Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[zoomama]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/siah7vhhpffd0pl/2015-12-02%2020.40.11.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uothq64petfg0th/2015-12-02%2018.23.22.jpg?dl=0

This baby... Is the single most healing thing ever. The fact that she's beautiful and perfect in every way is a BONUS for all of us. We're keeping her.

The second pic is my oldest son. It's very personal, and very moving. 11 years ago next month, he and his wife lost a 4 day old infant girl. This. This is how he truly feels. Like he can't GET close enough. He can't breathe in her smell enough. He can't kiss her enough.

This is one loved little girl. But there's a downside - she'll also grow up with 10 sets of eyes on her all the time. Ten sets of parents out for her good. Her own mother will be a teacher in her elementary school. Her daddy (if all goes according to plan) will be a teacher in her middle school. Everybody else will be hovering all the time. This is what happens when your family lives (literally) just over the border in any direction from your house. ;)

Sorry for the pics, I know this isn't FB. I promise not to do this on a regular basis. When I start posting Pinterest recipes, you can vote me out!!!

ETA: muffyn, I know you anticipate this being a very painful recovery (I expect you're right). I wish you a speedy recovery and 100% success. The "force" that is this forum is behind you! Xoxo

many congrats and blessings to you and yours on that beautiful baby girl!!!  and the other picture is just priceless. it really shares a ton of emotion.  

 

muffyn, i know you dont feel like checking oin probably, but know that i am thinking about you and wishing you a smooth recovery.

Edited December 4, 2015 by zoomama

[Wellfleet]

OMG, Happy!  I absolutely love the bow on Kenna's little baby girl cap! It certainly took long enough for someone to come up with that idea. Much better than those goofy big rubber flowers the Duggars stick on their girls. Kenna has a precious face too, and just LOOK at how her Poppa loves her! Best photo I've seen in a while. That is one heckuva mooshy-face picture. Be sure you keep it handy. Before you know it, you'll need it for her wedding video. Or her wedding laser-brain track or whatever 21st century invention we have when her wedding rolls around...

[Jordan Baker]

I read that as Pete Townshend initially.  Got The Who on my brain I guess.  Ahhh memories of teenage wasteland.

 

Speaking of concerts, I saw The Who in concert sometime in the early '70s. Roger Daltrey was an amazing stage presence. And I think Townsend destroyed his guitar, but I'm not sure.

 

The one thing I do remember, very clearly, was the guy who sat down in front of us, proceeded to puke, and then took off.

 

Teenage wasteland.

HFC, your grandbaby is beautiful. And the picture of your son brings tears to my eyes.

 

ETA: Eek . . . these were supposed to be two separate posts. I don't want the memory of a drunk and/or high  concertgoer mixed in with your beautiful granddaughter! :)

Edited December 4, 2015 by Jordan Baker

[Wellfleet]

Congrats HFC!!!  I'm glad all went well.  Kenna Grace is a beautiful name.  Unusual but not off the chain.  I like it.

 

Brian your family is in my prayers.  I hope the surgery goes well.

 

Perfect description of Kenna' name - "unusual but not off the chain." Love that. And bonus - not spelled in a quirky way either. This sweet little pudder [our family's word for baby, rhymes with "gooder"] will not spend the rest of her days getting mail and documents with her name misspelled, needing to make PITA corrections etc. Parents, the name you give your child is important! NOT an excuse for a vanity project...

[SometimesBites]

One of my favorite high school teachers was named Kenna. She taught modern dance and played the harp. :)

[Barb23]

I'm glad to report my otherwise crappy week has ended on a good note. First, my son has a job interview with an architectural firm on Monday. One of their projects was the remodel of the gym at the high school he went to. I'm taking that as a very good sign plus it can be an icebreaker for him during the interview. Second, my niece saw a grief counselor the school psychologist recommended. My sister said she is very nice & has been counseling for 20 years so hopefully she'll be able to help & give some guidance through all of this. Third, Ms. D, the family friend with dementia, had a good first day & night at the Assisted Living. We were hoping she would adjust well & it seems she has- she slept well, has been socializing & talking with other residents. They even made her one of her favorites, grilled cheese, for dinner. I celebrated all this goodness by ordering a box of Landies Candies chocolate covered pretzels from QVC. They are scrumptious & can't wait til they get here. Once again I shall quote a doctor I worked with "chocolate can heal anything." I didn't mean to ramble on but it feels good to share happy things for a change.

