Spring is here!
Although it doesn’t feel like it right now. As the weather warms (and cools) and I
prepare for a fun summer, I am reminded of the fun I had LAST summer that I
neglected to share on my blog. I wrote
it, but never posted it. Here goes.
One of my co-workers, Barb, designated the summer of
2016 as her “Summer of People.” As a
wife and mom, she spends most her time taking care of her family. While she loves them dearly, but she doesn’t
always have time to do fun stuff on her own.
Earlier in the year we found out James Taylor (with
Jackson Browne) was going to perform at Wrigley Field June 30 and we got
tickets, along with her two sisters, her mom and a friend from high
school. Her sister decided to have a
family reunion that weekend, which then turned into another concert (for Barb)
to see Dave Matthews at Alpine, which turned into her family and another family
having a vacation in Wisconsin the week after that.
A couple other opportunities also popped up for her,
continuing the Summer of People theme. I
was happy to jump on board for part of it.
I followed Barb and her mom to Libertyville, Illinois June
30, met her sisters and then hopped on the bus with Johnny, our driver, headed
to Wrigleyville. Two hours later we
arrived and all I can say is thank goodness for field seats! We bypassed the long lines and got in our
seats by Jackson Browne’s second song.
Whew!
It was a beautiful night with beautiful music. What a setting! James usually sings “Shed A Little Light” at
his concerts, but this time it held a different tone, with all the mass
shootings and terror attacks around the world.
My friends Keith and Denise picked me up Friday
morning and we headed to Milwaukee for Summerfest. More music and more people!
Last year was Summerfest’s 49th year. It’s a huge event - I was there for two of
the 10 days. It’s like a giant fair
along Lake Michigan, complete with permanent food and music structures. Most of the bands that play during the day
are cover bands, with more “known” people playing in the evening. Then there are the bigger names who play at
another amphitheater for an additional ticket cost. We stuck with the regular lineups and saw The
Commodores Thursday night (foregoing Richard Marx and Taylor Dayne). Friday we saw Blue Oyster Cult in the late
afternoon and topped it off with Billy Idol at night. Billy #$@#^& Idol! (That’s how he introduced himself at the end
of the show.) At 60 he still rocks.
I even got a little shopping in with Denise to break
up the musical day. Milwaukee is a fun
city with a nice canal area.
My only regret is that I missed the BoDeans (with
Kenny Aronoff!) Sunday night. We left
Sunday morning around 10:15 a.m. and I later saw on Twitter they had a sound
check at 10 a.m. Agh! I had to be back
Sunday night and my only consolation was that I saw the PERFECT BoDeans show
last summer at the Rathskeller. (Post
No. 399)
Sunday night was a belated birthday dinner for Krista
with a group of our pals. A great way to
close out the weekend.
Sometimes I can be a bit of a homebody, wanting to get
things done around the house. I must
admit that before this trip I had thoughts of how much I could get done with
three days off – painting chairs, cleaning this and that. I finally told myself I could do that any
weekend and this was the weekend of people and music! I had a blast! I got to hang out with current friends and
make some new ones. Then I got home and
found that the weather in Indy had been rainy and cold. Ha!
Summer of people wins!
Here’s to the upcoming summer of MORE people and MORE
fun!
