Meaghan's serenade: Former 'Idol' star Gokey greets local fan

The night Danny Gokey got voted off of American Idol's eighth season, one of his most ardent supporters didn't even know about it. She had something more important to deal with at the time.

"I was in New York, learning how to work with Whitney," said Meaghan Bynum of Wartrace.

Whitney is a butterscotch blonde with big brown eyes and a sweet, enthusiastic personality. And four feet and fur. She's a part Lab, part Golden retriever and she is now Meaghan's guide dog, her new "eyes" and her ticket to independence. Meaghan has been legally blind "pretty much all my life," she said.

Unexpected result

Ironically, the very same thing that kept Meaghan from getting to witness her favorite's last night on American Idol as a contestant made it possible for her to travel across the country and attend his concert -- and even meet the man himself.

"It was kind of a whim, actually," she said. A senior at MTSU, she was home in Wartrace visiting her parents, Michael and Vivian Bynum. "I found out Danny was going to do a CD release and signing in Milwaukee and I though 'That would be so neat!' Milwaukee is his home town."

The timing was right, she said, with the March 6 concert coming right at the beginning of her school's spring break. She would be able to leave on a Friday and come back Sunday. Through Facebook and Twitter, she had made several friends who were also Gokey fans and some who even lived in the Milwaukee area.

"I contacted a girl, a friend of mine named Deb," she said. "I didn't tell my parents about it."

Peaceful friend

Meaghan also made sure her online friends knew she was blind.

"I didn't want any surprises," she said. "I was bringing Whitney, no matter what."

People's reaction to her big, gentle companion vary.

"Some are scared and back away," said Meaghan. "But she wouldn't hurt them -- she couldn't."

Meaghan said any dogs who show signs of a nervous or aggressive temperament are weeded out of the guide dog program and there is nothing to fear from her helper.

"I can't believe how good she was through the whole thing," she said. "She stayed out of the way, as big as she is, and never got stepped on or anything."

On her own

With the assistance of those friends and her laptop -- which has a speech program that reads aloud what is on screen -- she was able to make all the arrangements. Then, and only then, did she break the news to her parents that she was about to embark on her first long solo journey of about 1,200 miles round trip, including two changeovers in crowded, unknown airports.

That is, she broke the news gradually. Although she'd been blogging and tweeting about it for some time, her friends and siblings conspired to keep her secret until the plans were confirmed.

"She didn't even have tickets (to the concert)," said her mother. "I said 'Are you kidding?' We found out later she was going to have to change planes. She set this up in bits and pieces for us to find out."

Vivian just laughs about it now.

"I am proud of her," she said. "We've always been trying to teach her independence -- it's come back to bite us!"

Eventful journey

The trip was an adventure for both Meaghan and Whitney. The worst part for the dog was a commuter flight in a small plane, where she had to be crammed between Whitney and another passenger. The worst part for Whitney was changing planes in Detroit.

"It was so far from my plane to the next terminal. I guess there were at least four elevators. I know we walked a mile and my feet hurt so bad!"

It wouldn't be the last trial for her poor feet, either. In order to be sure she got into the concert at Milwaukee's Turner Hall. Meaghan decided she had to be there at 7 a.m. She stood in line until 5:30 p.m, when the doors opened, and managed to get a front row position, right next to the stage. There were no seats available there, either.

"I guess I was on my feet for about 18 hours," she said. "They just stopped hurting a day or two ago."

Special moments

Meaghan's dedication and determination to see her favorite American Idol graduate did not go unnoticed. Fellow fans and Facebook and Twitter fans managed to spread the word and Gokey himself found out. He started singing "Back at One," the song he used when he proposed to his now-deceased wife. It was the heartbreaker story of the eighth season when Gokey, a very young widower, tried out for the show to honor his late wife.

"When I saw him during the auditions of Idol that year, I thought, 'Oh, he's got such a great story, he's going to end up having a mediocre voice," said Meaghan. "I hated that -- I wanted him to have a great voice. And then he started singing and I was like, Wow!"

After a verse of the song during the concert, however, Gokey stopped and walked over to the stage where Meaghan was standing.

"I heard this story right before I came out about this young lady. She's blind and she came all the way from Nashville, Tennessee," said Gokey. "I'm a sucker for people who overcome situations."

"I was overwhelmed," she said. "I never expected that."

He sang some more, then spoke some more, at one time holding Meaghan's hand. At the end of the song, you can hear her call out. "I love you, Danny!"

"I love you too," he called back.

The moment was caught on several video cameras and can be seen on YouTube:

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Happy memories

Looking back on her adventure, Meaghan said it was a little scary -- going off on a trip like that by herself, meeting up with people she had only met through the Internet, but she's very glad she did it and she credits her parents for always encouraging to be independent despite her blindness.

Would she do it again? maybe, but she doesn't have to right away. Gokey will be at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon in April and Meaghan already has her front row tickets.

She brought home a signed CD, of course, but she brought home a treasured memory as well.

No limits

At the concert, Gokey said one other thing about Meaghan.

"She's never limited herself," he said.

"I listen to that at least once a day," she said.