[SometimesBites]

I'm glad to report my otherwise crappy week has ended on a good note. First, my son has a job interview with an architectural firm on Monday. One of their projects was the remodel of the gym at the high school he went to. I'm taking that as a very good sign plus it can be an icebreaker for him during the interview. Second, my niece saw a grief counselor the school psychologist recommended. My sister said she is very nice & has been counseling for 20 years so hopefully she'll be able to help & give some guidance through all of this. Third, Ms. D, the family friend with dementia, had a good first day & night at the Assisted Living. We were hoping she would adjust well & it seems she has- she slept well, has been socializing & talking with other residents. They even made her one of her favorites, grilled cheese, for dinner. I celebrated all this goodness by ordering a box of Landies Candies chocolate covered pretzels from QVC. They are scrumptious & can't wait til they get here. Once again I shall quote a doctor I worked with "chocolate can heal anything." I didn't mean to ramble on but it feels good to share happy things for a change.

Glad to hear you're having an upswing--especially for your niece's sake. Such a hard thing to cope with as a teen!

[RedPonyDriver]

HFC...that second picture may have made my eyes leak just a bit...such a beautiful picture of a father's love. Congratulations!

[Love2dance]

 

ETA: Eek . . . these were supposed to be two separate posts. I don't want the memory of a drunk and/or high  concertgoer mixed in with your beautiful granddaughter! :)

Yes, JORDAN BAKER, it is so strange..sometimes when I quote and post resonses to two different messages, they meld together: but other times, even if no one posts in between, they stay separate. So odd.

MUFFYN, thinking about you and hoping everything went well, and you are as comfortable as can be.

[Love2dance]

I'm glad to report my otherwise crappy week has ended on a good note. First, my son has a job interview with an architectural firm on Monday. One of their projects was the remodel of the gym at the high school he went to. I'm taking that as a very good sign plus it can be an icebreaker for him during the interview. Second, my niece saw a grief counselor the school psychologist recommended. My sister said she is very nice & has been counseling for 20 years so hopefully she'll be able to help & give some guidance through all of this. Third, Ms. D, the family friend with dementia, had a good first day & night at the Assisted Living. We were hoping she would adjust well & it seems she has- she slept well, has been socializing & talking with other residents. They even made her one of her favorites, grilled cheese, for dinner. I celebrated all this goodness by ordering a box of Landies Candies chocolate covered pretzels from QVC. They are scrumptious & can't wait til they get here. Once again I shall quote a doctor I worked with "chocolate can heal anything." I didn't mean to ramble on but it feels good to share happy things for a change.

So happy you have some good things to share, BARB23. Hope the counselor will help your daughter find comfort. And good luck to your son at the interview.

[Muffyn]

Lookeyloo, I’d rather make it funny if I can.  Glad you were able to laugh. 
HFC, thanks for the concern.  I am not expecting recovery to be especially painful.  It should feel better than it did before surgery. 

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.  

 

All this to say, I am home from surgery.  There is an incision on my arm and one in my armpit.  They also removed two pieces of free floating bone from my back.  While I am still doped up (thank you Dr. Feelgood!), I can already tell that things will be better.  The feeling that my arm is on fire is gone.  Were this the actual Duggar prayer closet, I would let out a loud PTL!  I do find myself singing “me and my dead guy, strolling down the avenue . . . .”

[Readalot]

Lookeyloo, I’d rather make it funny if I can. Glad you were able to laugh.

HFC, thanks for the concern. I am not expecting recovery to be especially painful. It should feel better than it did before surgery.

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.

