Don't Mess with My Memories
In April of last year, Joe and I went to the Todd Rundrun concert held in downtown Lexington at the renown Kentucky Threatre. Named the troubadour Series, they bring exceptionally wonderful talent to a small intimate venue.
I loved Todd as a kid. My first double album was Something Anything. I played it till the black vinyl was gray. Over and over on my dinky little portable record player alone in my room. I knew all the works to all the songs. My favorite was "I love you best". It was that one particular song I longer to hear. I knew it would take me back to that small little room, with the pink walls and burgany wine color carpet, with Beatle posters on the wall, and most my clothes on the floor. I wanted to close my eyes and look out the window of that second story room into the tree tops of my youth. I wanted to step into that time machine with Todd at the controls.
While in line with about 200 other nostaglic baby boomer aging hippie now turned grand parents with grey hair replacing the freak flags, I felt someone's eyes on me. Turning, I found myself looking at a person who I went through prison with, though our parents called it a Catholic High School. We caught up on the years since out last high school reunion and purchased tickets next to each other, which were ten rows back from the stage.
I couldn't wait! Finally the evening came. The thearte was packed. We settled into our seats and the show began on time without a warm up band. Who needed to warm us up! We sang along with all the songs along with Todd and were having a grand time.
I began to panic, as the show was long and he had yet to sing, "I love you best". I poked Joe and said, "Have I missed something". And Joe replied back to me, "I wish he would do his hard rock stuff!"
It was then that Todd put down the guitar, walked away from the piano and brought out a drum machine and a ukala.
He began to play "I don't want to work" which is my antheum anymore. I was still happy and still waiting for "I love you best". Suddenly, I thought I recognized it....oh no! He was singing it accompanying himself with the ukelelu! He was making fun of it! Styliaing it as a parody of the wonderful song. I could not help it, I began to cry.
Joe, or course, thought it was hilarious.
leaving the thearte with Joe and my high school friend, we encountered another High School class membe sitting right behind us!
"What did you think?"
"He was great." Joe replied.
"Did you think "I love you best" was...."
"That was the best one!!"
Damn. Am I the only one who loved that pop icon? Instead of being carried back to my youth, I had my memories disfigured!
The reason I bring this up is that I go to very few concerts anymore. I have seen the Rolling Stones one too many times, the Beatles will never tour again. But, I have been knocked out by the sound of the SAW DOCTORS, a Irish band (natch) that is going to be playing in Dublin, Ohio at the Irish Festival.
Since discovering them, I have about memorized the entire Live In Galway album (CD)....They better not try anything funny.....
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Friday, July 23, 2004
The past ten days have been tied to the Blue Grass fair. Every year this event arrives and I am required to manager it, be responsible for its success. Because it will not fail! It is a mess and getting better every year. I still ad it. When May rolls around the little voice in the back of my head begins to whisper, "It's almost July....Almost July....Almost July".
Things are much better. The first year I was in "charge" I wa brand new at this job, my boss was brand new, the account manager I replaced had been promoted to another sales center. It was if I was on my own. They did give me the "boy". I have to call him Brian. Brian was a University of Kentucky college student who worked for my company in a Campus Rep capacity. He needed a summer job, and we used him shamelessly.
He was (and still is) a good kid. He was a fifth year senior, an only child, mature beyond his years, responsible and a great companion. He was given to me with these instructions, "Use him to help with the Fair, and teach him something." I'm not sure I taught him much of anything, but we had a great time together that summer. I began to think of him as the son I never had. Be it a bet friend, get into trouble with, son, but son all the same.
The first thing we did with the Fair was to meet every one and take their orders for our product then load it on to the Pup Truck (a small kind you can use without a CDL) deliver it to the Fair people concessions, look for the concessionaire for payment. This is July, it is 90+ degress everyday, and the Carnies realize we are Newbies and have not a clue what we are doing.
