SUMMERFEST 2008

One of the world's largest music festivals has arrived...and I'm not sure if I'm going at all. Boy, I'm old. I saw the line up of singers, bands, acts, etc. and I really don't care about going this year. My son, however, does since we went last year and he loved all the cool kids stuff. (We went on kids day and that I will never do again. First of all, it was 90 degrees out. Humid. Sticky. Crowded. 'Nuff said. That, along with several thousand screaming kids is enough for any sane human being to stay home!)

This is funny to me since I used to change my whole life around to get to Summerfest. Ok, not really, but in my late teens and 20's, it was all we thought about once school was out! I recently ran across a list of bands that some guy saw over the past 40 years and realized how many of them I remember seeing, or at least heard through the massive crowds. Rarely could one get anywhere near a main stage to even get a glimpse of who it was, but if you could hear the loud siren roar and then "Riding the Storm Out", you knew you were nearing the REO Speedwagon stage! (Which by the way was always crowded, even if they seem to be there EVERY YEAR).

So anyhow, I found this list on a local radio website. I know it's not all inclusive! What about Rick Springfield? Hall and Oats? Pat Benatar? Oh, I guess I was at different stages in the 80's as this guy! Ok, so how about Bare Naked Ladies?

I actually had a chance to meet these guys. My friend Michelle and I were standing off to the side of the stage while some dj was going to introduce the band. A few guys came up to us and asked "Hey, who is this band?" We replied with BNL, but said we never heard of them before. The guy said, " We have, and we've heard they're pretty good. You girls should hang out and listen." At that point the guys we were speaking to ran up on stage and started to sing. Michelle and I freaked. Of course, they were "no bodies" at the time, but within the next few months, they exploded into stardom. Geez, and we knew them way back when... ha ha.

So, you see, I've had my share of awesome experiences at Summerfest. Red wine coolers, fried eggplant, henna tattoos, and great music at a relatively fair price.

What will I do now? I wait to see the weather report. Ok, next week looks "cooler by the lake" and we can go during the day since I'm not working then. That should avoid some of the drunken crowds. I'll drink some lemonade, and sit on the rocks by the lakefront, watching golfers trying unsuccessfully to make a hole in one over a water inlet, in hopes of winning some grand prize. Then, the kid will play on the jungle gym, swarming with other sugar-charged mongrels, eat some eggplant strips and head home before the evening crowds.

Yep, I'm officially old.

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

Happy Summer, Everyone!
Just what is Summer Solstice? According to a questionable source...

"Traditionally, Summer Solstice is celebrated at noon when the sun stands directly overhead and the full force of solar energy can be felt and drawn upon in ritual. One stands beneath the sun, for a while, absorbing the light and heat, and establishing a connection which can be drawn upon in rites later that night.

This is a time of purifying, of cutting through obstacles and drawing on the dynamic power of the God principle to manifest your own power. Lift up your hearts in celebration of the fertility and wonder of life and remember to give thanks for that which has been manifested for you since the last Sabbat.

Many traditions throughout time have celebrated the Solstices, from the times of the ancient and the indigenous people to present day. Bonfires are set on hilltops. People dance around the fires. In many places, after the fire has died away and only the hot coals are remaining, children will be lifted across the coals to be blessed and cleansed by the smoke.

The Summer Solstice is a time to be happy. It is a time to remove unwanted things from your life. It is a time to dance and sing and spread joy and be filled with love." (www.crystalinks.com)

I know that the Summer Solstice is traditionally a Pagan ritual celebrated at Stonehenge (which is one of the many places I want to visit before I die). However, I never realized how many other cultures and countries, even Christians, share in this. St. John the Baptist is celebrated in many parts of the world and I was quite surprised with that. (guess I missed that day in Sunday School). So, however you plan on celebrating this day, I hope you all enjoy the first full day of summer.
(Especially Shakes, Happy BDAY!) I'm all about the standing in the sun and recharging, but I think today is going to be more of the "removing of unwanted things from your life"...I'm cleaning out the garage.

