I had just been in Englewood CO for a job interview (which I believe went well)

& I was on the light rail train going back home.

.

the NY Post is 1 daily I like to read.. & I somehow managed to set myself up to receive their news updates.. so at about 10.45 am (MOUNTAIN time) in CO my phone popped up with 4 words from the NY Post:

.

"Prince dead at 57"

.

you know it was like getting sucker-punched.

.

I read it, I understood it.. but it took about 45 minutes before it actually sank in.

I believed it right away. I know some people see the NY Post as a "tabloid" publication but they wouldn't put something like this out unless it were true..

.

still on the way home, I called my Mother & told her. normally I know not to call her at this time of day because she loves her soap operas. I told her & she dropped the phone. I caught her saying (to me it sounded like) "WHAT???"

.

I then contacted an old friend of mine. he used to have (he set up) the comprehensive website of Prince lyrics. he hadn't heard it yet & he wasn't sure if the story was real or not.

.

then, my smartphone blew up.

now.. (like I will soon say on facebook).. I am

NOT

comparing the passing of Prince (the event itself)

with the horrendous events of September 11..

but that day was the last time my phone got so many sudden texts & phone calls.

.

to most people I know, I was the "die-hard Prince fan" to them..

so they all called &/or texted me to see how I was doing.

I'm glad I got the news myself before anyy of them told me.

I am certain my reaction would have been stronger (or worse) had anyone else

contacted me & told me this unbelievable news.

.

I am 1 of those "recovering" Prince fans who stopped listening/paying attention to Prince & his music ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO..

but the news of him thursday morning was, to me, like a sucker punch to the face, abdomen

&

groin - all at the same time.

.

so I managed to keep my composure until I got home.

I then turned on CNN.. & then it started to sink in.

they played bits of OLD Prince songs that I hadn't heard in YEARS..

.

&.. THEN I lost it.

came back home from work on moped when at the same time my dad called and my girfriend opened the door saying he had died

at my pc, checking the org.

Suddenly the first messages came in.

Didn't believe it for about half an hour and then more and more details were coming.

Can't continue writing. The tears keep coming back.

I was quite calm. I've just been quite calm about everything lately. I was thinking "That's crazy, but that's life", and then put on some Prince tunes. Thanks for the music, Prince.

All your stories make me wanna cry every time I read one

And at the same time it helps coping with the loss.

Strange but true.

I was sat watching the 6.30pm news on TV and my wifes deaf father called as usual, nightly on the dot. The ritual is we mute the TV so he can hear properly.

Yeah so, i looked up as Prince's image flicked up on the screen as they were doing the overview of the news to come. My heart immediately sunk, I know how they format the news. My wife looked at me, and hung up the phone. I wound the Tivo back, put the sound back on and wailed...

In a staff lounge full of people on my lunch hour. I read from some random local news affiliate that "a death had taken place at Paisley Park," & panic quickly set in as the story evolved. As I felt the tears well up, I hid in a bathroom stall for the remainder of my break.

I was in my house, chatting to my cousin. She asked what was up with my phone, because it was going off at every second, calls..messages.

I panicked thinking "why is everyone calling at once?!"

I was not expecting that news.

I recently found out my father is gravely ill, so hearing Prince had passed knocked me so far west i didn't know what to do. Except put his albums on as loud as my stereo would go.

I came home from gym around 21. I hadn't even watched any news earlier thought it had happened already. Went online and saw a small thread of tabloid "Pop Icon..." and my heart just stopped cuz I didn't wan't to read the next line cuz I thought "not again someone big name done something or died". And I scrolled the next line up and it said "...Prince dead". My heart just skipped few beats and I was gasping for air. Totally shocked at that moment. Then I read the news and couldn't stop hearing that guitar solo of The love we make from Bergen show in my head. And I couldn't stop listening that in the rest of the evening and crying.

i was asleep after working a very long night shift. i woke up at 5 pm to two texts from my sister; the first said the news was saying he had passed. the second said his publicist had confirmed. my first thought was it must be a dream; the second thought was 'what an awful joke.'

i haven't been here in years but i had to see how others are coping. i feel like i'll never be the same.

I was at work, skoolteeching...One of my coworkers, and fellow purple hippies ran down to my classroom, and told my assistant that she needed to speak with me. In fact, she said, 'Cat has some sad news too share with you." I thought that it was about one of our coworkers who is experiencing a health challenge -- never dreamed that she was going to tell me that the man was gone. We both stood there numb, she was shaking. I hugged her, and told her to keep me updated. I was grateful to be with my class, which granted me the ability to suspend reality in the presence of tiny little people who love me.

I was at home without the tv on and I got WhatsApp, Facebook messages and a telephone call simultaneously. I didn't know what was going on. I thought people had found out about the previous Friday vist to hospital and were mistaken.

I had woken up early and started to see some posts on FB. Then I saw the final confirmation that it was true. The toughest part was telling my elderly mother who loves Prince too and went to some concerts with me throughout the years. I never wanted to have to tell her that news.

I was in bed. My wife had woken up at 3:30 am local time and the news had just broken within the past half hour. She held onto the news for over an hour, and would have longer had I not woken up. She told me to go back to sleep as I had to catch a long plane ride the next day (22 hours in total), but I insisted on her telling me, and that was that.

b3xy said:

I was walking to catch a bus and was already upset as I had just been told my dog had been put to sleep when I got a message from a friend saying she was so sorry and sending me a hug. It took me a couple of minutes to realise the message wasnt about my dog as I hadnt told anyone. I went on fb to work out what she was talking about and it was everywhere. I then had to sit on a bus for an hour by myself trying not to cry too much - I failed massively at this

so sorry about ur dog i am a big animal lover and know the pain when u lose one doubled by this how r u holding up?

sending lots of love and prayers ur way b3xy!

At home alone, sitting on my couch. I don't remember what I was doing.

I got an app from a friend" Prince is dead"

I replied that wasn't true and I remembered the thread about him being ill and how I posted that I still need him.

I turned on the tv and my laptop and found out it was true.


Hysterically crying and felt sooo alone.

Was at work napping in my car on my lunchbreak. My wife sent me a text and a screenshot from CNN with a question mark. I ignored it for a minute. Soon after, my mom texted me asking if its true. I was now wide awake. I couldn't access "prince.org". I took that as confirmation. I told my mom "apparently yes" and ignored my phone for a few hours. I would catch myself in quiet moments just scrolling my mouse up and down, not wanting to visit any news sites on my computer. It didn't hit until I got back home to my wife.

I was just on a forum and saw a topic reporting his death. Thought and hoped it was a hoax.

Rest in peace, Prince.

Wow, I haven't posted here in 3 years.

I was about to join some friends at my grad school's campus for an event. Hopped on twitter for another reason and saw the TMZ headline.

I froze. Called my dad, he said he only just saw it. Didn't know if it was a rumor.

I ended up waiting on twitter for another 10-15 minutes untilother news outlets started posting.

I cried bawling for a half hour, it took an hour to get out of my apartment calm and not looking crazy.

Friend calls me like "where were you?"

Man....still processing.