THURSDAY, AUGUST 7 -- ALIVE @ FIVE

We had gone to the previous Thursday's, Alive @ Five concert in Columbus park in Stamford. We had a good time, enjoyed the music (somewhat), had a burger and some chips, and of course a couple of beers. We also stood around for two or three hours. Bill wanted to go in to this last concert of the season. Boyz II Men was the group. Never heard of them myself, but what do I know.

The 'twenty-four hour without incident' mark was passed. No more TIA episodes and I was feeling like my regular normal self. I went in to work my regularly scheduled Thursday afternoon. I agreed to go to the concert but wanted to take the chairs this time. Bill said he would pick up something to eat at Costco and we'd take the picnic basket.

When I got in from work shortly after five, Bill was getting the picnic basket ready and we were soon off to Stamford. We found one of the last places to park on a side street off Washington Boulevard and walked a block and a half to Columbus Park. There seemed to be a LOT of people. There WERE a lot of people. We got checked in and tried to make our way to the grassy area. This took some maneuvering as there were so many people and not very much pass through space. We did, however, manage to not hit too many people with our chairs and basket, but it wasn't easy. It was tight. Not like the last Thursday when there was plenty of space to walk around from one side of the park to the other.

We found a teenie, weenie patch of grass and set up our chairs. The warm up group was playing. They were not bad. (Just not my music.) We were surrounded on one side by other chairs packed in tightly together and on the other by standees. Everyone was conversing over the music. It was very loud. We ate our supper. People flowing past all the time ABOVE MY HEAD. Really a LOT of people.

The warm up group finished up. The Boyz came on to much screaming and jumping up and down and the base notes vibrated the ground. The music(?) started. Everyone seemed to know all the lyrics and jumped up and down shouting them loudly. I think part of the jumping was so they could see the group over the heads of those in front of them.

A little girl behind us wanted to see. Bill put her up on his shoulders and carried her forward so that she could see the group. I was very nervous about this. The mother seemed a little nervous too after some minutes had passed and they were not back. But eventually Bill brought her back and she was thrilled with the experience.

Meanwhile the crowd was getting louder and tighter and more vociferous. I was getting very jittery. I took as much as I could and then told Bill that we had to leave. We packed up our chairs and started for the gate. HA! Fat chance. We could barely move. We literally pushed our way between the standing crowd. Forcing our way actually. LOTS and LOTS of people. When we finally got to the exit area there were streams of people trying to get in. There were twice as many policemen as when we had arrived. And they were nervous.

I was glad to get away and across the street where there were more people enjoying the music but it wasn't that crowded. I was still feeling panicky as we made our way back to the car. And then getting out onto Washington Boulevard was difficult -- bumper to bumper cars coming and going. Part of the boulevard had to be closed off to traffic coming toward Columbus Park. It was the biggest crowd of all the Alive @ Five concerts and they are rethinking next season. As well they should.

And so the second adventure of the week ended without disaster. On to the wedding.......

AMERICAN PIE

We have just returned from the Don McLean concert in Stamford. This is the last Alive at Five Concert for the summer. Bill and I had half a CostCo spinach salad each that we ate after we had settled in at Columbus Park.

I took a book and read for a while. Watched as people gathered. Families with young children, the young twenties bunch, teen agers, boomers, and then the sixties crowd, and older even. As time went on the young children became restless and began tossing around their freebie plastic balls and squealing and falling all over one another and their parents and anyone else nearby. I watched one ignored four year old pour Sprite and Heiniken from one can to another and then another and then drink the mix. A group of five or six twenty somethings were sitting around on the grass in a circle smoking gross, fat cigars. YUK!! Young couples, singles, parents became more animated in their conversation. And the decibels increased. Finally, it was a strain to even hear the music -- the beat, yes, but not the lyrics.

Too much noise and too many people. I began to feel a little panicky. And then AMERICAN PIE. This caught the attention of most of the crowd who sang the lyrics and gyrated to the beat. Bill said that we could go. And that was fine with me as long as it didn't take away anything from his enjoyment of the concert. Hey, he said, I listen to this stuff all day long (ITunes) I don't need to stay.

They were singing American Pie as we folded up our chairs, while we struggled our way through the crowd, and all the way down to the car. The walk to the car away from the loudness and the throng of so many bodies was calming. The drive home was further calming. Being home in the quiet is peaceful and wonderful.