So here's to the longest day of the year...here's to a day of sunshine with no more flooding issues....here's to a day to dance and sing and to thank God for health, happiness, friendship and family. Sun rays to all....

Public Enemies

I found this pic on one of the Johnny Depp sites that I peruse through and thought it was awesome! I think it's someone's avatar for Johnny Depp Reads. I don't mean to steal, and will give credit when I find out...

Anyhow, I really miss the PE hunt. There are several of the readers on PEC who have gone to Chicago/Statesville prison shoots and saw nothing, but then I got an email from Becky. She said she got home at 4:30 am this morning after having met JD. How psyched she was...I miss that adrenaline!

I'm not a stalker...I'm not a "fangirl". I am really very intrigued with the whole process and that places we all know and are familiar with are a part of an $80 million movie by Michael Mann! Of course, getting to meet Johnny is by far a wonderful benefit.

I tried to explain this to one of my "non-PE" sisters yesterday. I'll refer to her as 'Artsy'. She couldn't understand my obsession with PE and why someone would want to meet JD more than once. My partner in crime sister, Stargazer, is the one who got me into all of this, and we have become fodder for laughter and ridicule by our family regarding our pursuits. In fact, my own mother said that I wasn't like "normal people" the other night at dinner...(Since then she has retracted her statement and feels terribly guilty...We are Catholic, you know...)

Anyhow, I digress...I showed Artsy the video of meeting JD in Milwaukee, on the unplanned m&g night and she realized how truly invested JD is in his fans. (watch it below!) She actually sat through the whole five minutes and viewed some of the pics! I, in no way, converted her, but I think she has a better understanding of why we do what we do.

I bring up this point because having talked to so many of these fans at the m&g's, I have heard that over and over again "People think I'm weird", "They don't understand why I invest so much time", blah blah blah. I don't think we need to explain ourselves to others...

This is some of my fun, my enjoyment. I don't drink or party it up at bars, I spend most of my time caring for my son and doing things for him. This is fun for me! Do I need to explain???

I will never regret the times spent in the rain, the cold, in the car traveling, etc. It has been awesome to see beautiful places like Oshkosh, Columbus, Beaver Dam, Madison, and Milwaukee transformed back into the 1930's...I have met awesome people and have started to network with people of similar interests from all over the world! (Pic of cars in Oshkosh)

And I have had some great laughs...Here's some of the funny things that occurred last week in Milwaukee.


These two young men, at around 2:30 am, bar time in Milwaukee, snuck into the PE shoot! They were sooooo unbelievably drunk and snuck up to the 9th floor where the filming occurred. They made it past three groups of security and rode up on the elevator with crew members! (How no one noticed is beyond me, because while taking this pic, I almost fell over from the fumes!) Finally, someone figured it out and Jerry brought them back down. Jerry even had a smile on his face, which surprised me!

However the police were called and you can see how humble these guys were when surrounded by the authorities!
There was one other incident that night of a drunken girl claiming she needed to go get her friend's dog and walk it. Her friend supposedly lived on the 13th floor...Ok, but there wasn't one. Drunken people don't make the best decisions!
But it sure was fun to watch!


So for those of you who are chastised by friends or family regarding your interest in PE or JD or CB or whomever, CARRY ON! We sure need plenty of energy to get us through the next year when Public Enemies is finally released!

Sorry for the long post today, but I've been M.I.A. lately...hope you made it through!

Here's the video of the meet and greet in Milwaukee. http://tinyurl.com/43vaza
Note about 2 min. in that a guy runs by and yells, "Holy shit"! I guess he didn't bank on seeing JD on his morning run. Also note how quiet and calm the crowd was. JD was so intent on giving each of us a bit of his time. He only did one autograph, and that was the little girl. At the end, he gets a pic with her and he's playing with her hair... Jerry was intent on only ONE AUTOGRAPH! Please forgive the poor video quality. I was wrangling both cameras! Enjoy!

