Rita Crosby interview transcript

(no, I didn't make it. It was online)

COSBY: Well, he is a rocker and a philanthropist all in one. For now, Jon Bon Jovi has traded in his guitar for a hammer. His foundation has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for four north Philadelphia families.

I had a chance to sit down with him this morning. And he told me what it was like to meet with some of these families firsthand who are going to be living in the new homes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JON BON JOVI, MUSICIAN: When you do something like this and they say, “Listen, I work hard. I just have a hard time making ends meet. I‘ve lost my job recently. I never dreamt I‘d have a home.” And you think that this happens, not in just areas of devastation, where we‘ve tried to make a big difference down after Katrina, for instance, but in your own back yard.

COSBY: You know, I was down there in New Orleans. I saw the devastation. When you see these pictures, do you ever feel, no matter what I give, it‘s never enough?

BON JOVI: No. I think that whatever I can give and somebody else can give, one one-hundredth or a thousandth of that, every little bit helps make a difference.

And you can‘t ever say, “Oh, I can‘t make a difference.” A lemonade sale by little Johnny on the corner will make a difference. It‘ll make a different because, when little Johnny grows up, it will be in the back of his mind to be a part of the community, to do something for his neighbors.

And it‘s not a question of race divided, as has been proposed by some people. It‘s class division. And we‘re creating a community of haves and have-nots, and we have to help each other.

COSBY: You were rehearsing at a New Jersey military base...

BON JOVI: Yes.

COSBY: ... which I thought was really cool. What did the men and women say to you? And I say this because, sadly, yesterday, we reached a sad milestone, 2,000 U.S. soldiers dead.

BON JOVI: Well, they were quite pleased that we were there, you know, to do our rehearsals and, in turn, play for them. But in doing so, I thanked them for the service to their country, because, again, as I‘ve traveled the world, I‘m putting myself into a defensive mode oftentimes with the foreign press.

You know, “What about your country?” OK, now I have to be a spokesman for my country. And I said, “For all its fallibilities, it‘s the greatest country in the world, and there are wonderful people.” And the military are there to do a job. And I just thank them for doing that job that, you know, that they volunteered to be a part of.

COSBY: What are your thoughts about what‘s happening in Iraq, as we do reach the milestone? It‘s a hard number.

BON JOVI: It‘s a very sad day. It‘s a sad day for the families of those 2,000 people. It‘s a sad day for all the lives of the Iraqis who have been lost.

War is a no-win situation. And I don‘t think anybody can think that it‘s a win-win situation. It‘s just got to be very hard on the mothers of those fallen soldiers.

COSBY: Tell us about your new song, part of your new album, “Who Says You Can‘t Go Home.” Perfect name.

BON JOVI: It‘s true. You know, it‘s funny, but wherever I go in the world, people will say to me, “You still live in Jersey?” And they make that funny kind of face. I go, “Yes, I still live in Jersey.”

COSBY: About an hour from here.

BON JOVI: Yes, I grew up an hour from here. And I‘ve had a long-standing relationship with the community. So the idea was that a song about going back to your neighborhood, which is what we do, you know? We‘re just a blue-collar rock and roll band from New Jersey.

And the idea of building homes and having the money, the funds, to build these homes was a no-brainer for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSBY: A lot of kudos to Jon Bon Jovi. The music video for his new single, “Who Says You Can‘t Go Home,” will highlight this amazing building project.

Thanks for posting.
Is this a tv show?

good to see jon has sense when it comes to war most celebrities are sayin how bad it is n how it shouldn't be happenin but jon he talks about the families and the soldiers who pass away shows he cares.

thankyou Becky D:

Dawn