Day 5 - 192 -- Stay or Go

The day began with an interview on the morning show about the FEQ -- the summer music festival in Quebec city. They noted that the Foo Fighters had been on stage when a storm arrived. They had to leave the stage after 4 songs. The band will return this week to do a full set.  This reminded me of an experience I had over 20 years ago at an outdoor concert in Cleveland along the river. As the concert began, the ominous clouds swirled around and let loose with a major thunder storm -- pouring rain, lightning and thunder. Seating was full and the audience had stood when the band began to play. During the deluge, some people left. Most of us just stood in the rain singing along and dancing. We chose not to leave unless the band did. Our vehicle was about a mile away, so we'd be soaked either way and as long as they kept playing we'd hear what we came to hear. They never left the stage, though I think it might have been safer to do so. We could see the water on the stage and with all the electrical equipment we'd noted that this was somewhat dangerous. When the rain stopped, the depressions in the plastic chairs were filled with water. Our shoes were soaked as the water had been running over the tops during the worst of it. We did our best to wring out our clothes and rescue the wet purses -- all while singing and dancing.

The people who stayed behind had an excellent experience with an extra long concert. The band members were enjoying themselves fully, as well. This reminded me of a saying -- When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Well, in this case the tough stayed put and were rewarded -- not just by the concert but by the wonderful camaraderie and great stories we can tell or reminisce about when we get together. That was one of those life moments -- we could have been miserable and stayed and felt yucky and wet; we could have been miserable and just left cursing the weather; or we could have stayed to see what transpired. There are times when leaving would be easy or even prudent, but staying could bring something wonderful. This was one of those moments. Despite getting somewhat lost on the road heading back to the hotel, lack of drying lines in the hotel rooms, and one person whose feet were blue when her skirt proved not to be colour fast, we had a blast. Trying to find the positive or the potential in a situation that may not look promising can be difficult. Practice at finding the positive can help. Seeing absurdities and noting the potential of these to bring laughter rather than yelling would be a great way to go through life. Something else to add to the practice list. 

After the storm, two songs brought peals of laughter. The first shared here brought giggles to the soaking wet group at the flood of Cleveland. The second one shared has a single line that we all shouted in unison -- 'you're going to wash right down the drain' <smile>. Enjoy!

Goin' Down -- The Monkees

D. W. Washburn -- The Monkees