Days of whine and roses....

a heat wave is hours away...humidity returning...my hair will look like i stuck my finger in a socket...and reality tv ate my brain...with all the myriad tv programming available...cable...netflix...streaming...i feel hyponotized by whether kaitlyn will pick nick or shawn...it's this thing lauren and i have...watching "bachelor" or "bachelorette"...a guilty pleasure that doesn't cause you to really think...although you find yourself analyzing for hours...who should be sent home...which contestant is the most certifiable...which couple will last beyond the first commercial break...but mostly it has me wondering about the nature of reality tv...and our obsession with it...i think about the leaders of the pack..."the amazing race"...i thought that was finding the shortest route from penn station to this week's sample sale...or "dancing with the stars"...or is it almost stars...or has-beens...or "we have no place left to go since they cancelled jerry lewis' telethon"..."the real housewives"...of new york...atlanta...los angeles...deer park...oops...well, not yet....and the granddaddy of them all...after next season, they are finally pulling the plug...a mercy killing...on "american idol"...ryan seacrest must be getting his aarp card already...but really...if you want to know why these shows multiply like hangers in your closet...if you can't find justification for the ratings numbers...even if they have been slipping...just put on your local evening news...watch the whole half hour...and then the national news for good measure...you'll be spinning that dial in a heidi klum minute..."america's got talent" anyone?

Grohl...you're my monkey wrench...

the best laid plans...back in november...as i wracked my brain for an anniversary gift for mike...a seemingly perfect one fell in my lap...the foo fighters would be playing their hometown - dc - on july 4th...which is also mike's bday...and mike is a foo's fan!...bam...got the tickets...presented them on our anniversary...when the rest of the tour was announced with one, then two, ny dates i thought maybe i should switch...citi field a little easier than rfk in dc...but mike said, "no, dc will be a fun getaway for my bday"...and then in june grohl fell off the stage on tour...and being older than he probably likes...46...did some good damage to his leg...cancelled the rest of the european tour...but silent on the july 4th concert...i googled daily, called ticketmaster and no one was sure what was going on...we thought of cancelling the hotel...but lo and behold two days before we were going to leave the foo's confirmed...and so we went...and the adventure began...first stop down the turnpike...lunch...burger king...royalty of the grossness of turnpike dining...mike's double cheeseburger was a single...returned...then a triple...was this a sign?...checked into the hotel....nice room...trendy sliding mirrored bathroom door...didn't close...not even close...we looked at each other...so as not to kill a 26-year marriage we switched...we sighed...dinner...mike ordered a seven and seven...the waitress came back eons later and asked again what drink he wanted...she had never heard of a seven and seven...this being dc, not zimbabwe i thought...another sign? hmmm...and then saturday there we were for a day long festival at rfk...let's put it this way...shea in it's last days was the four seasons compared to this shithole...open seating...we got two great seats...well under the overhang...rain was a possibility...this was about 12:15...we had hours to take in the humanity around us...many ages...many july 4th colors...then there were, of course, the few good ones you see at these events...apparently ted kaczynski had a twin...cause he wandered around the whole day...back and forth...aimless...shirtless...practically pantless...jerry garcia's twin was there too...that's jerry, the later years...about 100 pounds heavier...shirtless in gym shorts...a natural appetite suppressant...there were the lines...as always...at the ladies room...by late afternoon...the woman in front of me passed me a roll of toilet paper...everyone was ripping off sheets...she looked at me and said..."it's come to this"...oh, lord...there was an hour and a half storm delay...that was fun as the entire crowd on the field ran for the stands...before the concert resumed it was mud fest as one person after another dove into the gross field...to the cheers from the stands...and there were the requisite obnoxious drunks...of course behind us...one swaying back and forth and yelling...getting louder and louder...knocking into us, as ll cool j took the stage...and then suddenly we felt we were wet...it seemed one got sick on mike...it actually was beer...but no one messes with a fifty-five new york woman...i spun around looked at them and said, "you're fucked now"...got security who talked to them...the drunk moved...an apology from his friends...who still gave him beer all night...but all was right...because through all of this there was the music...incredible music from all across this country...as in the foo's sonic highway...trombone shorty and orleans avenue (you must see them at least once), joan jett  and the blackhearts, gary clark jr...heart (with the amazing ann wilson's voice soaring on "alone")...ll cool j...buddy guy...trouble funk...and finally around 9:20 (!!!) the foo's....when talking with people we all wondered what grohl would do with the leg cast...well...he had a movable throne constructed...that moved down the runway to the crowd...and with his guitar and elevated leg he rocked the stadium for almost two and a half hours...at one point...as he told the tale of the broken leg...he yelled something to the effect that there was no fucking way he would miss this show...which left me thinking...why the fuck didn't you say that to the press two weeks ago!!...an incredible show...and i had to kind of admit...that through all the wondering and waiting if we would be there...grohl, you were my monkey wrench...but as i left the stadium with thousands of fans into the night...i smiled and thought...there goes my hero...