They abused us, refused to pay, told us our prices were too high, had us running ragged and loving every minute of it. We worked from 7am until 8pm some nights. Brian had the money. He began to look like a Carnie when he would pull the huge wad of money from his shirt and begin to give change or add to the stash.
In addition to the Fair, I was also in charge of the Cincinnati Bengal Training Camp in Georgetown. So I had two huge events happening simuntaneoulsy and not a clue about either of them. But I did have Brian, and we got through it somehow. Barely.
Saturday afternoon we met and delivered our "much needed and much loved" product to the Fair. We were driving around the circle doing our thing of dropping off the product and trying to find someone to pay us. We were paged from the Bengal Camp...Frantically! The key to unlock the truck we had dropped there (delivering product on a daily basis was too costlyl, dropping a trailer was more cost effective) was LOST.
Mary and Brian to the rescue! But, taking that right turn out of the Fair, we got way too close to the gate and I clipped it...Clipped it good.
Now I'm still pretty new at this job. I did not know that I was required to immediately report myself as having an addident to my supervisor so I can immediately be drug tested (one of the idiocentiries of working with the DOT). Instead, we continued on our mission to resolve the problem in G-town.
The next day we found ourselves in Cincinnati at Kings Island having the yearly family outing the company throws. I was sitting in the Beer Garden with my immediate supervisor and I causally mention, "Oh by the way, I wrecked the van at the Fair yesterday". He spit beer across the table and nearly got Joe in the face.
"You WHAT!!!!!!"
Monday morning Brian and I were seated in separate rooms and made to give our depositions on the accident as to not hear what the other was saying. We must have come up with the same story. The biggest concern was that they felt I was taking the rap for Brian, as they felt as a college student, he did not want to take the drug teat for obvious reasons. One of them being, maybe he did not have time to "study for it".
There is more to this story, that involves breaking the law so I will not go into it. HA HA.
Brian and I were separated for the rest of his tenure at the company, which was another three years! Every so often we would work it so that he would accompany me, help me out. When ever we were seen together people would feigh maock horror.
We loved it!
The Fair has always been a hassle. It is hard to believe that this fair is the seventh fair I have over seen. It is run much more smoothly that that first frantic summer. But it never has been as much fun since.
Things are much better. The first year I was in "charge" I wa brand new at this job, my boss was brand new, the account manager I replaced had been promoted to another sales center. It was if I was on my own. They did give me the "boy". I have to call him Brian. Brian was a University of Kentucky college student who worked for my company in a Campus Rep capacity. He needed a summer job, and we used him shamelessly.
He was (and still is) a good kid. He was a fifth year senior, an only child, mature beyond his years, responsible and a great companion. He was given to me with these instructions, "Use him to help with the Fair, and teach him something." I'm not sure I taught him much of anything, but we had a great time together that summer. I began to think of him as the son I never had. Be it a bet friend, get into trouble with, son, but son all the same.
The first thing we did with the Fair was to meet every one and take their orders for our product then load it on to the Pup Truck (a small kind you can use without a CDL) deliver it to the Fair people concessions, look for the concessionaire for payment. This is July, it is 90+ degress everyday, and the Carnies realize we are Newbies and have not a clue what we are doing.
They abused us, refused to pay, told us our prices were too high, had us running ragged and loving every minute of it. We worked from 7am until 8pm some nights. Brian had the money. He began to look like a Carnie when he would pull the huge wad of money from his shirt and begin to give change or add to the stash.
In addition to the Fair, I was also in charge of the Cincinnati Bengal Training Camp in Georgetown. So I had two huge events happening simuntaneoulsy and not a clue about either of them. But I did have Brian, and we got through it somehow. Barely.
Saturday afternoon we met and delivered our "much needed and much loved" product to the Fair. We were driving around the circle doing our thing of dropping off the product and trying to find someone to pay us. We were paged from the Bengal Camp...Frantically! The key to unlock the truck we had dropped there (delivering product on a daily basis was too costlyl, dropping a trailer was more cost effective) was LOST.
