Dear Sir

The original poster seems like a good dude who’s played right along with all the jokes and pokes. I’m sure he knows he can tell the full story anytime he likes. I haven’t seen any posts that have told him to shut up or anything like that. The only thing stopping him is a constantly weak phone battery! :P Doubt he can get a word in! Some people do like the sound of their own voice a bit too much! It came up when he was trying to bring me to the realization he was Neil. This is what strikes me as very odd. Neil was notorious for shunning the trappings of fame. Hell, he even wrote a song about it, and yet here he is trying so very hard to be recognized. That just doesn't pass the sniff test with me. Any chance the dude wasn't Neil but was trying to fool you into thinking he was? You yourself said you didn't recognize him. You raise interesting points. Yes, he clearly avoided attention from fans. I can say confidently, he wasn't eager for me to recognize him. I think he found it entertaining. You're right, I did not recognize him until many years later when I saw an old interview from around Permanent Waves. The way he looked in that interview is close to his appearance when I saw him. I honestly do not believe it was someone else. But is there a chance it wasn't actually Neil (regardless of what you believe)? Where did you see the show? Yes, there's a chance, despite my certainty. The show was in St. Paul, MN. It was my first Rush concert.

Until tomorrow, to sleep perchance to dream.

The original poster seems like a good dude who’s played right along with all the jokes and pokes. I’m sure he knows he can tell the full story anytime he likes. I haven’t seen any posts that have told him to shut up or anything like that. The only thing stopping him is a constantly weak phone battery! :P Doubt he can get a word in! Some people do like the sound of their own voice a bit too much! It came up when he was trying to bring me to the realization he was Neil. This is what strikes me as very odd. Neil was notorious for shunning the trappings of fame. Hell, he even wrote a song about it, and yet here he is trying so very hard to be recognized. That just doesn't pass the sniff test with me. Any chance the dude wasn't Neil but was trying to fool you into thinking he was? You yourself said you didn't recognize him. The attention to detail yet not being able to recognize the drummer in your favorite band seems off...”off” in the sense that yeah, it wasn’t Neil in exactly the way that you’re talking about. I hear you. I wish we could speak in person, because you would believe me after a couple minutes. But the more I try to convince you, the more suspicious I sound. Don’t think too deeply. If you read my post again, I’m saying it could be an honest mistake and not a matter of you being dishonest. That’s a big difference. In any case, you don’t need to convince anyone of whether it happened or not. There’s no way you can prove it, and there’s no way we can disprove it. So all there’s left is conversation...which is what we’ve been doing the whole time :cheers: True! And those are great insights. I really can't prove it. Funny, my then-girlfriend said a few days later, "That guy you met probably did work for Rush, because (some guy in town) got Neil Peart's autograph." And still I didn't catch it! I said. "Bullshi*! I met that guy. It was not Neil Peart."

One thing about him: He was polite (not surprisingly) and quite upbeat. He had a positive presence and was pretty quick to laugh. When I told him I didn't know BMW made motorcycles, he said they make some of the best in the world. He also taught me the origin of the BMW symbol representing a propeller, because BMW apparently made plane engines early on. I've never verified that but will do so right now. :)

The original poster seems like a good dude who’s played right along with all the jokes and pokes. I’m sure he knows he can tell the full story anytime he likes. I haven’t seen any posts that have told him to shut up or anything like that. The only thing stopping him is a constantly weak phone battery! :P Doubt he can get a word in! Some people do like the sound of their own voice a bit too much! It came up when he was trying to bring me to the realization he was Neil. This is what strikes me as very odd. Neil was notorious for shunning the trappings of fame. Hell, he even wrote a song about it, and yet here he is trying so very hard to be recognized. That just doesn't pass the sniff test with me. Any chance the dude wasn't Neil but was trying to fool you into thinking he was? You yourself said you didn't recognize him. The attention to detail yet not being able to recognize the drummer in your favorite band seems off...”off” in the sense that yeah, it wasn’t Neil in exactly the way that you’re talking about. I hear you. I wish we could speak in person, because you would believe me after a couple minutes. But the more I try to convince you, the more suspicious I sound.

The original poster seems like a good dude who’s played right along with all the jokes and pokes. I’m sure he knows he can tell the full story anytime he likes. I haven’t seen any posts that have told him to shut up or anything like that. The only thing stopping him is a constantly weak phone battery! :P Doubt he can get a word in! Some people do like the sound of their own voice a bit too much! It came up when he was trying to bring me to the realization he was Neil. This is what strikes me as very odd. Neil was notorious for shunning the trappings of fame. Hell, he even wrote a song about it, and yet here he is trying so very hard to be recognized. That just doesn't pass the sniff test with me. Any chance the dude wasn't Neil but was trying to fool you into thinking he was? You yourself said you didn't recognize him. You raise interesting points. Yes, he clearly avoided attention from fans. I can say confidently, he wasn't eager for me to recognize him. I think he found it entertaining. You're right, I did not recognize him until many years later when I saw an old interview from around Permanent Waves. The way he looked in that interview is close to his appearance when I saw him. I honestly do not believe it was someone else.

