Well this is not how we planned to celebrate Jon Bon Jovi’s 60th birthday. If you’ve been following us for awhile, you know that Mom and Asa are big Bon Jovi fans. Whenever a new album is released, concert announced, or a milestone reached, they will celebrate by playing their favorite Bon Jovi songs, and watching concerts and videos. A big part of that celebration is the time capsule saved on our DVR. Over the past 15 years Mom has saved many recorded Bon Jovi highlights. However, time has eventually caught up with the DVR (Digital Video Recorder), and it is no longer usable. So she must say goodbye to all these precious Bon Jovi moments that she recorded and rewatched over the years.

There were concerts saved on it that if Mom was having a bad day, she simply needed to watch them and her spirits would soar. I mean who wouldn’t get a thrill listening to the thousands of people at the 2011 Hard Rock Calling concert singing along to “Always” with Jon? There were also concerts on the DVR that Mom couldn’t bear to watch again. Little did she realize when she recorded Bon Jovi in concert at London’s BBC Theater in 2013 that almost a year to the day Lemmy would be crossing Rainbow Bridge. But the cherished memory she has of dancing with the Lemmy in the living room to “We Weren’t Born to Follow” will live on in Mom’s heart. Sorry Asa, but Lemmy was a much better dancer than you. Whereas you happily prance to songs, Lemmy would jump up, let Mom hold his front paws, and together they would happily dance around to Bon Jovi. Would you believe some of the music videos saved on this DVR are from 2008 / 2009, before Asa and I were even on Mom’s radar? There were also plenty of Bon Jovi milestones recorded that made Mom think of us too.

Speaking of milestones, here we are on Jon’s 60th birthday, but saved on the DVR was Oprah’s Master Class from 2012, when he reflected on turning 50. Jon’s message of optimism, love, and belief in the “power of we” continues to resonate with Mom and Asa. Also who can forget when Bon Jovi was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, with the original line up of Richie Sambora and Alec John Such performing together again! Mom was so excited watching that, you’d think she was being inducted that night. Or just that simple message of hope during uncertain times when Jon sang “Here Comes the Sun” for the 2021 Celebrating America Concert. He could have sang anything from his songbook, making it about himself, and yet he chose that Beatles classic that everything would be all right.

I know considering everything going on in the world, being sad that an old DVR broke is silly and selfish. But for our Mom those were treasured memories recorded before things could be easily found online and streamed on our TV. A musical time capsule of life when it was just her and Lemmy waiting for Dad to return late at night after being away long hours for work; of welcoming new puppies into the family, and saying goodbye four legged and two legged loved ones; and of celebrations and just ordinary moments. Not to mention a whole lot of changes in technology in 15 years! Dad lost count of how many letters we received from the cable company saying we needed to upgrade, and that the DVR would be obsolete. However, through it all in addition to Bon Jovi’s message of hope, there’s also the message of moving on and “take it in, take it with you when you go.”

So as we celebrate Jon Bon Jovi’s 60th birthday today, while saying goodbye to this old DVR, I can’t help but think of Jon’s words from Bon Jovi Unplugged on VH1 in 2007. “If you have a song that people have bookmarked in their memory bank, then you know you’ve done something.” Jon, you certainly have done something in your 60 years. Thank You and Happy Birthday!