10.08.2011

As Sparks Rain Down

THANK YOU JEN BITTER
FOR GIVING US THIS OPPORTUNITY TO
CHECK OUT SOME COOL PICS
&
A NICE STORY



Hello everyone! 
 
I wanted to say I love love love the blog - its such a nice way to remember Pete!
 
I also wanted to tell you guys about my TON stories.  I was introduced to them around 1997 - I was 16 and a good friend of mine was very into TON.  He bought me copies of Bloody Kisses and October Rust and I absolutely fell head over heels for the music!  My boyfriend at the time (my husband now) wasn't too into them, and my mother was extremely creeped out with Pete's voice.  However I continued to listen.
 
 
 
Since then, they've been one of the few bands that have stuck with me the past 14 years - we even played My Girlfriend's Girlfriend for fun at our wedding. :-)  I've seen TON in concert 13 times, mostly in Pittsburgh when I was attending college, but also when I was home in NJ we would go into Philly every time TON would play.
 
My husband and I had the pleasure of meeting Pete a couple of times, but this one time totally cracks me up.  We were waiting outside to say hello, get a pic and so on.  Finally it was our turn and I got to take a pic with Pete, he was so nice - of course I wanted a pic of Pete and my future husband so they graciously posed together as well.  Pete made some cracks how he didn't mind taking a pic with him because he finally didn't have to look down on someone (my husband is 6'6") and I have a pic of him choking my husband!  hahaha.  He then leaned in and whispered "now watch this" and fell to the ground in a faint!!  Of course, we knew it was a joke, but everyone around us freaked out!  My husband along with 5 others carried a completely limp Pete onto the tour bus (imagine that!!).  As soon as we were on the bus, he winked, laughed, and got up!  Be it a Halloween joke or a way to get away from the crowd, I'm not sure, but he then thanked us and we were on our way!  It was too funny!
 
 
 
The last time I saw TON was a tour in May of 2008 with SOiL.  We are friends with one of the guys from SOiL, so after their set, we stayed and watch TON for about half of the show and then met him to hang out.  I had no idea it would be my last TON show, and it saddens me everytime I think about it that I didn't stay til the end of their set.  However this is life and I have had the great pleasure of seeing them 13 times (many a Halloween show too!).  I have to say Pete's music, lyrics, and antics are something I won't soon forget, and I thank you for sharing a more personal side as well.  I read the blog almost everyday.
 
Thank you again so much, I hope my story has brought a smile,
Jennifer
 
 
 
Note: I have to apologize for the slow down of the blog posts. Life is interfering with my love of this blog. Till the end of October, I'm scaling the posting back to 4 times a week. Thank you for your continued love and support of us and the blog. You are all an amazing group of people.
 
Have a Great Weekend.

12 comments:

  1. This is wonderful ..Thank you for sharing

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  2. Love the pictures. Thanks for the story Jen, I enjoy hearing how Peter and TON touch other peoples lives. Lucky girl to have seen them so many times! And as always a big thank you to Darcie and the Ratajczyk Family for the blog. I love it, although sometimes its harder to learn more of just how awesome he was.:*( Peace to you always.

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  3. I just want to say how much I love this blog.. There have been many days where i woke up not feeling all that great and i read this cause its in my inbox every morning when I wake up and I give it a read and it makes me realize we are all here for a reason , Peter had his and weather he realized it or not, him and his stories have touched us all...Love Live the Frost Giant..

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  4. We greedily and patiently await your posts. This was such a cute share! Love the pics. Thanks for anything you can do. I appreciate having this in my week. xxx!

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  5. So like Pete to pull a stunt like that. I must have freaked a good few folks out.

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  6. Hello Jennifer...You have seen Type O Negative 13 times!....I hate you...I say that with love. Wow you are so lucky. I was born in the wrong country. To be able to see Type O Negative on so many Halloween nights would have been so much fun. What a perfect thing to do on Halloween. Love Peter wearing his green clerical collar.
    Ratajczyk family, we appreciate any blog posts you do. You dont have to apologize for anything.

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  7. Hi All--

    Nice story Jen, and great photos--thanks for sharing this with us.
    ...On another note, I don't have 100 candles burning, but I too burn a green candle every day for Peter, and I also have an incense scent called "Greenman"--kind of sweetly grassy. I burn a stick of that everyday. Reminds me of the outdoors that Peter loved so much.
    Also, I hope everything is okay with you Darcie, and that your life resumes some sense of normalcy soon. Take care and a great weekend to all.
    Love & Gratitude--Patty P

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  8. Thank u for sharing this funny story :) I love this blog, it's a very nice way of remember Pete ♥ thank u again :)

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  9. Hmmm, didn't realize you had a life outside of this blog Darcie, lol! All kidding aside I hope everything is on the up and up with ya'll and don't worry about the slowdown of posts, you don't owe us a thing...you all have given more than enough already! :) Great story and pics Jen, you are so lucky getting to see TON so many times. Just a reminder that this is October, so blast some TON and annoy your neighbors!!! (-)

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  10. Darcie, you've done so much to share with us we can only be grateful for your kindness, generousity and the enormous efforts you made for this blog. No need to apologize at all and thank you for communicate with the fans to let us know what's up.

    October must be a very busy month for you and the rest of the Ratajczyk family. Hope you're doing okay up there. Scaling back the posts is completely understandable, and probably a sign that you and your family are beginning to truly heal. I personally am happy for you. You may get to the point of posting irregularly, when inspiration strikes only. I think we can all relate to that.

    Thanks so much for this story, Jennifer! Just goes to show that Pete was an amazing man with remarkable fans. Love the photo's and your wonderfully descriptive writing style!

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  11. Jennifer - thx so much for sharing these great memories - yes it has brought a smile ;-) You are such a lucky girl, you know that ;-) seeing TON so often. Love the pics & I can imagine that it was great fun.
    Darcie - no need for apologies - you have done so much already for all of us - being aware how time intense it is to keep this blog up-to-date - we can never thank you enough for all your efforts, kindness and generousity. Hope that life is going alright for you and all of the family. I agree with Dunebuggy4 - we can all relate to that.
    Patty P - it's nice to know that we share almost the same ritual ;-)
    Chris - love to annoy neighbours & passengers on the streets by blasting TON ,-)
    Much love & respect
    -Sabine-

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  12. Thanks so much everyone. I was very happy to share a moment that I will never forget!

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