The original poster seems like a good dude who’s played right along with all the jokes and pokes. I’m sure he knows he can tell the full story anytime he likes. I haven’t seen any posts that have told him to shut up or anything like that. The only thing stopping him is a constantly weak phone battery! :P Doubt he can get a word in! Some people do like the sound of their own voice a bit too much! Thank you, that's kind of you to say. Johnny is right, though. I like the banter and don't want to blab too much. I tend to go overbaord with detail; it's amazing how many details come back to mind all these years later. For example, I am nearly certain he was wearing the same jacket as on the GUP portrait. It came up when he was trying to bring me to the realization he was Neil. But he finally gave up and went with it. He even asked the gas station attendant about my demeanor or attitude, and I remember her saying, "No, he's from a good family." A couple days later, she asked why I didn't believe him. But again, I'm getting into detail.

The original poster seems like a good dude who’s played right along with all the jokes and pokes. I’m sure he knows he can tell the full story anytime he likes. I haven’t seen any posts that have told him to shut up or anything like that. The only thing stopping him is a constantly weak phone battery! :P Doubt he can get a word in! Some people do like the sound of their own voice a bit too much! Okay I went back through this thread and actually counted how many times he posted in here: 33. Maybe a quarter of those were to his original thought. Everything else has been friendly banter and such. After nearly 3 dozen posts, he could’ve told the whole story IF he wanted to. The banter is welcome! I will gladly answer questions about it if anyone is interested. He had time to blow while a storm passed, but he still ended up wearing rain gear because he could not wait any longer to make it to the show near Detroit, and he had to take the Interstate because time was running short. There are a couple details I can share that, to this day, put a knot in my stomach when I realize the chance I blew. If you someone is interested, please ask me about "his area" of the parking lot. But I will share this stuff only if I know people want to hear. I now will be offline for at least 1-2 hours.

As a newbie, please let me know if this is ok to post this in this thread: Played Limbo three times in a row yesterday while painting. My wife asked me to stop because it has such an "unsettled", anxious feeling. Instantly, I realized she had nailed it--the song conveys the feeling of being in limbo. For all these years, I'd missed that until she (a non-fan) complained about it. Has anyone else noticed that tension in the song?

I do prefer "Empty Rooms." Signed, Gary Moore No joke, I thought of Gary Moore while I was painting, maybe 2 hours ago. Were you painting Shapes of Things? No, much better. It was a hallway. I was thinking of Gary Wright. Had the name wrong.

I do prefer "Empty Rooms." Signed, Gary Moore No joke, I thought of Gary Moore while I was painting, maybe 2 hours ago.

Oh, and I'm painting several rooms in our home, so it might be a few hours before I reply. I also have a business and job, so I sometimes am offline almost all day. But I promise I will eventually reply.

If anyone is interested in details about the meeting with Neil, I'm happy to share. I'm not trolling, nor am I seeking attention. I offer this as an unpolished insight (as opposed to an interview, book, etc.) into his personality. I feel blessed to have had the experience and would love to share it with anyone honestly interested.

I want mine! I've only managed to put together 90 seconds so far. I'm more than happy to share. I'll only get 0.785884 of a millisecond from your spotlight though. Rush is Canadian, so the exchange rate applies. According to my calculations, you can have 9 minutes and 58 seconds. Plus, your avatar is prettier than mine, even though mine looks almost exactly like me. A mine looks like me! Then it's time for your bed, young lady. Sweet dreams! It's 12 noon here 24/7. Yep. I've done speed before too.

Hilarious movie. That brings back memories.

I want mine! I've only managed to put together 90 seconds so far. I'm more than happy to share. I'll only get 0.785884 of a millisecond from your spotlight though. Rush is Canadian, so the exchange rate applies. According to my calculations, you can have 9 minutes and 58 seconds. Plus, your avatar is prettier than mine, even though mine looks almost exactly like me. A mine looks like me! Then it's time for your bed, young lady. Sweet dreams!

I want mine! I've only managed to put together 90 seconds so far. I'm more than happy to share. I'll only get 0.785884 of a millisecond from your spotlight though. Rush is Canadian, so the exchange rate applies. According to my calculations, you can have 9 minutes and 58 seconds. Plus, your avatar is prettier than mine, even though mine looks almost exactly like me.

Did you recognize him? If not, I understand.

I want mine! I've only managed to put together 90 seconds so far. I'm more than happy to share.

Thank you! Not sure I'll make it out alive, though.

To get Alexa and Gooogle Home to play this, I have to mispronounce it.

Thanks again. I'm still sorting through those links and appreciate your sending them. Please help me understand what annoyed you. It wasn't my intent to offend.

How bizarre? Yes, It's bizarre.

Driven

Idiot, for telling a true story you don't believe? You're the one who refered to yourself as "mentally challenged" if anyone actually believes this bullshit then I have a nice bridge to sell them, going cheap :-) Meant it as humor, as in, how dumb can you be not to recognize him, even when he gave hints? No shit Sherlock...... This is why you can't have nice things. How much for the bridge, and where?