of the others i have mentioned were such a special part of my childhood that to have the opportunity to simply say thank you was special to me. i wanted him to know that all the work, all the blood, all the pain, all the miles, they did matter. as i shared my heart with him i could see that it actually had an effect and as he reached across the table to grab my hand, he in return said “thank you, no one has told me that before.” you know what, maybe fans over the years have said something similar in passing or while waiting for an autograph, but 