Mary and Brian to the rescue! But, taking that right turn out of the Fair, we got way too close to the gate and I clipped it...Clipped it good.
Now I'm still pretty new at this job. I did not know that I was required to immediately report myself as having an addident to my supervisor so I can immediately be drug tested (one of the idiocentiries of working with the DOT). Instead, we continued on our mission to resolve the problem in G-town.
The next day we found ourselves in Cincinnati at Kings Island having the yearly family outing the company throws. I was sitting in the Beer Garden with my immediate supervisor and I causally mention, "Oh by the way, I wrecked the van at the Fair yesterday". He spit beer across the table and nearly got Joe in the face.
"You WHAT!!!!!!"
Monday morning Brian and I were seated in separate rooms and made to give our depositions on the accident as to not hear what the other was saying. We must have come up with the same story. The biggest concern was that they felt I was taking the rap for Brian, as they felt as a college student, he did not want to take the drug teat for obvious reasons. One of them being, maybe he did not have time to "study for it".
There is more to this story, that involves breaking the law so I will not go into it. HA HA.
Brian and I were separated for the rest of his tenure at the company, which was another three years! Every so often we would work it so that he would accompany me, help me out. When ever we were seen together people would feigh maock horror.
We loved it!
The Fair has always been a hassle. It is hard to believe that this fair is the seventh fair I have over seen. It is run much more smoothly that that first frantic summer. But it never has been as much fun since.
AOL STAR
Since the last time I was here I was given the coveted title of Editors Pick #1 on AOL Journals! I was totally blown away. I was approached asking if I would submit a picture of myself as consent to be considered for the Editors Pick. So, I did, as I did also in late October. This time I was given a confirmation of my photo! Could it be that in the fall my photo did not make it? And all that ranting and raving about how unfair the editors were and how they picked such trash (i.e., not mine) for the Top Five....yikes. I apologize AOL.
Alphawoman was in the spotlight for a week, then I was included on the Journal Page for another week. This is the third and final week to be included in the spot light. Then it is back to obscurity. I am not really all that.....all that popular, all that read, all that a member of the demographic that dominates the journals. And that does not bother me. I felt under pressure to write daily, to be good daily! I posted a lot of Ireland pictures and came up with my current theme of Summer Memories. I would not like to be under that type of pressure to perform all the time. I would crack.
Joe was not impressed. He was a little leary that I might be blogging about him. Granted, there is a mountain of material there, but I have the decency to leave him mostly out of it. He is a main character, but not as he thinks. I would never shine the light on him and reveal him as the lunatic he actually is. HA.
Just thought I'd blown my own horn here.
Since the last time I was here I was given the coveted title of Editors Pick #1 on AOL Journals! I was totally blown away. I was approached asking if I would submit a picture of myself as consent to be considered for the Editors Pick. So, I did, as I did also in late October. This time I was given a confirmation of my photo! Could it be that in the fall my photo did not make it? And all that ranting and raving about how unfair the editors were and how they picked such trash (i.e., not mine) for the Top Five....yikes. I apologize AOL.
Alphawoman was in the spotlight for a week, then I was included on the Journal Page for another week. This is the third and final week to be included in the spot light. Then it is back to obscurity. I am not really all that.....all that popular, all that read, all that a member of the demographic that dominates the journals. And that does not bother me. I felt under pressure to write daily, to be good daily! I posted a lot of Ireland pictures and came up with my current theme of Summer Memories. I would not like to be under that type of pressure to perform all the time. I would crack.
Joe was not impressed. He was a little leary that I might be blogging about him. Granted, there is a mountain of material there, but I have the decency to leave him mostly out of it. He is a main character, but not as he thinks. I would never shine the light on him and reveal him as the lunatic he actually is. HA.
Just thought I'd blown my own horn here.
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