"Billy Joel Touched My Hand"

It's no surprise I love concerts. I probably spend way too much to go see my favorite artist or band live. One of my most memorable concert experiences was seeing Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. My friend Amanda and I used to sing along to his songs on our road trips up to school. Our other friends would laugh because 1) we are terrible singers and 2) his songs are not our typical music choice. Because I knew Amanda loved him so much, I surprised her with tickets for her birthday. I couldn't get the best seats in the house, but she was so grateful and happy to be going. We both knew it was going to be the best night ever!

On our way into the stadium, our night took an unexpected turn. A worker from Billy Joel's team stopped us and offered us front row tickets to the show. We were so excited we could hardly speak! Right away we said yes and called our parents to tell them the amazing news! It was so cool sitting so close to such a great performer, and hearing him sing live. We took one million pictures and danced non stop to every song. At one point, Billy Joel came to the edge of the stage and reached out to touch the audience's hands. We shrieked with happiness when he made his way to our section. "Oh my gosh," I remember Amanda saying, "Billy Joel touched my hand. I am never washing this hand again!" Seeing Billy Joel live is an amazing memory that I am so thankful to have experienced. 

Vocabulary
Artist (noun)- singer
Band (noun)- group of people singing and playing music
Most memorable (adjective)- easily remembered
Road trips (noun)- long car rides
Typical (adjective)- usual
Grateful (adjective)- thankful
Unexpected (adjective)- not what we thought was going to happen
Offered (verb)- gave
Shrieked (verb)- screamed

Vocabulary Activity- Fill in the blank with a vocabulary word.
1. The _______ is going to play a song tonight on his own.
2. The _________ is made up of a singer, drummer, and two boys playing the guitar.
3. The ______ ____________ day of my life is my wedding day.
4. We took a ______ ______ across the country.
5. It is ______ for Anna to go out for lunch since she buys pizza every day.
6. I am ________ for the opportunity to go to college.
7. Winning the lottery was an ________ surprise since Joe usually has bad luck.
8. She _____ me half her sandwich since I forgot my breakfast.
9. I _________ when I saw a spider on my purse.

Grammar PointA hyperbole is a exaggeration or extravagant statement used for effect. With hyperbole, the literal meaning is not the intended meaning. One example of a hyperbole is We took one million pictures... Although we did not literally take that many pictures, I am using an exaggeration to show we took a lot of pictures.

Your Turn: Find another hyperbole in the paragraph above. Tell me the literal meaning and how the exaggeration is being used for effect.