All this to say, I am home from surgery. There is an incision on my arm and one in my armpit. They also removed two pieces of free floating bone from my back. While I am still doped up (thank you Dr. Feelgood!), I can already tell that things will be better. The feeling that my arm is on fire is gone. Were this the actual Duggar prayer closet, I would let out a loud PTL! I do find myself singing “me and my dead guy, strolling down the avenue . . . .”

great news. Thankful for those "edukated" folks that went to school to learn how to heal you! I hope you have a restful weekend.

[crazycatlady58]

Muffyn, it sounds like they gave you some good drugs! I hope you heal fast.

HFC, I do not remember if I said it but your newest grand if beautiful and it sounds like she will grow up surrounded by love. We should all be so blessed. In my faith we say " May God grant her many years".

[crazycatlady58]

Sorry...church not faith , it has been a long day.

[CherryMalotte]

I do not even remember going to that show. I guess I had a really great time.

 

Ah yes, me too.  I was at many of those concerts with you.  Thank heavens I kept most of my stubs as well.  I can still brag I saw the first two Lollapaloozas, and have the t-shirts and stubs to prove it.  Sadly with Scott Weiland's death I'm thinking of a lot of those shows I'd attended, that was a great time in music.  I've had the luck of seeing everybody from the Stones to The Replacements and Oingo Boingo to Charlie Watts playing jazz a small Chicago club.  And the ticket prices were cheap as well...we haven't been to a show in years because it's too friggin expensive.  I ain't paying no $300 for a Fleetwood Mac ticket, unless Stevie Nicks gives me a manicure, with Lindsey Buckingham making me dinner.  Free t-shirts have to be part of that deal as well.

 

I'm so happy for the good news around here - congrats on the new baby HFC, and I hope your brother is on the road to recovery Brian.  Enjoy the meds Muffyn - better living thru chemistry! 

[Happyfatchick]

I used to know this man who made a LOT of money decorating rich people's homes (and businesses) for Christmas every year. He was flamboyant and sassy, and could make people think whatever he came up with was astounding. (And he was sincerely amazing, no kidding). But I always thought "Geeze! People PAY for that? Seriously???"

I gotta say now, if I had money to burn (I do not), I would happily write someone a check to come haul this mess out and decorate (as long as the check included coming back to put it all away). If I didn't have grands, I wouldn't DO this any more. It's so pretty, and I LOVE the house decorated, but I don't WANNA!!!

Secretly I think I love the decorations so much precisely because it's kinda gaudy. My DIL bought some little red clothes pins with glitz on them to hang some photos on the tree. January-October, I wouldn't have those jazzy red clothes pins on display anywhere. My entire house is sort of beach cottage colors with burlap and some chili pepper red and really deep teal. (That sounds disgusting, even to me, but it works). Then at Christmas, it turns into a mini Vegas around here. The old decos are my very favorites - the older the better. I have a candle Santa in a sitting position (sleeping) that's 50 years old. My sister but his foot off when she was a toddler. I love that Santa. When the rest of my decos go in the attic or garage for the year, he lives in cabinet in my kitchen all year so I can keep an eye on him.

I'm Sybil at Christmas, split 2 ways. It's a love/hate relationship. I think it could be love/love if I could only pay someone to come put it out and take it down.

Thank you everyone for the sweet words about our little Kenna. I'm typically not a fan of newborn looks - two of my grands were downright scary looking at birth (I was SURE one of them was a muppet, and the other was Yoda). But this child is just a little doll baby. Precious little round cheeks! I could just look at that little face all day! And my SON! ((WHO IS THIS KID?????)) His wife says he hasn't let her change a diaper yet, and he's done all the caregiving except feeding (for obvious reasons) so far. I was only there a minute today (dropping off lunch), but Kenna managed to have a big ole tar poop in that minute. "Oh thank God!", says my son. "They said she needed to poop within the first 24-48 hours, and I was getting really worried!!" And then he very tenderly but efficiently changed the poopy. Are you kidding me??? What the heck? I want to be a fly on the wall when she lets go one of those down-the-legs and up-the-back doozies in the checkout line at Walmart. Hee!

