grabbed the phone, and said, “Hello! Just for a sec!”
Queue first bout of childish squeals, after I hung up the phone in shock, of course.
The next day, Daniela and her oh-so-patient boyfriend Wendell, were in Hamilton for Canadian show number two. More phone calls, text messages, and of course, more squealing.
On Wednesday, we woke up to have breakfast and plan out our “Hanson Day.” There was no stopping the giggling at that point. Daniela’s mom was in on the excitement too, telling everyone around us what we were up to that afternoon.
My interview was lined up for about 2:50 pm, and we made our way to the venue to find my contacts. Just like that monumental day I spoke with Taylor, my heart started to race, and I could feel my temperature rising.
After the rigmarole of tracking down the right official, we were lead to seats inside the venue, and asked to wait. Then it happened.
The stage door swung open, and three young men made their way through.
“HELLO HANSON” I said as calmly as possible through the side of my mouth. Less than ten feet away from me, Taylor sat down at the piano, and started messing around with different tunes.
After a couple interviews with other local media, my heart almost stopped when Zac started walking towards me. Some kind of weird professionalism took over, and I extended my hand.
“Hi Zac, great to meet you. I’m Rosalyn.”
Queue more internal squealing.
We sat down, but not before achieving number one on the list of goals Daniela and I set out for this trip. We had our photo taken with the brothers. If you look at the photo, Daniela’s hands are in fists, and I’m hanging onto her for dear life. Completely unreal!
During the interview, both Zac and Isaac fought over each other to talk, making me almost entirely unable to speak. They were so excited by the questions I’d asked, they were talking over one another, trying to one-up each other, and giving me some incredible answers to use in my story.
Following the interview, in which Taylor said all of about two words, I handed the crooner a copy of my original story. As calmly as possible, I walked out of the hall, and ran into the arms of Daniela’s mom.
There are a ton a little details I could bore you with, but I won’t. You’re welcome.
The show was fantastic. I sang along at the top of my lungs, with a smile from ear-to-ear. I could have sworn I was eleven years old again.
Following the show in Ottawa, Daniela, Wendell and myself piled into the tiny Hyundai Accent, and made our way to London, for the next days show.
This is where magic happened. During the pre-show walk, Daniela and I managed to walk beside Zac for about fifteen minutes, and carry a conversation for at least that long. As we walked, my friend and I took turns telling the drummer our Hanson story. We’d seen our first show together at age 12. We drifted apart, and hadn’t seen each other for years until recently. We’re almost inseparable again, and having the time of our lives with Hanson.
He loved it! The smile on his face is stuck in my memory. We told Zac our story, and he loved it. He even asked us questions about it, because he loved it so much.
The story continued. Daniela told Zac that when I was eleven years old, I’d tell everyone who would listen that when I got older, I’d become a journalist and interview the three objects of my eternal affection. And that too had just happened. Zac looked at me, and beamed even more. He let out a laugh, and then a few other fans stole his attention.
So, ok, these minute little details, like the way he lets his hair fall over his eyes when he smiles, or the way his voice gets a little higher when he’s interrupting someone—I can understand how they might be a little too much information. But it’s those exact same little details that keep me smiling each day.
Now that my trip is over, and it’s back to reality, the memories are all I have to hang onto. Well, those, and the 600 some photos and autographed newspaper.
So do I really care that I spent the weekend on crutches, hobbling around my little apartment in pain? Of course not. I met Hanson.