C's still out with her friends camping (I couldn't go, I had to work today) and seems to be coming home tomorrow..... so I went with mom and her boyfriend to the Marketplace, which was holding an event to raise funds for Red Cross disaster relief for those back East.
I got the message when I came home from work that they were there, and to come find them.
They are asking me to find them, at an event that started at 11 this morning..... at 6:30PM.
*dry look*
I mean, I figured what the hell, it's a family event, for a good cause, and I really liked some of the bands..... it would be worth the effort.
So after 10 minutes of trying to find a parking space (passed mom's car twice), saying fuckit, and parking the hell across the street (gotta love 4x4s and dirt lots, why I didn't do it earlier, I don't know), I spend another 20 minutes attempting to find them in a throng of hundreds (I'm talking upper half if not three-quarters of hundreds) of people. The center court was PACKED with lawnchairs and blankets, people were sitting on every imaginable brick planter, spilled off onto the aisleways to the stores.....
My mother is not the tallest person.
And I knew they had brought lawnchairs, meaning they were sitting amongst the greater population of B-town.
*another dry look goes here*
Even if she saw me and began waving to catch my attention.... well, that was moot *laughs* EVERYBODY was waving something
Dozens of entertainers on this insanely big stage (and after renting just two trees of lights for about $300 for Rocky, can tell you how expensive this donation was, as the stage was about 50 foot by 20 foot, complete with arena type concert lights and a 50 by whatever foot American Flag as a backdrop and 5 speakers on each side that were taller than me.... and I'm not the shortest person.... AND another even bigger flag suspended between two firetruck ladders above the top of the stage) everything from Jazz to Country to Steel Drum Bands..... church choirs.....
Made it for the last three bands, some guy and the Sultans of Swing...... an inspirational group from one of the local churches (which was..... tolerable, good if I didn't listen to the words, but sadly mic'd wrong on who they gave the strongest mic).... and Mento Buru, a reggae type group that I've known of since high school that fucking ROCK.
Ran into one of the people C is camping with's littlest sisters, so hung out with her a bit (the world keeps getting smaller, just read on). Of course, by the time we realize this and go to head up front and enjoy 'Buru.... it's the last song *chuckles* So we stay up there for the finale..... basically a thank you to all the volunteers that have been setting it up since 6am who were brought onto stage, the donators, etc, etc.... a candle lighting vigil ceremony type thing..... Amazing Grace (on bagpipes, of course), the colorguard, the pledge, and a barbershop quartet singing the Star Spangled Banner (which was just SWEET).
Ended up shocking a few people from the vigil part on *chuckles*
You see, we didn't have candle. So as the "people by the stage, we need you to step back about ten paces, we need the room up here..... so get close to your neighbors, friends, introduce yourselves".... we took it seriously and started introducing ourselves *chuckles* (clarification: he and the chick, not the inner 'we' *L*). Anyway, this lady next to us notices this lack of candle-ation, and offers some extras she brought. After introductions (and as I'm breaking the 12" tapers into smaller pieces to hand out to others) she finds that from where I work, etc, that her daughter knows me from high school, and I was like 'yes! why, you're right!'..... (they all ran into me while I was at the zoo one day a couple weeks ago). Her daughter (and son, but I didn't know him) ended up being one of the volunteers, too *L* So, as the world gets smaller, we all light up these candles.
Now, when you have vigils, they provide little paper saucers to catch the drips.
We had no such saucer, but had two of the pieces held up HIGH (never do something halfway, dammit)..... it ended up quite the artistic statement as the red wax dripped down over my hand and arm. Have this wonderful wax cast of my inner fist *L*
And BOY did that shock a lot of people. The husband of this family takes pictures and sometimes uses them in the paper, so who knows, my hand may be famous.... as he took quite a few shots.
That's the evening in a nutshell.
The fireworks were incredible.
They raised over 55 thousand dollars....... before asking all the people to check their pockets, and got a hold of that change? See that fountain? THROW IT IN!
And the silver rained.......
Sounds wonderful! I wish I had been there! [~ds]