U2: Elevation

ELEVATION: The Tour Diary ("For my sanity and your entertainment," M.) - Page 11

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PINT-O-METER (England/Ireland Leg): Guinness 102 -- Murphy's 5

FILM-O-METER (England/Ireland Leg): 22 Rolls (24/36 mix) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read on, dear reader, read on!

#8-)3

10 September 2001 - Tanned, Rested, and Ready for a Revolution

Well, well, well... those seven weeks went by extremely fast. Last night was weird - I kept waking up during the night trying to figure out where I was... a couple times I thought I was still in good ol' Mary's bed and breakfast back in Dublin. Then reality set in.

Here's a quickie update and some answers to questions I know a lot of you will ask.

Are you happy to be back?

No.

At one point, I even tried to lose my passport in order to complicate my return. But it found me.

(Just for the record, I did manage to lose an entire toenail. That was so gross and bizarre, I had to share. A new one is growing in nicely, though.)

Did you meet any women?

Yes. One even passed out in my lap. But that's another story.

Are you engaged?

No. I'm still The Most Eligible Bachelor in Mattopia.

How was France?

I didn't make it to France. After my second visit to Slane, I realized I was making a tremendous mistake rushing out of the country. (One more reason why I hate booking early! I like to be as extremely flexible as possible when traveling.)

I traded in Paris and the South of France for the South of Ireland. It was an extremely last minute road trip - I really needed to explore some new ground, and I'm really glad I did. I totally winged it, on the road making it up as I went. It was fantastic!

The jaunt took me from Dublin down to Waterford (where they make some nice crystal stuff), over to Cork (the home of Murphy's), a hop up to Blarney, then over to Killarney and a trip around the Ring of Kerry.

While in Blarney, I did kiss the Blarney stone. It was weird how good I felt after that! I now have a certificate noting my new "Gift of Eloquence"! Having failed Sally Struthers' correspondence course in diplomacy a couple times now, and with my struggle to obtain the grace of Bono, this certificate means quite a bit to me. It will be put to good use... very soon.

How many pints of Guinness?

102. The most in one night: 9.

Were you involved in any international incidents?

Unfortunately, no.

But I do want a revolution. It's hard to hang out in the favorite pubs of people like John Lennon, Michael Collins, and Bono and not catch their dreams.

Which leads me to this little postcard I saw in a small rock'n'roll museum in the wee town of Dublin in the tiny country of Ireland on the wee island just left of Great Britain.

It read, "We'll win! The good guys always do in the end.

Love, Bono, Ringo, George, Paul"

It was yet another bit of inspiration from "my mentor" - it was part of a message he sent from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Hot Press magazine in Dublin back in the '80s.

It helped me realize one of the errors of my ways. I can no longer go by the credo, "Nice guys finish last." Now, the outlook is, "The good guys will win."

Oh yeah. Looking back on it all, it's starting to make sense. The heart is still a little black and blue, but it feels good. And I've got my soul back. It's mine. They can't steal it. No, they can't even feel it. It's on fire.

This good guy will win.

Love,

Matt, Bono, Adam, The Edge

#8-)3

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