Remembering Mary

I was born in 1962 and grew up listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary. Tonight I heard that Mary died 3 days ago. She lost her fight against leukemia, apparently dying of complications due to chemotherapy treatment.

Tonight I want to say a prayer in rememberance. She was an amazing person, an activist, and a woman with an incredible voice. I don’t think I need to include the lyrics this time.

“Whatever happens…

I’ll leave it all to chance.” As if I really have a choice! Yet I have the choice to consciously let go. For me, that is freedom.

September has a little of everything — today the sun peeked through for a brief interlude, but has since disappeared among the dark hazy mid-afternoon skies. It’s cold out, and I have no appointments, so it’s a stay-at-home-and-cook-what’s-in-the-fridge kind of day. I cooked some dinkel (a kind of wheat), and found the slightly mouldy zucchini I bought last week. Sorry I had to throw it out. Luckily, there was also some zucchini I bought the other day. So, I cut that up, along with a small onion and a red pepper, and simmered it all in some olive oil and soy sauce for a while, mixed it with the dinkel and… Delicious!

Since I’m home alone today, I decided to break the rules a bit and walk past the dining table. Instead I settled down to my computer for some visual musical accompaniment for my meal. Visions of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” were floating in my head, but intuitively I opted for the following song. It includes that most appropriate line I used to open this post, and really suits my mood the past few days. Enjoy! May it bring you some sunshine if your day is as grey outside as it is here.

Perfect day for a concert

My girlfriend came over late morning and off we drove to Switzerland. Traffic was a bit heavy, as it usually is on Saturday, but we got there with no major delay. I wanted to get there early enough to park in a place I’d remember and get my bearings. That worked out perfectly. (I have this somewhat justified fear of not being able to find my car in a large parking lot.)

After walking up the hill in back of the stage to get an overview, we walked back down and waited for the gates to open. We were among the first guests. It was fun to sit and talk, eat, have a couple of beers (only 2, since I knew I had to drive home later), and watch people arrive. (I am really a wine drinker, but with this group, beer is the main beverage!) It was a steady stream of people and quite fascinating to see them all. A lot of outsiders — which made me wonder what they do in the “real” world. I’ll bet there’s lots of interesting stories to tell.

Four or five bands played to get the crowd warmed up. Some we enjoyed more than others. Somewhere around 9 pm, it was finally time for Die Toten Hosen. We moved a bit forward into the crowd to get a better view. It was great. The band is in good shape, the mood was right, and the weather was good, too — a little on the cool side — better than the sweltering heat of the past few days.

They played a mix of old and new, and Campino (the lead singer) made various comments, which added to the fun. At one point, he remarked that one group of fans and their flag has accompanied them for several kilometers and concerts, and thanked them. I found the acknowledgement really nice.

Then he joked that it was great how we all sang along — so it wasn’t as easily noticeable when he forgot the lyrics, since we know the songs better than he does. He looked down at the crowd in front, then invited a young woman up on stage to sing the song! A fan’s dream come true! She went up, sang, had fun, and we all applauded — sharing her happiness.

Right at the beginning he had thanked the crowd for helping each other out — and picking each other up, in case someone should fall down. That alone brought an already peaceful audience even more together. He has a wonderful way of talking — true communication with the audience.

They played a mix of old and new, lots of favorites, and despite two encores it was over much too soon. Afterwards we decided to have something to drink (non-alcoholic, of course) and wait for the crowd to disperse a bit. When we walked to the parking lot a half-hour or so later, it was still very stop and go, with more stop than go.

Even that was almost harmonious. Various cars had music turned up, and there was a lot of singing and laughter. The security was very efficient — it was well orchestrated. And there was a peaceful discipline among the drivers, so that everyone eventually got out of there. It took maybe 40 minutes to leave the parking lot, but it was okay.

We got home around 2 am, had a night cap, talked a bit more, and fell into bed around 3. It was a wonderful night! I thank everyone who was there — each person contributed to make it a memorable event.

Everything comes back to you, it never fades away.
The poison keeps running through your veins.
A ripple goes around the world and comes back as a wave.
You’ll be judged by every word you say.
Most people have to struggle to keep their sanity,
no one needs your negativity.
Why do you always criticize and tell those selfish lies?
Do you feel better for it – what’s the deal?
How do you feel?
Two can play at your game if you wanna mess with me.
I’ll take you fucking on and you will see
just how it feels when I decide to kick somebody down
and leave them sprawling on the ground!
How do you feel?
How do you feel?
If you think it’s worth it,
try to mess with me,
come on I’ll take you on and you will see!
Everything comes back to you,
everything comes round.
Which of us is on the solid ground?
The inciter, the fighter, the neutral or the weak,
the one who always turns the other cheek.
How do you feel?