I Helped My Best Friend Meet Duran Duran

The vicarious joy of watching a dream come true

Duran Duran met Jenny George. Photo by Susan B and used with permission.

Duran Duran will be playing in my hometown this week

But I won’t be at the show. Nothing could match the Duran Duran experience I had back in 2011, when I got to witness one of my best friends — a teen cancer survivor, who credits her survival to listening to Duran Duran through three years of chemotherapy — meet the band.

It was sublime.

Any other show would pale in comparison to the experience of vicarious joy I had, watching my dear friend have her dream come true.

So instead of going to the show, I will share the story as I wrote it back in 2011, in honor of the band’s current tour.

I know Jenny will be there, front and center.

I didn’t just see a Duran Duran show. I saw a wish come true.

Sometimes just the right thing happens to just the right person, and everyone who witnesses can revel in the fact that, sometimes, the universe is benevolent and just.

Last Friday night, I didn’t just see a Duran Duran show.

I saw a wish come true.