I have to thank my brother for getting to know John Denver. When I was about 13 years old, he gave me some of his old records. Yes, two of them were John Denver albums! When I listened to this music, to this voice, to these lyrics... well, it just happened. Loved it all: the music, the voice, the lyrics. Still love it!

I have been lucky to see him perform here in the Netherlands three times. The third concert I attended, together with my father, was on 30 March 1997 in The Hague. Unfortunately this would be his last concert here.

One year later, in 1998, both my father and my mother passed away. On my father's funeral a good friend sang 'Leaving on a jet plane'. No microphone, just him and his guitar; it was beautiful.

Two months later, only one day after my mother's funeral, we had our annual Dutch Denver Day and I decided to go there. Well, I can only say that I know why we are called the world family of John Denver. It was a good day, with laughter and tears.

To this day we still have our annual Denver Day and next month our Dutch club celebrates its 40th anniversary. I will be there with the 'old friends', but also with many new friends, from all over the world, who we met these past years. And maybe with some new friends I have not met yet.

My JD story is one of sinchronicity, of meaningful coincidences of those that touch your life forever. I found JD music in Spain, early eighties, when he was not so often in the radio there. I was about 16 years old when one day, while having a walk in between lectures, I saw a tape in the street. I picked it up. No labels, no names, just a copy of something; thrown away as it looked, I was curious enough to listen to it: sweet voice and touching words... I was amazed! I had never heard a music that fit so well with myself, even if I couldn't understand much of these English words then. I kept listening to that one tape (it turned out to be one of the Greatest Hits Albums, as I found out later), with no idea about who was the singer. I didn't found out for many many months, until the second lucky day when I listened the same voice in the radio. Pencil in my hand, I waited until the song was over and they gave the name of the singer: JOHN DENVER!

I remember my excitement when I finally bought my first JD album! After that, little by little, I managed to collect most of his albums. But for me, no such things as chronological sequence, or more or less successful albums existed. I was collecting JD music completely blind, just because he never disappointed me. It's nice to discover, many years later, that in that way, I collected many of the (now) rare albums, besides the most usual ones. And I am proud that John's huge popularity in other places of the world or in a different time influenced me.. Clear and clean, something in his music and his voice was so inspiring and fulfilling, like a perfect match to my soul...

I remember lonely evenings, very happy evenings when I would sit alone in the dark, listening to John's music and dreaming. Dreams of love, and dreams of sharing that special feeling that fulfilled me. I didn't even dream of seeing him in concert, so far away he seemed to be because I didn't know anything about him. He was just voice and music; I didn't know about Denver the actor, the entertainer, the humanitarian... the man. But that wonderful music, that special voice turned to be one of my most intimate experiences.

Ten, twelve years later, still in Spain, a special friend found Emily's page in the internet, and what a joy it was to finally share and see that there was so much wonderful people out there feeling the same way. It was the same special friend who, stopping in Rome for just one short hour, happened ''by chance'' to exit a subway station (!) just in front of the theater where John was going to be in concert one week later; that Rome Oct 23, 1995 was my first John Denver concert, an unlikely dream come true. The next year I moved to the US, and I had the chance of seeing him three more times in concert. These were again among the happiest moments in my life.

I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to tell him THANKS in two occasions. In Rome, the most perseverant ones could shake hands with John when he left the theater, and I could gave him a rose with a note with my thanks. In Cerritos, I joined a young boy and his father outside the backstage door, and sure enough, when he saw that quiet ''family'' waiting for him (it didn't occur to me that we indeed looked as a family!) he came out to sign an autograph for the child. [He headed first to me, and said "You are the mom!" ; "no, I'm not, did you receive my little book?" "The Astronomy book?" He had received it! He went to the boy then: "Did you like the show? What's your name?..." and signed his programme. I then got these precious moments with him, with hardly no one else around but maybe Ron, his brother;] and holding his hand, I got to say thanks to him... This was May 1997.

The same special friend was there to comfort me that terrible night when John left us, and came with me to Aurora and Aspen the next weekend. All started for me with that ''coincidence'' 15 years back, and now, I was sitting close to John's family, close to so many friends and soul mates to say John farewell with tears in my eyes and pain in my heart, feeling a member of an extended wonderful family. His music, his words, his writings: all is still with us, and for us who were not in his everyday life, things '¡look'' the same... but are not the same...

John, you touched my life, and blessed me forever. Thanks...