[NikSac]

Yes, JORDAN BAKER, it is so strange..sometimes when I quote and post resonses to two different messages, they meld together: but other times, even if no one posts in between, they stay separate. So odd.

 

I think it's a time thing. I sometimes pause awhile between posts if I want to make sure they post separately and that seems to work.

[Wellfleet]

I used to know this man who made a LOT of money decorating rich people's homes (and businesses) for Christmas every year. He was flamboyant and sassy, and could make people think whatever he came up with was astounding. (And he was sincerely amazing, no kidding). But I always thought "Geeze! People PAY for that? Seriously???"

I gotta say now, if I had money to burn (I do not), I would happily write someone a check to come haul this mess out and decorate (as long as the check included coming back to put it all away). If I didn't have grands, I wouldn't DO this any more. It's so pretty, and I LOVE the house decorated, but I don't WANNA!!!

Secretly I think I love the decorations so much precisely because it's kinda gaudy. My DIL bought some little red clothes pins with glitz on them to hang some photos on the tree. January-October, I wouldn't have those jazzy red clothes pins on display anywhere. My entire house is sort of beach cottage colors with burlap and some chili pepper red and really deep teal. (That sounds disgusting, even to me, but it works). Then at Christmas, it turns into a mini Vegas around here. The old decos are my very favorites - the older the better. I have a candle Santa in a sitting position (sleeping) that's 50 years old. My sister but his foot off when she was a toddler. I love that Santa. When the rest of my decos go in the attic or garage for the year, he lives in cabinet in my kitchen all year so I can keep an eye on him.

I'm Sybil at Christmas, split 2 ways. It's a love/hate relationship. I think it could be love/love if I could only pay someone to come put it out and take it down.

Thank you everyone for the sweet words about our little Kenna. I'm typically not a fan of newborn looks - two of my grands were downright scary looking at birth (I was SURE one of them was a muppet, and the other was Yoda). But this child is just a little doll baby. Precious little round cheeks! I could just look at that little face all day! And my SON! ((WHO IS THIS KID?????)) His wife says he hasn't let her change a diaper yet, and he's done all the caregiving except feeding (for obvious reasons) so far. I was only there a minute today (dropping off lunch), but Kenna managed to have a big ole tar poop in that minute. "Oh thank God!", says my son. "They said she needed to poop within the first 24-48 hours, and I was getting really worried!!" And then he very tenderly but efficiently changed the poopy. Are you kidding me??? What the heck? I want to be a fly on the wall when she lets go one of those down-the-legs and up-the-back doozies in the checkout line at Walmart. Hee!

 

I can relate about newborn looks, Happy. We had both a Spock and a Yoda in our family, and the 3 doting aunts were frightened. But it's been 20 years plus and I'm happy to tell you that Spock is now a dead ringer for Reese Witherspoon, with the same elegant taste in clothes too. And Yoda looks like Han Solo, so all is well. Thank God!

[frenchtoast]

I think it's a time thing. I sometimes pause awhile between posts if I want to make sure they post separately and that seems to work.

Yes, posts merge if you post again in a few minutes. I don't know what the time frame is, but I do know that is what is supposed to happen. There is also a time frame for how long you can edit your post, so if it's too late and you really, really need to edit it, you can PM us and ask. But given how quickly this forum moves, it may not be worth it. The weird formatting stuff, random triple posts--all that random tech glitches are understood to be the nature of the beast. 

[Barb23]

Oh Happy, I'm still laughing at your line about the baby having a "blowout" at the Wal-Mart. We all remember when those blowouts happened at the most inopportune times. I like that you care enough to have candle Santa live in your cabinet. He's lucky to have you. I wonder if your other decorations mind that you give him preferential treatment, even tho it sounds like he deserves it.

Muffyn- Glad your surgery went well. Will you have to go thru physical therapy?

