By Laura Bouton

Rain, rain, go away! Although the weather did its darndest to ruin the 1995 Hudson hockey game,
it didn't stop Extremists from having a good time. With Nuno's help, bothersome journeys and
bad weather soon faded into the background. Laura Bouton made the trip to Massachussetts;
and here, she tells her story...

September 17 1995 was the day of the 4th annual Hudson Street Hockey. Although Sunday was an inconvenience for me (with the 6½ hour drive from my hometown, and work on Monday), I was eager to attend due to the planned events and because of the great experience I had last year. This year, although Nuno was not expected to play due to re-injuring his knee and more surgery on it, a concert was to take place following the game (the line-up included Flesh and Extreme). I just couldn't miss it!

Everything seemed set and ready. My friend Donna White flew up from Wilmington, North Carolina to make the long drive with me, and we were beyond excitement. However, we awoke 3am Sunday to pouring rain. The forever optimist in me hoped (and prayed) it would let up, or perhaps not even be raining in Hudson - which is 320 miles north of my home in Wenonah, New Jersey.

With prayers and hope in tow, we were on the road by 5am; and the rain only seemed to get worse the further north we drove. We continued to hope it would stop, but by the time we entered Massachussetts, it was blinding! The radio gave no information on the hockey game and we prayed the concert would still be on.

As we entered Hudson after noon, I amazed myself by remembering the route to the hockey recreational park. By now, we expected the game was cancelled; but still, we were dismayed to drive into an empty parking lot. We spotted the trailer by the court (which served as an equipment/snack shop), and decided to check inside. Before I could get out of the car, Willie Walter came running out to tell me that the game and outdoor show was cancelled, but that Nuno was getting out of bed to come down and see us, knowing the distance all of us travelled.

Inside the trailer, about 12 of us gathered and waited for Nuno. It was an hour or so later, rain still pouring down, when a gold Lexus pulled into the lot and soon Nuno and his brother Jorge entered the trailer. It was so very kind of him to take the time to come see us; he answered all our questions as if we were members of the press, signed autographs, and took photos with us. It was nice to have another relaxed meeting with NNuno and to be able to joke around with him. He told us he had flown 19 hours from Australia, and that he'd be having knee surgery done again. He talked about his solo CD due out next year too, and how he'd wanted the game held on Saturday - which happened to have been a beautiful sunny day! He talked about members of Extreme and their projects outside the group, which made me nervous about the future of the band. He told us Mike has plans to work with Steve Vai, and that Gary hopes to be involved with another musical production. Nuno sounded as if he was growing tired of the band. It made me worry.

All in all, he was absolutely the friendliest with everyone. He looked fantastic as usual! How do I possibly describe a man who is so physically beautiful he gives you cold chills just by entering a room? He was full of laughter and happiness, and made us all feel special for being there with him. I spoke with his brother Jorge briefly as well; and he, too, was very kind. He mostly stayed in the background against a wall as his younger brother commanded the attention of us adoring fans, but always smiling. For about 30 minutes, Nuno gave us all a little piece of heaven. It was an opportunity to remember, and I am just grateful for the chance to plant a kiss on Nuno's cheek.

Feeling as if we took enough of his generosity, we all left. After a quick stop into a nearby restaurant to calm ourselves down, Donna and I took the opportunity to sightsee around Nuno's hometown (something I didn't get to do last year). Checking out his mother's house (where we found Nuno's car parked out front) and his dad's music store only added to our already intense excitement. We were happy enough just to be there and to be able to hang out together. For Donna and I, Nuno and Hudson provided fond memories of a lifetime!