With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy - I mean that if you are happy you will be good.
Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.
I enjoy paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.
2002-07-30 - 11:29 a.m.
It's now time for my annual memory test. I have to write about FRFF . I find it difficult enough to remember what happened the day before, let alone four days ago.
I woke up before my alarm on Thursday so I got an early start to pick up Lisa. I was leaving in rush hour and I didn't know how long the trip would be. I figured somewhere between one and two hours. I made it in 45 minutes so Lisa wasn't ready yet. The good thing is that there is no parking on her block between 9 AM and 11 AM on Thursdays so I was able to park right in front. That let me go in and help her carry her stuff out to my car. When I was in her apartment I realized that I had forgotten to pack my cooler. That meant the early start was totally negated since I had to go back to my house. This isn't as bad as it seems as it is on the way to FRFF though not along the best route. I was going to go that way anyway since there was an accident on the direct one.
The drive up there is always easy and it always is shorter than I remember. We got there at around Noon and they weren't letting people in yet. They always say that they won't let people in till two but they always let people in earlier. This year they didn't. While we were waiting around we found Shelly, Melissa and John, and the Kat family.
I wrote that yesterday and never got a chance to finish it. I'm glad. I am going to totally change the entry. A play by play is easy to write but it doesn't say what's important. Most of you were at FRFF so no the details anyway. For those who didn't you can read my Concert Calendar to find out who I saw. You know what I'm going to write anyway. Here's the readers digest version. DVN was funny. Maura Kennedy was really really cute. I saw the Nields for the one-millionth time without ever going out of my way to see them. EFO was energetic.
I'll write a bit more about the acts I don't see as often.
Billy Jonas is a genre unto himself. He's a weird looking guy who plays big plastic canisters and writes extempore songs about the truck emptying the porta-potty. I figured he'd be really off the wall in person but Kenny said he wasn't. Not like Eddie from EFO is.
Don't miss Zoë Lewis. She is something like Christine Lavin with lots of toys. Andy told me she was a big Doctor Who fan. I talked to her a bit about it. Too bad that wasn't the day I was wearing my Doctor Who shirt.
The Dave Carter tribute was very moving. I could see Tracy in the wings. At times she seemed like she was praying, at other times crying, and at others she had a big smile on her face. Playing Dave's songs was the best eulogy he could have.
As expected the Beatles tribute was a big hit. The tributes are always so popular; they really should be on the main stage. This year they didn't program anything against it. That helped. Last year far more people went to the Dylan tribute than to see a certain Persian Cowboy on the main stage.
There were more bluegrass artists than usual this year. I really loved Rhonda Vincent & the Rage. Some people thought there was too much. I like the variety. I wish they had some traditional folk. The Mammals would rock at FRFF.
Last night in bed this entry was writing itself. Where did it go? I wanted to write about how FRFF made me feel Stacey did a really good job of that.
I spend far less time having insecurity attacks than I ever had at FRFF. I just had a few bad moments. It's hard for me to judge but I think I was even more hyper than usual. I know I told everyone my childhood theory of sex. I was pretty much bouncing off the walls of the Budgiedome.
The social aspects of FRFF as are important as the music. I love waking up in the morning and going to the Budgiedome and knowing I'll have somebody cool to talk to. People like Carey and Lawrence who I speak to every day; people like Lori and Steve, who I see a few times a year; and people like Tracy who I only see at FRFF.
I love going down to downstairs camp Früvous every day after I put my tarps down to talk to Jill, Kat, Shelly and its other denizens.
I loved getting to meet Stacey for the first time. She was even cooler in person than she is online. She really does remind me of Carey. She is a total Us.
I didn't feel as left out during the sing-alongs as usual. Playing the shaker egg helped. I'd sell my soul for some musical talent. Of course without a soul I don't think I'd enjoy the music.
I actually was awake for some of the pros coming to the Budgiedome this year. I wasn't going to miss David Morreale aka Fake Neal. Carey and I met him at SMAF and Carey invited him up to play. I ended up Emceeing the first part of the show. I introduced David then Russell Wolff.
David and I got to bond over baseball before the show. He is such a nice guy. I better not get too ebullient though, he has been known to read my diary and I don't want it to go to his head.
DVN was supposed to come up and play but they were too tired. Skippy came up to give their regrets. I never got to show Kenny that I wrote Hsuuuuuu in his honor on the Budgiedome; maybe next year.
While I remember I guess I should give the DVN name key. For reasons that I don't really understand we don't call the guys in DVN by their real names except for Storm who doesn't use his real name.
Gregory = StormSkippy = Paul
Kenny = Richard
Robbie aka Roberto Jose = Bernie aka Bernardo Jose
You really don't want to know the explanations. It will just make your head hurt.
One of the reasons I was more secure this FRFF was that I made sure to spend lots of time with Lisa this year. The walkie-talkies allowed us to coordinate our schedules even though we were camping separately. I didn't watch any of the shows by myself. I don't usually mind that but at FRFF I know so many people that it always hurts when I can't find someone to sit with.
Lisa and I have made a tradition of going to the Friday beginners Contra Dance. This year we were joined by Gella , John, and Drea. Next year I'll have to try and sell it some more. It is so much fun I'd love to have more of the gang there.
We left early on Sunday because I got afraid the car would be stuck up the hill if it rained too much. My fears were groundless but it let me get home at a decent hour.
So now it's over and I'm back at home. I love FRFF but there are always a few things I'm happy to get home to. Sleep and flush toilets are only appreciated when you don't have them.
I am reminded of an exchange from Lord of the Rings:
'Well here we are, just the four of us that started out together,' said Merry. 'We left all the rest behind, one after another. It seems almost like a dream that has slowly faded.''Not to me, ' said Frodo. 'To me it feels more like falling asleep again.'
The International Jewish Banking Conspiracy - October 07, 2008
On the Road to Westchester County - October 06, 2008
Inside the Madison Square Studio - October 05, 2008
I'm a Bosniac and I'm debating like I've never debated before - October 03, 2008
Islands in the Stream of Consciousness - October 02, 2008
Email me: GordonLew at gmail
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Horvendile 2002-07-30