[Muffyn]

Barb23, I did PT over the last several months.  There is a new protocol that doesn't work for me.  They push for a boot camp kind of feeling.  So you get very little time with the therapist then spend your time with a trainer who may or may not have much knowledge about injuries.   Many of the places will now put people into groups for this part of the therapy; that is, all knee rehab together, all shoulder rehab together, etc.  Over the last few months, I have seen three different PTs, two of whom made the situation worse.  (In their defense, the doctors were insisting I did not have a tear so they pushed for strengthening which, even if it was tendonitis, was the wrong call for me).  So you don't get personalized treatment which is a problem when you have a very unique condition.  I have many different body workers that I have used over the years.  I am going to keep working with them.  I went to Stanford for the surgery.  They would offer personalized PT, but it's too long of a drive for me to do routinely.  They are going to set up a rehab plan for me that I can work on my own and detailed notes for the bodyworkers that I see.  But first we spend a few weeks just healing. 

 

I haven't been working for quite some time.  I usually travel for work and I couldn't take any jobs with travel.  I am starting a new local contract on Monday.  So at least I'll have income.  Have to be happy about that!

[Happyfatchick]

LOL, Wellfleet! The DIL's sister just gave birth 2 weeks ago tomorrow, and THAT baby has a Yoda face for sure. My other son says, "wow, that's unfortunate. Even worse is that his dad still has Yoda-face - not much chance of him growing out of it, huh?"

[Barb23]

Muffyn-That is something about the new ways of physical therapy. After going thru PT myself at different times in the past few years I can understand how frustrating this must be esp since yours is a unique case. Like a lot of things in the medical world, I'm sure they charge ginormous fees for barely doing anything. For example: I recently spent two nights in the hospital. Because of my arthritis, I was visited once by physical & occupational therapists. They came in together & probably spent 20 minutes with me, if that. They watched as I got out of bed using a walker. I walked a couple of steps to the bedside commode, then a few more steps around the room & then back to bed. They did help me lift my legs onto the bed. The charge for PT was $347 & OT was $184. Unbelievable. I hope things go well with the healing & good luck on your new job assignment.

[emma675]

HFC, she is gorgeous! I have a Kenna in my family, too, and she is a little blonde toot who could charm anyone she meets. I hope your Kenna has a good, long life full of happiness and health.

 

Muffyn, dang, lady, you're going back to work on Monday?! Will you be up to it? I took 5 days off after my first thyroid surgery and 2 days for this last one.

Edited December 5, 2015 by emma675d

[JenCarroll]

Ah yes, me too.  I was at many of those concerts with you.  Thank heavens I kept most of my stubs as well.  I can still brag I saw the first two Lollapaloozas, and have the t-shirts and stubs to prove it.  Sadly with Scott Weiland's death I'm thinking of a lot of those shows I'd attended, that was a great time in music.  I've had the luck of seeing everybody from the Stones to The Replacements and Oingo Boingo to Charlie Watts playing jazz a small Chicago club.  And the ticket prices were cheap as well...we haven't been to a show in years because it's too friggin expensive.  I ain't paying no $300 for a Fleetwood Mac ticket, unless Stevie Nicks gives me a manicure, with Lindsey Buckingham making me dinner.  Free t-shirts have to be part of that deal as well.

LOL. I wonder if Lindsey Buckingham can cook!

Funny, I just saw Fleetwood Mac (well, not just, but not too long ago) at Madison Square Garden. Seriously expensive tickets, but I had to go. For years I'd been saying, somewhat facetiously, "Yeah, when Christine McVie comes back, I'll go to the show." She had turned seventy at this point and I felt relatively safe, and then goddamn if she didn't re-join the band. My sister and I took each other for a mutual birthday present. They were actually amazing. Stevie has lost a lot of her range but has more power than ever, and honestly I don't think any of the rest of them have lost anything at all. Awesome show.

Apparently everyone in the world had made the same vow regarding Christine's return, because they sold out the Garden in one minute, then added extra shows and I still barely got tickets. I hate Ticketmaster. So hard to get tickets. Billy Joel plays the Garden every fricking month (and really can't sing anymore) and I still can't get tickets.

