This past Saturday marked the five-year anniversary since my father passed away, and while I was content with just spending the weekend by myself where I could reflect and grieve quietly- some of my co-workers had a different idea- and I’m glad I went along with it because it ended up being really, really fun.
I love the people I work with. They’re all intelligent, brilliant at what they do, and are incredibly easy-going and funny on and off the clock. Some of us usually get together once a week or every couple of weeks to have drinks and/or grab food after hours- but this past weekend we all journeyed to a campground in the middle of nowhere, Massachusetts to do something a little different- catch an Eddie Money concert. If you’re not familiar with Eddie Money, the over-the-top persona- then you have definitely heard some of his hits on classic rock radio, at least- like “Two Tickets to Paradise” or “Take Me Home Tonight”.
One of my co-workers picked up tickets for about ten of us to catch the afternoon show at Indian Ranch, a campsite located off of the shores of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagaugchaubunagungamaugg (Yes, that’s the real name. No, I have no idea how to pronounce it.) I hadn’t been there since I was a little kid- and had all but forgotten it was a real place until we arrived on Saturday after grabbing a couple of beers at a little bar down the road.
The venue and outdoor stage area was actually really nice- with impressive sound that carried over the crowd and all the way to the water where we were standing to watch- so we could see/hear pretty much everything with complete clarity. My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough shade- and at 2 p.m. in the middle of July- that can be a problem.
The opening act was Eddie Money’s son, Desmond, and his daughter- Jesse- who ended up joining the “Money Man” when he eventually took the stage for just over an hour. There was a lot of banter between songs, which just got funnier and funnier as the afternoon wore on and people drank more and more. I wish I could describe the scene when Eddie asked where his “eighties ladies” were and every woman over 45 completely lost their minds. It was kind of amazing.
Overall, I had a blast- and it was a nice distraction from the usual sadness that otherwise would have plagued me for the day.
The only downside to the weekend, however- was that one of my friends/co-workers was injured in a pretty serious car crash in the hours following the concert when someone abruptly cut into his lane on the highway and he swerved in an attempt to avoid a collision. He’s lucky to be alive- judging by the pictures of his car I saw- and is expected to make a full recovery per the last conversation I had with him- but it was definitely a scary thing to hear about and all well-wishes/good vibes should be sent in his direction while he’s recuperating.
I’ve got a lot to do at the office this morning- especially since yesterday was my company’s annual Summer BBQ where we managed to keep the rain at bay long enough to enjoy some freshly grilled cheeseburgers and play some games outside for a couple of hours- but it set me back a bit on my case load and I’ve got to play some catch-up this morning to make sure I don’t fall behind or overlook anything.
Have a great Hump Day, everyone!
xx
– Ashley –
Blondie Birdie 