Beautiful Stranger was the eighth track from the CD titled GHV2, which was released in November of 2001. – “I looked into your eyes And my world came tumbling down.”
Madonna’s tour came to DC a few weeks later. I went to the MCI Center the night of her show to see if I could scalp a ticket. Eventually, I found a seat for the nosebleed section. As I walked over to my seat, I ran into the couple that Cyrus and I stood beside and talked to the night we saw the show in Philly. We exchanged excited “Hellos,” and they told me they had two extra floor seats if I was interested. Since there was no time to sell them, they gave them to me at no charge. (Worth $500.00) I thought to myself; Madonna fans are the best! I immediately called a friend of mine that was in the arena attending the same show but sitting somewhere way up in the nosebleed section with some other friends. Zacheus answered his cell phone, and when I told him that I was in the arena and had two seats on the floor, he came running down, and we ended up having a great night together.
It was such a great experience that Zacheus decided to have his Madonna poster and ticket framed just as I had done this with my Philly tickets. Shortly after taking his poster and tickets to the frame shop, Zacheus moved to Detroit, Michigan. He left DC without retrieving his Madonna poster from the frame shop. That Christmas I told Zaccheus that if I could get in touch with Thaddeus’ family to find out the location of his burial, I would drive the poster to Detroit. The poster was too large to carry on a plane. I sent a letter to Thaddeus’ mother requesting directions to his grave in Monroe, Michigan, and his sister wrote back with clear instructions on how to locate his grave. It was at this point that I planned my trip north. It had been approximately ten years since Thaddeus’ death, and my visit to his grave was way overdue.
Before I departed DC, I started coming down with the flu, but I decided that I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from making this trip. I packed my bags, rented a car, and headed for my first stop, which was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I had never been to Pittsburgh but decided to stop here to visit another friend’s grave, whose name was JT. JT was the lover of one of my coworkers, and he had just recently passed away from AIDS and was put to rest in Pittsburgh. After visiting his grave, I checked into my hotel and went straight to bed. I didn’t feel right, but I knew my trip was necessary. I left Pittsburgh the following morning. I felt completely miserable. I continued my journey toward Monroe and Detroit, Michigan.
Once I arrived in Monroe, I drove around the small town searching for the cemetery. Once I found it, I parked, got out of my car, and searched for his grave. After searching for approximately ten minutes, I finally found his grave and for the very first time felt as though his death was real. It was about twenty degrees outside, and light snow was falling as I stood over his headstone. I just stared down at the ground, feeling numb.
I then decided to get back in my car for a short trip downtown. It was only a few blocks away. I found a nice card shop and purchased a card that had a watercolor painting of a beach in Southern California. As soon as I saw the card, I knew Thaddeus would like it. I wrote a private message in it and took it back to the cemetery. I placed it gently on his grave and at that moment the snow stopped falling, and the sun broke through the clouds. I went back to my car, which was about fifteen yards away, rolled down the windows, and played “Kamikaze” by the Thompson Twins. Thaddeus and I used to listen to this album by the Thompson Twins all the time when we were together.
I pressed Play and turned up the car stereo as loud as I could, to make sure that Thaddeus could hear the song. Everyone passing by must have thought I was trying to wake the dead. As the song played, I stood over Thaddeus’ grave, and tears rolled down my face. I was happy to know that I still had tears for him. As I looked down at his grave, I tried to imagine the last minutes of his life, and how painful that must have been for him. And then I tried to imagine how free he must have felt the moment his soul left his body. I imagined that his soul was now someplace else in the universe, exploring other realities, living a new life, and learning new lessons about love. I played the song over and over. I found it very difficult to leave that day. I played the song one last time and took the time to remember that beautiful stranger that changed my life back in the fall of 1984. I was extremely grateful for having the opportunity to know and love him.
BACK | TOC | NEXT
Haven’t we met
You’re some kind of beautiful stranger
You could be good for me
I’ve had the taste for danger
If I’m smart then I’ll run away
But I’m not so I guess I’ll stay
Heaven forbid
I’ll take my chance on a beautiful stranger
I looked into your eyes
And my world came tumbling down
You’re the devil in disguise
That’s why I’m singing this song
Bridge:
To know you is to love you
You’re everywhere I go
And everybody knows
To love you is to be part of you
I’ve paid for you with tears
And swallowed all my pride
Chorus:
Da-da-da-dum da-dum da-dum da da da-da dum
Beautiful stranger
Da-da-da-dum da-dum da-dum da da da-da dum
Beautiful stranger
If I’m smart then I’ll run away
But I’m not so I guess I’ll stay
Haven’t you heard
I fell in love with a beautiful stranger
I looked into your face
My heart was dancing all over the place
I’d like to change my point of view
If I could just forget about you
(bridge)
I looked into your eyes
And my world came tumbling down
You’re the devil in disguise
That’s why I’m singing this song to you
(bridge)
I’ve paid for you with tears
And swallowed all my pride