Such First World problems, I have. :-)

[Westiepeach]

LOL. I wonder if Lindsey Buckingham can cook!

Funny, I just saw Fleetwood Mac (well, not just, but not too long ago) at Madison Square Garden. Seriously expensive tickets, but I had to go. For years I'd been saying, somewhat facetiously, "Yeah, when Christine McVie comes back, I'll go to the show." She had turned seventy at this point and I felt relatively safe, and then goddamn if she didn't re-join the band. My sister and I took each other for a mutual birthday present. They were actually amazing. Stevie has lost a lot of her range but has more power than ever, and honestly I don't think any of the rest of them have lost anything at all. Awesome show.

Apparently everyone in the world had made the same vow regarding Christine's return, because they sold out the Garden in one minute, then added extra shows and I still barely got tickets. I hate Ticketmaster. So hard to get tickets. Billy Joel plays the Garden every fricking month (and really can't sing anymore) and I still can't get tickets.

Such First World problems, I have. :-)

I saw Fleetwood Mac when they came to Cleveland! One of the BEST CONCERTS EVER! And we had Christine McVie as well! The other one being Garth Brooks ...

Edited December 5, 2015 by Westiepeach

[Barb23]

Would love to see Fleetwood Mac. Saw Billy Joel years ago, on a Saturday night. He was great. Best part of concert was when he sang Piano Man at 9:00 pm. I'm sure he's done that before, but it was still neat. Had floor seats once to Bruce Springsteen & that was great too.

Too bad Duggar kids won't have these types of nice memories or experience music that isn't a hymn.

[Love2dance]

BAEB23, WESTIEPEACH, and JEN CARROLL, our great, big, major treat to ourselves that we had been talking about for years was the Rolling Stones concert. We finally went last year. It was awesome beyond words. We would have loved to see Fleetwood Mack, but the $$ was already spent on the Stones.

[Westiepeach]

BAEB23, WESTIEPEACH, and JEN CARROLL, our great, big, major treat to ourselves that we had been talking about for years was the Rolling Stones concert. We finally went last year. It was awesome beyond words. We would have loved to see Fleetwood Mack, but the $$ was already spent on the Stones.

And we arranged for a limo to take us to the Fleetwood Mac concert. IIRC, it was in February and there was a snowstorm. We didn't care ~ we had a driver! Awesome evening! And I could not believe Christine is in her 70's. She is stunning!

[Wellfleet]

Would love to see Fleetwood Mac. Saw Billy Joel years ago, on a Saturday night. He was great. Best part of concert was when he sang Piano Man at 9:00 pm. I'm sure he's done that before, but it was still neat. Had floor seats once to Bruce Springsteen & that was great too.

Too bad Duggar kids won't have these types of nice memories or experience music that isn't a hymn.

 

My niece, who's 36 years younger than me, just saw Billy in New York in October, for her 23rd birthday. I hadn't known she was a big fan, and when I told her Billy was just becoming huge in the mid/late 70s when I was in college, she was blown away. Mostly blown-away though, I think, that we BOTH had the same music idol! LOL...

[RedPonyDriver]

Newborn looks: My first two looked like the Gerber baby fresh out of the womb. The third? He looked like a combination of ET and a Klingon. He had these HUGE eyes and his forehead got beat up from my tailbone at his birth. His big, fat head was at the limit of what I could deliver, 14 1/2 inches around. I'm glad to say that at 25 he is an incredibly handsome young man. The other two are also very good looking! My daughter is a petite beauty and #1 son is a 6'1" hunk!

