She finally found what she was looking for

Just got a screaming call from my GF, who went down to Manhattan for the day: SHE JUST MET BONO!Yes, that is her cuddling up with the lead singer of famed Irish rock band U2, Paul David Hewson ... you can just call him Bono. You might recognize my GF from such celebrity encounters as actor Liev Schreiber, singer Michelle Branch, trumpeter Chris Botti and comedian Jimmy Fallon. (She's shy, not as outgoing as me.)

This will go down in our collective lore as her "New Kids moment," alluding to last May 17th when I me the New Kids On The Block, my fav group of all-time. Unlike the way I lucked out meeting the guys, though, this encounter was weeks in the making.

See, Bono and the boys have played an unprecedented week of performances on "The Late Show with David Letterman," and today was the final taping for the week. (Usually, Dave tapes one show a day Monday through Wednesday, and then two shows on Thursday; this week, though, they taped two shows on Monday, followed by one per day after that.) With that in mind, the gears inside my GF's head started turning...

And make no mistake, my beloved is a veteran of waiting outside stage doors -- whether they lead to Broadway theaters, TV studios for shows like Letterman and the former Conan O'Brien "Late Night," or arenas like Madison Square Garden and our own Mid-Hudson Civic Center.

Having honed her skills for years, she knew just where Adam Clayton here and the rest of the band would be heading as they headed for the Ed Sullivan Theater for today's show. Unfortunately, so did about 200 other U2 fans who were also waiting ... but she was one of the first, arriving hours before the 5:30 p.m. taping. (What's that they say about the early bird?!)

And, as the pictures show, it paid off big-time!

With that throng of fans awaiting The Edge and the rest of the group, my GF was quick to get Bono's attention (in addition to the rest of the group except drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who she said didn't sign any autographs), resulting in a memory she's not likely to forget. And, she's got the snapshots and autographs to prove it, not to mention redemption following her first in-person encounter with the band .

Luckily, she got a second chance at this once-in-a-lifetime meeting.

The first time my GF met Bono, before one of their MSG shows a few years back (again, waiting outside the arena), she froze for the split-second she got with him, and she'd always regretted it ... until today!