The Day I Met Julian
 by Karlie Pearson

It was a Monday that my friend, Virginia, rang me. She had rang up a television station to find out exactly when Julian was going to be on Australian television. I had already rang up Sony everyday for a week, trying to find out where Julian was going to be and when. Anyway, Virginia had more luck than I. She had found out that he was going to be on a TV show called "Midday" on the Wednesday. She told me that she had booked a ticket for her Dad and herself, but not for me. I had to ring up the next day, and hope to God that I could get a ticket. Luckily, I could, and so the following day I found myself at the TV station.

There was Virginia, her father Chris, and myself. Naturally, we arrived over an hour early, hoping to catch a glimpse of Julian as he entered the studio. Virginia and I had been joking about how he could drive past at any moment, and although it was only a joke, I was certain to keep my eyes wide open. We tried to enter the studio, although security told us that we were too early and to come back half an hour later. Chris was kind enough to take us on a bush walk, which was exactly what we needed when we were dressed up in our best to see our idol. We worked our way back to the studio, and went back to the security gates. They were going to let us in, but I had one small problem - my name wasn't on the list! I was close to tears as I spelled out my last name again and again. The security guy must have felt sorry for me, as he decided to add my name anyway. Relieved, we started to make our way through the carpark and to the studio.

As we walked through the cars, I looked to my right to see a group of men sitting around in a garage. I though to myself "I wonder if any of those guys are in Julian's band?" I looked closer, and just about fainted. I grabbed Virginia's arm, and stood frozen for a couple of seconds. "It's Julian!" I managed to say. Virginia looked over to see for herself, and replied "No it's not..."

I walked over to him, trying my hardest to stay on my feet. I though "What am I going to say to him?" This was the man that I have idoled for my whole life. What do you say to someone who's pictures you have covering your bedroom wall? How do you say hello to the person who's name you scribble on the desks at school? Well, there was no way that I was going to miss the opportunity to speak to him. I can remember talking to him, but I can't remember the whole conversation.

I introduced Virginia and myself, to which he replied "Nice to meet you" and shook our hands! I told him how much I enjoyed his music, especially "Photograph Smile". He was very pleased to hear this, and I had to think quick for a question to keep the conversation going. "How are you finding Australia?" I asked. What! How could I have asked such a pathetic question! Of all the things I could have asked him, I go and ask him something that he has probably been asked about a million times! He replied that he was trying to get a tan... and that's when I realized that he had his shirt unbuttoned! I'm sure he was embarrassed that I was staring at his sexy body, so he quickly turned the conversation around by asking "Can I sign something for you?" I am so surprised that I didn't faint! I don't know how I did it! I took out my Photograph Smile CD, on which he wrote : To Karlie With Love Julian Lennon. What a beautiful person! Well, that's about all of the conversation that I can remember! It went on for another five minutes, I think. Simple chit chat. He was very sweet, and I know that I love him about a hundred times more than I did before I met him. I remember Lucy was sitting with him, as well as Matt Backer. Lucy was very nice to us, asking us about ourselves. She was also very happy to see that Julian had such dedicated fans in Australia.

The next thing I knew was a security guard had run over, screaming "Get those girls away!" I'm sure Julian didn't mind, but we were taken away just then same. The security guard gave Virginia and I a lecture about how to behave in the studio, and that if we didn't behave, we would be thrown out. I remember thinking, "Just let them try to throw me out!"

To Part Two...