In the early 90's an actress and good friend of mine found herself apart Prince's purple circle of acquaintances. She invited me to an exclusive engagement at "Glam Slam" in Downtown Los Angeles. She said " if your a good girl, I'll introduce you." " No f'ing way" I responded. This was going to be epic (I thought to myself). I had planned to make a major impression on him and hopefully befriend him. I was stoked. I spent the whole week prior to the event planning the perfect outfit to wear, the perfect hairstyle. I practiced my introduction to him. I wanted everything to be perfect.
On the day of the event i was ready two hours early. I arrived at Glam Slam to a crowd of Funk Fans waiting to get in, so when my friend escorted me in before the crowd I felt honored.
About fours into the event Prince had yet to arrive but I had over heard other attendees say this was not unusual. I waited with intense anxiety. Finally after another hour you could see a noticeable scramble among security. His arrival was imminent and my anxiety was now coupled with excitement..
When he finally arrived there was this departure in the crowd that was like the splitting of the "Red Sea." It was unreal. Suddenly I could see a group of dudes surrounding this small ethereal figure and he was headed in my direction. IT WAS HIM!
As he moved closer to my friend and the group of people we had been mingling with all evening (which I had failed to realize until later were very prominent people in the music industry) I could hear my heartbeat and a warm dampness on my face.. My friend looked over at me and blurted "Are you crying?!" I had not even realized that tears were streaming down my face. I made a quick escape to the bathroom as not to embarrass myself or my friend. I did not want to meet him in this fanatic state. By the time I returned he had greeted my friend and was now preparing to perform. I had missed my opportunity. I was bummed. My friend assured me there would be another opportunity after the performance but he was gone.
So that was the time I never met Prince. Do I regret it? People often ask. Not really. I'm actually okay with him remaining this enigmatic figure he had always been to me. My friend found it comical and we often laugh about it.
But on April 21st 2016 I cried about it. Not because I didn't meet him but because I was granted an opportunity to meet him. I will never be that close to greatness again and I felt blessed to have had it. Sure there are people who have met him and get to share these great stories but I never met him and it was still one of the best experiences of my life. I miss him everyday.