BUNNIES IN THE MUD

The trip was timed to coincide with my attending the third and final day of the All Points West Music Festival, an all day music extravaganza at Liberty State Park on the New Jersey side of the Hudson, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. It was pouring rain when I got to Battery Park to catch water taxi across the river, gray clouds showing no sign of letting up.

Combat deaths are down
But casualties still mount
Suicide rates rise

Alone in the dark
Prison of isolation
She's thrown out her key

Entry into the festival was delayed due to weather, canceling several of the early afternoon performances. But it cleared up by mid afternoon and the gates were opened. The pile of people pushing to get in was good because security failed to do a careful check of those entering, allowing me to slip in my canteen of tequila.

The rain both that morning and over the last several days turned the festival grounds into a swamp, mud and pools of standing water everywhere. I went straight for the main stage to find a place right up front. Once the music started, it was common to see people dancing in pools of water, caked in mud. Since I was intent on staking out a place before the stage for the whole show with no bathroom breaks allowed, I relied exclusively on my canteen to keep me "hydrated."

Afterburners on

He's going supersonic

Leaving Earth's orbit

Five, four, three, two, one

Countdown to oblivion

His turbulent ride

Four performances on the main stage, the one I came for being the Liverpool band Echo & The Bunnymen, act three. By then the sun was setting and the view of the Manhattan skyline above the sea of faces was phenomenal. The Statue of Liberty’s golden torch was also lit up with last rays of reflected sunlight. But it was the music on stage that I was there for, one great performance after the other. I was on my way to heaven by the time The Bunnymen took the stage and I heard the first sounds from Will Sergeant’s guitar and Ian McCulloch voice when they began the set with "Lips Like Sugar". The draining canteen ensured a rapid stratospheric ascent, releasing me from the bonds of reality. People all around were jostling and dancing in the mud on this warm and humid summer evening, grooving on the music. Cold Play closed the festival with a nearly two hour performance, their song "Yellow" accompanied by the release of large yellow balloons into the audience. After five and a half hours of standing before the stage, it all came to an end, the crowds turning and finding their way home.

Eyes looking outward

To the distant horizon

Thoughts looking inward

I brought with me a copy of The Bummymen's 1979 "Pictures" single, their very first record, only 4000 of which were pressed with "The Revenge of Voodoo Billie" scratched on the run-out groove. After waving it in the air for a few songs, I threw it on stage. All I remember was the guy next to me saying "Good shot". With an address included in the plastic sleeve, I was hoping it would be mailed back with a pair of autographs. Crazy notion.

Fortunately a friend who lives upstate acted as my designated driver, fearing what would happen if I took the ferry back and was dropped off in Manhattan in my state of mind. He arrived later in the afternoon when I was already holed up in front of the stage, meeting him only after the show came to an end. We drove back to his home in Poughkeepsie where I spent the following day catching up on the events of our lives.

Listening to the Bunnymen’s performance on YouTube the following day caused me to ask "Is this the same concert I went to?" I’ve since downloaded an excellent quality soundboard recording of their show, confirming that Ian’s performance was not one of his best. But that did not matter. Ian sounded so sweet to me that evening because of the excitement of the live performance, my love of the band and the golden glow of the alcohol. One Saturday night in the coming months I will pop their bootleg recording in the CD player, put on the headphones, cigar in one hand with a flask in the other, and relive the wonderful experience of that warm summer evening.

A LAND THAT IS MY SECRET

The trip to Long Island, New York began on the 25th, the start of a two week vacation with my two kids, to visit friends and family, enjoy the beach and food that can only be found in that corner of the world (Carvel soft ice cream and New York style pizza!). The choice of when to go was determined by the performance of Echo & The Bunnymen at the All Points West Festival scheduled for August 2nd. I have to thank my sisters for their hospitality taking us in and caring for us from beginning to the end of our stay.

Although I love the mountain west, I grew up on Long Island and really miss the ocean, fond memories of hanging out on the beach being the lure calling me back. The sugary sand beaches. A watery wilderness that seems to be alive as endless rows of waves approach the shore. Riding the surf rolling in off of the Atlantic. First stop on the trip was a drive to Juliano's for pizza, spending sunset at the beach and getting my first taste of Carvel in a year. That was the pattern of life during much of this vacation.

One of my goals this vacation was a 3 day hike down a 21 mile stretch of Fire Island with the kids and one of my sisters. The first half of this journey was past several towns serviced only by ferries, providing us with ample opportunities to pick up food and water. We began the trip at Robert Moses State Park, passing almost immediately through a nude beach which startled us all, ending the journey at my favorite beach at Smith Point. The best footing was just above in the surf where the sand was hard packed by pounding waves, shoes and sandals giving way to bare feet.

The second half of the trip was through the Fire Island National Seashore where we were left virtually to ourselves. Although we were in one of the most populated metropolitan areas in the country, our walk was down almost empty beaches, mile after mile.The waves pounded the shore relentlessly, filling the air with an ever present roar. Fog, rain, sunshine, lightning and wind changing the mood of the landscape during our walk multiple times per day and night.

Climbs the foaming wall

Enter the door on its crest
Pass through the green room

A child's voice calling

Heard for a fleeting moment

Soon to be a man

The gray wind blowing
Dark green seas endless churning
Rain pelts wet sand

Moisture laden air

Haze obscures the horizon

Many shades of gray

Curls upon itself

A foam flecked tube of dark green

Crashes, then it dies

Meets the sandy shore
Having traveled across the sea
Sings its last hurrah

Dark clouds rolling in

Blocks the setting sun's last light

Waves singing all night

Baggy trunked surfers
Bellies on their boards, waiting
For the perfect wave

Sound that's deafening

Row upon row of foamed waves

Never ending roar

After 3 days of walking on the sand we were all nearing exhaustion. Reaching Smith Point was welcome relief, because it meant the comforts of home would soon be at hand. Although the others were anxious to leave, I could have kept on going the remaining 8 miles to the end if this piece of Fire Island. I was informed by the park rangers that camping in that direction would be prohibited. Why should that stop me, considering the same could be said for the previous two nights we spent out on the beach (at least without a free permit).

Although I was extremely tired that evening, I pulled out a Van Halen bootleg CD from their 1995 Balance tour, Crack the Secret, one of my favorite years that they performed their classic sound. Excellent soundboard recordings from two shows on that tour: the January 27, 1995 show in Arnheim, Holland, with a few additional songs added from the their November 1, 1995 concert at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The beginning and end of the Balance tour. A really rocking collection of their music that had me dancing in the street in front of my sisters house late into the night, flask in one hand, a cigar in the other. After such a glorious hike and listening to some of the best music performed by Van Halen, I was in heaven! I went to sleep in the tent set up in the backyard, where I was able to spread out and inhale cooler and fresher air than could be found inside the house. That was my home for the remainder of the vacation.