My First Contact With Brian as A Big Star!!
by: Ashley


I had waited and waited for BSB's first album to come out. And after four years of waiting, it FINALLY came out! Lucky for me, I just happened to be in Orlando working at Disney World (as a lifeguard) at the time of the August release date. So on August 15, 1997 one of my coordinators at Blizzard Beach came up to me during a park rain closing and said that someone had left me a message in the office. I went to get the message and it was from my friend, Randy, who is personal friends with the BSB. I called him back, but I was too late...his sister said he had already given away the ticket to the Universal Studios show that he was going to give to me! I was so upset, but I couldn't have left work anyway, so there was nothing I could do about it.

Later that night, I decided to call Randy on his cell phone to see how it went. When he answered, it sounded like he was at a party. He said he had been trying to get ahold of me all night. He was at BSB's album release party!! He told me to hold on, and he left me on the phone. About 30 seconds later, I was talking to Brian!! I didn't know what to say--I felt kind of stupid. He asked me how Lexington was, and I said I really didn't know since I hadn't been there since May. It was a short conversation, but it was cool that I got to talk to him. If only I didn't work that day!! Agh!!

The next day, I called into work and said I was sick and drove toward downtown Orlando to the autograph signing at Blockbuster Music. When I got there, I was surprised to see a line all the way down the block! I eased my way into the front of the line without anyone noticing, and within 10 minutes, I was standing in front of Kevin Richardson again for the first time since 93! I told him that I was from Lexington, and that I had met him once before at Tates Creek. He asked me why I was in Orlando, and I told him about my job at Disney. Then I moved on to Howie and Nick. Neither of them said anything except "hi"--they both seemed bashful at that moment. But then I got to AJ. He said, "So, where are you from?" I told him I was from Lexington, and he said, "Really? What high school did you go to?" I said, "Tates Creek." He then asked me if Brian knew I was there, and I said, "Not yet."

About that time, Brian looked up at me. He looked at me really funny for a second, then he jumped up and gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek! I have to admit I felt pretty special! He signed my CD and asked me for my phone number. I asked him if they were gonna have any free time to hang out while they were there, and he said probably not. We talked for a minute more, then I snapped a picture of him (the one on his personal page of this site), and left.

I was mad at myself for not getting pictures of the rest of the guys--especially Kev cause he looked hot! But I had a feeling I would have another chance. So read about my third encounter with BSB here.