I wanted to write this for all those who don’t understand the "fan thing" in the hope that it will provide insight and "reason" into what some may classify as obsessed behavior. Obviously I can speak only for myself; there are probably as many reasons as there are fans. And, while I will attempt to define it to some degree, (as Dwight says with regard to dissecting the thought process behind his music) analyzing it too much tends to take away the magic of it all.

Music has always been a passion and it is beyond me that anyone could fail to be swept away in the rhythm and melody of song. Certainly there are Dwight songs where the music itself is the primary focus for me. In my favorite song, A Thousand Miles From Nowhere, the guitar is so achingly beautiful. Dwight has referred to that song as talking about the isolation that we, at times, all feel. For me, though, it is simply the most peaceful song I know.

I think Dwight has a beautiful voice and I could easily close my eyes and listen to him sing for eternity. People often ask whether the concerts are all the same and the answer of course is yes, but …. I think it has to do with being in the moment. It truly doesn’t matter whether I heard him sing this song last week or last night because, at that very moment he is singing it beautifully and I just get lost in it.

For myself a great deal of the magic lies in Dwight’s lyrics. I love words and the pictures they can paint in your mind. I find Dwight’s talent for writing to be simply awe inspiring ~~ his phrasing, his choice of words express the emotion in a way that goes straight to the core without being at all mundane. Dwight’s lyrics also inspire me in my own writing. I think to write half as well as he would be an achievement of which one could be very proud.

Suffice it to say that I feel an intense musical and lyrical connection with Dwight. It seems entirely natural (to me) in the face of feeling such a profound connection with someone, that the result would be a correspondingly intense admiration of that individual ~~ hence the "fan thing".

There is one more thing that needs to be addressed and it’s "those pants". Yes, they are awfully tight and yes, he does move awfully well in them. I certainly won’t be a hypocrite and tell you that I don’t enjoy that aspect of the shows, but I cannot tell you how very much it irks me when people assume that’s what it's all about. That assumption both negates Dwight’s considerable talent and trivializes my involvement with the music. If all I really wanted was to see tight jeans gyrating on a stage, I could do that at pretty much any concert. Instead, I view Dwight’s physicality as icing on a cake I already enjoy.

As an afterthought it occurred to me that I probably should talk about what the fan thing is not. I imagine a lot of people think of the "obsessed fan crawls through Brad Pitt's window and puts on his pajamas" kind of scenario. Trust me, the thought of that kind of behavior is as foreign to me as it is to you. I would never want to do anything to embarrass myself personally or as a fan. Speaking for myself and the other fans I know well, we all respect Dwight's right to a private life. I personally do not subscribe to the theory that being a celebrity presumes your private life should be public fodder. Basically, I'd say the "fan thing" is Not a desire to take the experience beyond enjoyment of the music.

I hope this has given a bit of insight in what the fan thing is and isn't about. This is obviously only my experience and someone else’s may be entirely different. Hopefully, though, it illustrates that there really is some kind of "logic" behind what appears to be illogical behavior ~~ well… at any rate, it seems logical to us!! (LOL)

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