Cabin Fever

Is it really only January? It feels like this winter is dragging on and on. Maybe because it’s so cold here in the northeast. And dry, I think I can write my next blog by scratching it into my skin. What’s that famous quote from Richard III? Now is the winter of my discontent. The only thing good about it is my bedroom stays dark until my alarm goes off.

Summertime and the living is easy. I want the sound of Fenway Park on my TV. I want to run out to the mailbox on a Saturday afternoon in my bare feet, slowing down to feel the sun on my face. Now, I bundle up and walk slowly on the snowy parts of the ice so as not to look like the least graceful person in the neighborhood when my feet slide out from under me.

I want to hear the roar of the crowd at a Clay Aiken concert. I love the roar of a crowd at Fenway when someone jacks one over the Green Monster but it’s a different kind of roar. More like a “there it gooooeees!” or “get out of here”. (Actually, in Boston it’s more like “Get outta heaaah”.

The closest thing I’ve heard lately is the roar of the crowd on the Mall in Washington DC at January 20th . It’s the roar of happiness, anticipation, expectation and celebration all rolled into a single emotion. Thousands of voices sounding as one.

They say that anticipating something so much will always make it seem like a letdown. Remember your prom? It was never quite as glorious as the picture in your head in the weeks leading up to it. Your wedding? Such a blur that you need the video to remember it.

But a Clay concert where the swell begins from the vibration of the floor to the electricity up your spine and finally culminating in the sound of thousands of hands coming together as one while the wave of a roar builds to a fevered pitch has never failed to live up to the expectation. For two hours (or more) it’s an emotional and audio journey from dance to laughter to breathless amazement and a few “I can’t believe he just said that” thrown in for good measure.

We don’t know if we will get to experience that this summer. Something tells me we will, although with so many talents in music, acting and comedy there are probably many options for him. He’s been talking a lot about singing again after a year of success in acting. Thinking about it without knowing probably contributes to my winter of discontent, more so than my oil bill or my stock portfolio. My dry fingers long to do the Ticketmaster Tango.

So, I begin my anticipation. How will he enter, similar to the ways he has done before? Will it be from the back of the arena? Will it be from within an elaborate stage setup? Will my mind go blank as anticipation meets reality? Watch and remember. And listen. Listen to the crowd. What’s exactly does that sound like?

Joy. It’s the sound of joy.

Want to reminisce?

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Mall Image European PressPhoto Agency

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