First Tball game

Ok, quick funny story about the t-ball game and then we're off to Great America.
*(Again, as I cross the state line, I will be pondering...Do I go find JD or do I just go spend the day on rides with my kid...another moral dilemma! Hmph!)

Ty is a lefty. Once the coach figured that out, he hit the ball into the field instead of the backstop! He ran halfway to first with the bat and then had a great big smile on his face. (Mom's chest puffs up with pride!)
So his buddy hits after him, and since he's the last hitter, he gets to "bring 'em all home".

As Ty approaches the home plate, he slides! How hilarious! (Note foot in the air in lefthand corner and his buddy laughing on the way home!

It was the most chaotic semi-organized game you ever saw, and not to discredit the coaches...they were doing all they could! But overall, it was darn cute and a great time
was had by all!

Moral Dilemmas

Tonight is my son's first T-ball game. (ok, actually it was last Wed. but I was too busy watching PE in Milwaukee and stalking JD to remember!! OUCH! I'm a horrible mom!) Anyhow, I signed him up for the lowest level possible. I have some friends whose kids have been playing "catch" since they were in the uterus, but playing baseball with him was something I had never ventured. Am I horrible? Shouldn't he know the game? He even said to me that he was worried that he doesn't know how to play. How sad is it that by the age of 6, we have realized that others judge us by our inadequacies!

The coach called last night to give me directions to the park so I asked if there would be instruction. Coach reassured me that there were itty bittys on the team age 4 and 5, so my son should be ok.

My question with all of this is, why do I feel so stressed that my son will look stupid on the field? Should I spend the next few hours cramming the rules for Doubleday's invention? Should I just send him out with no net and see if he can swim? Tyler is my one and only; I will not have any more children. There's a lot of pressure to not screw things up the only time around! My mom had four daughters. By the time she got to me, the baby, she knew what to do...

Or did she? I recall in middle school, talking to a friend I had grown up with. She said, "Do you remember playing little league?" She and I were the only two girls in the whole crew. I answered that I had remembered and she asked me "Why did you always wear flip-flops to the games? I could never understand that. I think that's why you were always in right field." OMG! I am such a dork! I did! I did wear flip-flops! And I did play right field! What was I thinking? What was Mom thinking, sending me that way? I guess Mom didn't really do things perfectly, even the fourth time around!

So there's my answer...I will send my boy off to his first t-ball game, fully dressed in proper attire, and let nature take its course...Heck, I have solace knowing that he'll have some fond memory to share with his buddies some day. Wish us luck!

So....this is blogging, huh?

I finally did it. I started my blog. Lately, I have been totally hooked on reading about the lives of others and what they are interested in. So I thought, "Why not?". I came up with several reasons why not, so I did it any how. Kinda the story of my life. I want to first thank Monkey Girl who started me on the idea of reading blogs, and 'jonesin' for the next story, article, or hilarious post. Then, she gave up blogging for guitar lessons and knitting school...so much for that. I was lost!

Then came the filming of "Public Enemies" in Wisconsin. I became intrigued with Grinder's Public Enemies in Columbus blog and to this day, read it and about five others religiously. You could say I was a gawker for some time, not wanting to post. But then I did, and waited to be "included" or "blogged to". At times I even had "poor blog esteem", posting and getting no response. You know, like not being acknowledged by the cool kids in school. It hurt. I have things to say. I would say them too. Then I realized, there is no inflection in blogging..."did she really mean that?" people might ask. CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND SARCASM??? So once I got over the fact that sometimes people may err in blogging, I knew it was for me! ha ha. Actually, my most recently acquired friend through blogging, Vicky, has a great site and now that I have met her in person, I know that this blogging stuff is a great way to meet wonderful human beings!

Anyhow, so I was inspired. I don't know how long this will last, but as an educator, especially in English, I know writing is cathartic; I can share my thoughts with others and hopefully feel better about life...or so I hope!
So, it may not be stellar stuff, and don't judge my grammar... and I in turn will not judge yours! And let's have fun. Let's chat and enjoy cyberlife :)