I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

2002-03-19 - 11:39 a.m.

My Life as a Fruhead

I almost forgot to change the beginning of this entry. I started it over the weekend and have covered that in other entries. Not much exciting has happened since my last entry. I have a cold now which isn't fun. It means I can't visit my father today, it isn't fair to him or anyone else there.

Perhaps I'll actually get around to putting on my new license plates today. I think I'm going to barbeque for dinner that will be a nice change of pace. So that about it. Not much else to write about.

This leaves me time to write a retrospective entry. I want to write a history of my Früfriends. I discovered Moxy Früvous the first time they came to States, back in 1994. Unfortunately I didn't get to actually seem them live till 1996. When I started going to shows I discovered that one of the best things about the shows was the fans. I always seemed to have quite a bit to talk about with the people around me. They were intelligent, funny, and had similar interests. I didn't make any real friends though. I'd meet someone at a show then never see them again. A few people reached out to me that I still see though. The first was Jen I don't remember which show we met at. She says she wasn't at the show that I thought at the Bowery Ballroom. Soon after meeting her I met Kim and Kris at the SONO Music and Arts Festival. They are the ones that got me to hang out after the shows and meet the Frülads. I now realize that the first time I did was unusual. It was at SONO and I went over to talk to Jian and he was all alone. No one else saw him standing there. That was always the best venue for talking to the guys in the band. There was never a crowd.

The first Frühead I met online was Lisa. I was new to AOL and one of the first things I did was to search profiles for Früvous. I found Lisa's and saw that she was also loved Rubik's cube. That was enough to let me know that I wanted to be her friend. Actually I think I proposed the first time we talked. My friendship with Lisa took a serpentine path though. After talking online for a while I asked her on a date. She said that she couldn't make it but then ask me to meet her the next night. When I got there she was with a date. We had a massive failure to communicate. This made our relationship awkward for years She was someone I'd see at shows but not someone I'd arrange to meet anywhere. Over the years we got closer though and we got close enough that we drove up to the Früvous New Year's shows in Buffalo December 31, 1999. There were a few rocky moments after that but she has pretty much been one of my best friends since then. She is my official road trip companion; we go to Frücon and FRFF together.


At the Katonah show I met Lori and Steve. I know I'll see them every year at the wonderful Camp Früvous, which they organize and build. This is a photo of Camp Lori-Steve 1999. They are both in it as are Kim and Kris. Now of course we live in the luxurious Budgiedome but this is how we roughed it back then. That was the first time that I socialized for an extended period with other Früheads. It is where I really started to feel part of the community even though I had been going to shows since 1995 or 1996.

At 5 AM Saturday morning I met Kat, who meekly asked me if I minded if she put her towel down next to the giant tarp I had laid down for the Früheads. I of course said she was welcome. Later that day I met Jill, her mother. I've been friends with them both ever since. In December of 1999 I went to the Westbeth shows. There I met a number of people two of whom I've stayed friends with, the Solomon siblings, Gella and Lawrence.















In January 2000, I got a new computer, a real one. Before that I was using a 486 and it was too slow to handle the Frühead.com Wall. I now became part of the Frühead online community. I met most of you who read this there. The first person that I met in real life from the wall was Carey. She was going with her choir to Ireland. Though they lived in Baltimore they were flying out of Newark Airport. That isn't that far from me so we arranged that I would meet her at the airport. It was a totally insane idea so of course we both loved it.












Soon after that I did another insane thing and went to Allentown, Pa via Baltimore. Carey needed a ride to the show and I got to see her choir perform in the bargain. This was the first time that I met Shelly. We've been the Batnose Brigade ever since.















The next time that the Batnose Brigade got together was the bigass Fr�party weekend. At the Appel Farm show I met two dear friends, Frances, and Leah. I really got close to Leah at the house party the next day. I had met both of them online before this but this was our first time meeting in person. Frances moved back to England soon after that so I've only seen her once since then.

Between the first two Batnose Brigade meetings was the debatable Toad's show. Shelly and Carey couldn't make it and they insist that it didn't even take place. That is where I first spent time with Marti. She was actually standing right near me at one of the Westbeth shows and I somehow managed to not notice her. Considering that she is a beautiful redhead that's pretty surprising. We met at the Irving Plaza show but this was the first time that spent serious time together. Marti was my bridge to the TMBG crowd. She lives in Stamford CT so she counts as a local friend.












At FRFF 2000 I met Neal for the first time. That was also the first time that he and Carey met in real life. I didn't actually see much of either of them there. They were somewhat preoccupied with other things J. Shelly had a surprise for us there, she brought the camera shy Jaci one of the original Shellywall crew. I think I met more friends between December 1999 and July 2000 than any other time of my life.














I'll now fast forward to Frücon 2001. That is where I first kissed the hands in the flesh of the Swoonable Renita and My Favorite Betsy. At Frücon 2000 I never had anyone to hang out with, in 2001 I had to schedule time so that I could see everyone. It is amazing what a difference a year made.












We are in the homestretch now. At the very last Früvous show I went to before they went into hibernation I met Heather. We had both gotten there way early and we spent the time waiting together. Even after making so many other friends it still surprised me that someone took such an instant liking to me. I think that she is the only person that became friends with from just meeting at one show. She just got married last year, this is her husband Jason with her in the picture. What is the thing that women who read my diary have for guys named Jason?

I'm not sure where I first met Melissa, she sort of crept up on me. She lives in New York and at some point she entered my consciousness. I know it was sometime after the last time I've seen Früvous. She lives in the City so she is one of the people I can just call and ask to do something on short notice.

So that's it. I have more friends that this but these are the people that I actually get to see and make plans with. It isn't true that I like all Früheads but I certainly like a disproportionate number of them. They are a fun bunch.


I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.





Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



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