Eddie Vedder 2009 solo tour playbill.

*Catching up on 3/21/13*

I would never give this away if I didn’t have another copy.  Some things I just have to keep.

This was the program that was handed out during the 2009 East Coast/Far West tour in June-July 2009.  I attended the first show at the Palace Theater in Albany, NY.  Mind blown as expected.

Having a 20+ year relationship with Pearl Jam, I was intrigued to see what a solo Ed Vedder show would be like.  I attended a couple of shows in 2008, and was hooked.  It was so beautiful and intimate and powerful.  That man’s voice hits me directly in the chest and makes me feel my humanity.

I don’t remember the set list for this show, but I do remember buying a copy of Robert Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth” and writing a personal note to Ed, which I placed inside the book and then tried to give him during the end of the show.  It didn’t work, and my ride was leaving, so I ended up giving the book to someone claiming to be the stage manager and hoping he was able to deliver it to Ed.  I’ve never heard anything since then, so either the book never made it to Eddie, or more likely, he’s inundated with gifts at shows and it’s sitting in a pile somewhere in Seattle.  I hope he gets it someday because the book is amazing.

And Liam Finn opened this show, which set me on fire from his first note.  Liam is off the charts…

Ceramic piggy bank.

*Catching up on 3/21/13*

In 2011 Deana and I gave our family members piggy banks for Hanukkah.  The mission was for everybody to save as much as they could, and at Hanukkah 2012, the person with the most saved would get a prize.

Well, nobody really did this except for my dad and I think my brother, so we didn’t bother with the prize.  But my cousin Carin did something exceptionally thoughtful with her bank, and turned out to be the one of the best gifts we’ve received in a long time…

Carin saved up all year with our family in mind, and her gift to us was the bank we gave her in 2011, but full of change.  She said that every time she saw the bank, she thought of us.  I loved hearing about how as the bank filled, the sound of the change changed as it dropped into the bank.

We ended up with $78, which went towards our vacation fund.  Awesome.  I love my cousin.

New York Times Daily Crossword Puzzles volume 10.

*Catching up on 3/21/13*

Puzzle 42:

48 Down-  6 letter word for an Upstate N.Y. city

I was hoping the answer was Beacon, but this book came out in 1982 when Main street was on fire and riddled with crack, so they chose Elmira.  They could have been ahead of the curve….

USB to mini cable.

*Catching up on 3/21/13*

Cable not working at 100% reliability, so instead of keeping it and jiggling it whenever I plug it in, I’ll cut my losses.

Fleece throw.

*catching up on 3/20/13*

Today was a difficult day. An emotional mindfuck. My friend Alison came over early in the morning because she was feeling sick and anxious. Deana talked with her and made her food and we both helped out watching her son. Midday, we took Alison home because she was really bad, and on the drive back she got the call from the hospital that her bloodwork was alarming and she needed to immediately go to the hospital. A friend drove her, and another watched her son. I had to leave because we were headed to an afternoon birthday celebration for my mother.

Later that afternoon we were told that Alison had mono and Lyme. Phew. On Monday we find out that she actually has Leukemia. Ugh.

She’s now in the city, starting a 4-6 intensive chemotherapy program in hopes of knocking this thing out of her system. The community here in Beacon has been incredibly supportive of her and her family, and after a week of devastating sadness, the long road to wellness begins.

I guess this throw represents something warm, comforting and fuzzy to help ease the pain of cancer.