I met Beyonce` WAY Before The Superbowl XLVII Blackout

Everyone knows that Beyonce` rocked the half time show, since the Packers weren’t in it, that’s all I tuned in for. I was surprised that Destiny’s Child re-grouped which is why I’m doing this post. (P.S. with all the power used, the joke is that she caused the power outage, whateves, good for her).

So back in January 2003, I was at a 2 day conference with a huge telecom/mobile company in Chicago. First night there, us girls, Chris (inside sales), myself (outside sales) and Deb (Human Resources) decided to go down to the fancy bar in the fancy hotel and have a few cocktails. I noticed a section that was elevated and roped off; so of course, I said we should get a table there. We sat ourselves and within 3 minutes were told by the waitress that this was a VIP section and we had to move. A couple of Italian gentlemen, (don’t remember their names so let’s just call them Sly and Shorty) said we could join them. We talked a bit, had a couple drinks, and then they asked us if we wanted to see Destiny’s Child backstage downtown…..duh, of course! So we hop in their limo and found out that they owned several clubs in Chicago. We got to the club, (don’t remember the name…again), but there were over 100 people standing in line and they walked us right through. There was a short meet and greet, I actually shook Beyonce`s hand and then we watched them perform. Totally awesome, and obviously they weren’t that big yet. One thing I can remember is the sparkle in her eyes and her genuine smile, she would have been about 22 then, I was 33. Point being, she still has that smile and that sparkle…..and she still rocks.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57567370/beyonce-destinys-child-reunites-in-stunning-halftime-show/

After that, Sly and Shorty asked if we wanted to see their other club, a blues club. We said sure, it was probably 12 or 1am. The three of us are in the back seat with Sly driving and Shorty riding shotgun. On the way there, I whisper to Chris, “are you ok with this?” She was fine. I figured, she raced Nascar on weekends and I knew I was ok because I grew up in the woods and could probably take one of them. I whispered to Deb if she was ok, she looked like a scared bunny and said “not really”. Shit, she was a 6’2” blonde and she was the wimpiest of us? Just kidding, several red flags should have gone up for all of us by then, but we hit the blues club and after a few minutes, dumb and dumber asked us if we wanted to go back to their place. We said no, and that we had a meeting in the morning, and in ten seconds flat, they both disappeared. Men in the bar started looking at us like we were hookers, so we had to get a cab from the bowels of Chicago back to our hotel, ASAP. We made the morning meeting, not hung-over and yawned just like everyone else did for the day. Note to self, watch for red flags, I could have lost one of my 9 lives. lol

Merrilyn Monroe