I have an obsession (you might call it an addiction) with the band A Fire Inside (A.F.I.). Maybe you've heard of them. They made it big with their latest album, “Sing the Sorrow,” that debuted in March 2003, but of course I was a fan way before they became that popular, popular enough to be on the radio.
My obsession extends so vastly that I have been to four A.F.I. concerts in four different states, from the deserts of Arizona to right here in Albuquerque to the sweat pits of The Warped Tour to the banks of the Mississippi in St. Louis. With every concert I went to, I met them, every time.
To recount my various A.F.I. triumphs and adventures I have cds, T-shirts and other merchandise, all of which I adore; but most importantly, I have a very special, very squishy penguin named Larry.
Now what does a special squishy penguin named Larry have to do with this story? Absolutely everything.
You see, Larry, the adorable penguin, has come along with me to every A.F.I. concert I have been to. I even had all of the members of the band take candid photos with Larry. By my fourth concert, here in the Burque, the lead singer Davey Havok spoke some the most beautiful words I have ever hear when he held Larry up for a candid shot, “Hey, this thing looks familiar.”
Now, after that, I could die a happy lady and never have another want in the world. I had been redeemed in the esteemed eyes of A.F.I. But I would later discover that my luck hadn't yet run out.
The other day I was told by a friend to go to A.F.I.'s official Myspace webpage and look at the pictures they had chosen to feature on their Myspace profile. And there, in their pictures section (their pictures, as in pictures that they felt worthy enough to display to all their Myspace fans), was Larry, being held by none other than A.F.I.'s Adam Carson, the best drummer to ever walk the Earth.
I had taken that particular picture on a freaking hot Arizona day at a radio festival where A.F.I. was playing. How did they or whoever controls their Myspace account attain this picture? I may never know. But I do know that I posted that picture on their message boards at least two years ago, and if they had seen that lonely picture of Larry and saved it all these years, I could honestly die a satisfied lady and never have another want in the world. (No really, this time I definitely could.)
Check it out for yourself [link] (requires a Myspace account).
Bliss.
