Happy Birthday Meat!!!!!
Great idea MBrevard!
The first Meat Loaf song I ever heard was, two out of three aint bad. I was 12 yrs. old, sitting at the computer, typing away some assignment, and my parents were watching the news. Well, this little bit came on about a singer named 'Meat Loaf' who was doing a new album called bat out of Hell II, well all of a sudden I heard this amazing voice and I spun around to see this gorgeous, big guy with long hair singing his heart out!! (they were showing the old promo. video for BatI)Needless to say I had a crush on Meat throughout all of high school (my nickname was Loaf, people STILL call me that if they haven't seen me since high school)
My first Meat Loaf concert was in 1993, following the release of Bat Out Of Hell II, I waited for 4 hrs. in the dead-cold of Canadian February in an impractical (ok, REDICULOUS) outfit and high heeled boots (well I was 13, I HAD to look HOT in case he saw me
) I was in the front row for that show, and was blown away by how incredible he was live, SUCH PASSION!!
At this time, I was going to a high school for the fine arts and was taking dance, unfortunately, I was also diagnosed with severe idiopathic Hypothyroidism and was having a difficult time keeping my weight as low as it needed to be to stay in the dance program, Meat's music was my haven during several years of anorexia, My mother having surgery for a brain tumor, and living in a hospital teaching mom to walk again for the first year of high school (she's fine now, GOD BLESS!!) and BELEIVE me 'If you hold on to a chorus, you CAN get through the night' If it wasn't for that voice, well, it's better not to think about the negatives.
When I was 16, I choreographed a work to 'Lost Boys and Golden Girls' that earned the highest mark possible from my dance program. I also received a meet and greet pass, and had him autograph the grade report I got for that assignment. I stuttered the whole time, but managed to stammer out what a big fan I was, and how much his music brightened my days.
Well, years passed, and I had almost resigned myself to the fact that I just did not have the body to be a dancer, and would have to JUST choreograph, I had a ballet teacher who didn't care about body types at the time, and she gave me the lead in a production of Swan Lake we were doing, because she felt I was the best, and didn't care that I was heavier than most of the other girls. (I was 5'2 and 120lbs, which isn't HEAVY but it is for dance) Well I heard that Meat's Storytellers tour was coming to Toronto, so I got good seats and went to see the show. Well, I had my hand waving around to ask a question, and low and behold--I was picked...
"Hi, um, Meat?"
"Hi there, what's your name."
"oh, um, my name's Leah"
"Hi Leah, what do you do?"
"Well, I'm trying to be a dancer but, uh..."
"you're a dancer, really!!! I love ballet, do you know Swan Lake? Just ask Pearl, I always listen to that record and dance around the house"
( I should point out here that Meat Loaf was the first person IN MY LIFE who didn't say "really?!! you don't LOOK like a dancer" )
"Swan Lake? Yeah, I'm actually doing a production of it right now, we just finished "lac des Cygnes"
"Oh my god, really? Well I can't pass this up!! Come up on stage, you be the Swan and I'll be the lake, ok?"
So I went up on stage and danced a portion of Lac des Cygnes with Meat Loaf--then we chatted for a few minutes about Stanislavsky and Sanford Meisner, and I said..
"well, I better let you get on with the show, thanks very much."
and he said...
"I loved dancin' with you darlin'"
Well, that was it. I stopped starving myself, I started running every day, meticulously watching what I eat, and have gotten down to 100lbs, without starving. Everyday when I run, I listen to Meat's music, and he gets me through the five miles at 5am, Everyday. (My endocrinologist swears he doesn't know of any patient with a thyroid as bad as mine who weighs less than 200 lbs.) Now I'm dancing proffessionaly...AND working in Cancer research (my university degree was in dance performance AND Kineisiology/Human Anatomy
Meat taught me,
the underdog can win
you always have to give 200%
The music is what really inspires me, I think Meat has one of the greatest voices of all time, he REFUSED to let the critics keep him down.. Now, I won't let them keep me down either.
Thank you Meat for your music, gifts, kindness, and more inspiration than you'll ever know.
Happy Birthday, all the best to you and your family!!
Love,
Leah
I feel a bit daft, and embarassed, opening up to everyone like this, but somehow I'm comfortable with you all :)