Born Oct 27th 1989, Tangerine Girl (AKA: Ashley) is
probably the youngest active member of our TSO
YahooGroup. Active, that is, when she's not being grounded!
Her father, Dave, tells us the story of how she earned the
nickname, "Tangerine Girl":
The Legend of Tangerine Girl
2000
We saw TSO opening night in Cleveland in
2000. When we walked in to give our tickets
to the usher, Paul O'Neill and Chris Caffery
were just standing at the door next to the usher
stand. It was the best moment in my concert-
going life. They were perfect gentlemen -
charming and easy to talk to. My then-eleven-
year-old daughter Ashley made a 'TSO Rocks'
poster with her computer and had them
autograph it. Paul was very impressed and
gave her a backstage pass. After the concert,
we went backstage and were privileged to look
around, even go onstage. The tour manager
offered Ashley something from the fruit
basket. She picked a tangerine. When we went
back out front to meet the cast, she had
everyone sign her tangerine. When she got to
Paul, he said "Oh, honey, that won't last - wait
a minute!" And he took off across the lobby to
the vendor's table, grabbed a white TSO mug,
signed it and gave it to her! When she took it,
she smudged the autograph. He said "Oh, you
didn't wait till it dried - hold on!" And he did it
again!!
So, that's why she's the Tangerine Girl.
But wait! The story doesn't end there...
2001
This year, Ashley wore an orange tee shirt
with 'Tangerine Girl' on it. As we stood in line
after the show, most of the cast remembered
her. They all signed the back of her shirt.
When we got to Paul, he recognized her and
gave her a huge bear hug. He signed a couple
of backstage passes for her, signing one: "To
Ashley - A Tangerine Dream". (Remember
that group?) When Ashley told Paul the friend
she came with couldn't wait for autographs, he
took out a BLN cd, signed it to her friend (and
also signed another poster Ashley made) and
told Ashley to give it to her friend.
Paul is a very special man, and a true genius
and magician. I can't say enough about how
much I love the father/daughter themes in his
music. He loves kids, too. He told us a story
about PJ Morrison (the little girl in the 'Ghosts'
video). He said that she once fell asleep in his
arms. He went home and told his wife "...we
gotta have one of these...". And a year later,
Ireland was born! Didn't everyone love the
story about her saying "DaDa,Cleveland
Rocks!"?
After the Toledo Show...
Hey, all. Dave & Tangerine Girl checkin' in. As everyone has said, this year's show is AWESOME. The Stranahan in Toledo is a great venue for TSO. TG & I were front row center. My first comment to TG was 'turn it up'!! Too loud - what bull! Everyone recognized TG and waved or nodded to her. Joe C and Daryl gave us picks. Jenn and Bob came over and shook our hands before they left the stage. Bob told TG 'You've grown!'. TG has a crush on Dave Z. (I have a crush on Jenn - LOL). We're going to the 12/8 evening show in Cleveland.
I watched Paul on WVIZ public TV in Cleveland Saturday. A friend from church was a telephone volunteer, and she told me that Paul bought all of the volunteers WVIZ memberships, and will arrange to send them both of the Christmas CD's. What a kind, gentle man he is! I hope he'll be there on 12/8!
It's the morning after the last Cleveland
show. I've never experienced in my entire
46+ years anything close to what
happened to us last night. Yes, the show
was spectacular, the light, pyros and
"frickin' laser beams" (Chris' words) were
awesome, and "O Fortuna" was sooo cool.
It was during the meet and greet that
something happened to cause TG's mom
to loose feeling in her legs, and to cause
TG and I to be speechless.
OK - first - TG got hugs all around, she
got pics with Dave Z, Guy, Dina, and Joe
C, etc. When we finally got to Paul is
when the magic happened. He recognized
TG, of course, and gave her the bear hug
she missed at the Toledo show. We were
near the end of the line, so we got to talk a
bit. (The security at the Convo Center was
really great, too). He asked her about
school, and what had she been doing
lately. He also told us a couple if Ireland
stories, etc. Then chat got around to what
TG wanted for Christmas. Ashley said she
wanted a guitar because she was going to
be in a Pink Floyd tribute band (don't ask).
Paul gave her an 18-something silver dollar
for good luck in learning the guitar and
joked that maybe one day he would come
see her in concert.
I dont' quite remember the next series of
events, but suddenly Paul stood up and...
(Well, to make a long story short, let's just
say that due to Paul's generosity, TG now
has a brand new Ibanez PF-4 guitar and
starter pack!) Oh, my friends, I've never
ever been so overwhelmed in my life. THANKS PAUL!!!
Dave R.
Dear Heavenly Father:
Thank You for the privelege of celebrating
the gift of your Son this season, and thank
you for this group, these people, and the
technology and whatever other means we
have to communicate in this forum. We are
so abundantly blessed that we sometimes
lose sight of why we're here. Merry
Christmas to all from Dave, Laura, and
Ashley (Tangerine Girl) Richards.
--
God's Blessings
Click Here to see some of TangerineGirl's TSO artwork!
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