[Jynnan tonnix]

One of the best concerts I have ever been to was nothing at all like these...We were stationed in Hawai'i and I guess Bobby McFerrin was vacationing there and sort of decided to do a concert on a whim. Tickets were only announced a couple of days beforehand, I think, and we didn't think that much of it, but thought it sounded as though it might be fun. Actually, about the only thing my husband knew about him was the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" song, which he was not a fan of, so I don't even remember what prompted us to go. At any rate, the concert was bare bones...The opening act was Jake Shimabukuro, who was only about 17 at the time, and just of the verge of being discovered. We might have groaned a little, inwardly, at an opening act of ukulele music, but he blew us away! Got a standing ovation all to himself. The rest of the concert was just Bobby McFerrin on stage, a cappella (though I think Jake accompanied him on a couple of things). At one point, he did (with his voice) the musical accompaniment to Gounod's "Ave Maria" and encouraged anyone in the audience who could sing it to do so. As it happens, that is something I know, though I'm not brave enough to really sing it anywhere outside the  shower, but I went for it anyway...I'd guess that there were maybe 20 of us in he audience singing along (hard to estimate...it was at the Blaisdell, which is a fairly sizable theater, and it was fairly full, so maybe there were more, but we were rather few and far between). It was just magical!

[JenCarroll]

My niece, who's 36 years younger than me, just saw Billy in New York in October, for her 23rd birthday. I hadn't known she was a big fan, and when I told her Billy was just becoming huge in the mid/late 70s when I was in college, she was blown away. Mostly blown-away though, I think, that we BOTH had the same music idol! LOL...

Every. Single. Month. And I still haven't managed to get tickets. New York loves Billy, he's our boy.

I saw him for the first time with my best friend when I was a high school senior in 1983; it was a complicated arrangement involving a train trip to Philadelphia to stay with (male) friends in their college dorm, and a variety of lies told to our parents, lol. I saw him a number of times after that, mostly with this same friend and a rotating group of other people. Any time there was a Billy Joel tour stop wherever either of us happened to be living, we were there. New Jersey, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, D.C. Of course, that was when we thought $30.00 was a high price ticket. But it's been years, like since before my kids were born. I'd love to do it one more time. Especially since he's playing the Garden -- did I mention this? -- every damn month!

sigh

[Wellfleet]

Every. Single. Month. And I still haven't managed to get tickets. New York loves Billy, he's our boy.

I saw him for the first time with my best friend when I was a high school senior in 1983; it was a complicated arrangement involving a train trip to Philadelphia to stay with (male) friends in their college dorm, and a variety of lies told to our parents, lol. I saw him a number of times after that, mostly with this same friend and a rotating group of other people. Any time there was a Billy Joel tour stop wherever either of us happened to be living, we were there. New Jersey, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, D.C. Of course, that was when we thought $30.00 was a high price ticket. But it's been years, like since before my kids were born. I'd love to do it one more time. Especially since he's playing the Garden -- did I mention this? -- every damn month!

sigh

 

Good luck, Jen - may the Force be with you. Julia had great seats - forget how she got 'em, I think one of her friends won something - they ended up very close and it was a theater-in-the-round setup. She was close enough to see what color socks Billy was wearing - LOL. The video she got was great too.

[Readalot]

About nine/ten? years ago my concert buddy (at least 25 concerts together) andI had tickets to see Fleetwood Mac. It was when they first got back together. Concert day comes around and I was so weak recovering from a bad cold/cough. I should not of gone but I had to go. Our seats were almost the top row. It took me awhile to get up there and I sat most of the concert BUT IT WAS WORTH IT! They all played like they wanted to be there and had fun doing it. You could feel the love. When Stevie and Lindsey were singing together we swear we felt their sparks. I fell in love with Stevie again and while I knew Lindsey is talented I had no idea how talented he really is (equal to Prince live - speaking of, he did a Led Zep song and he did it better than Jimmy Page I swear (my hubby who did not see Prince with me refuses to beleive that!)). And whoever said they saw the Replacements I. am so jealous! I love Paul Westerburg with or without the Replacements. For some reason his voice just makes me happy.

[lookeyloo]

Saw Billy Joel when Alexa was a baby and Christie was holding her near the stage. Best concert ever.

And now I need someone to say "there there, it will be okay" and I feel embarrassed even saying it. We have been planning a move to a new state for six months. Bought a house and work there is done. Current house under contract. Today, two days before movers come, we were in my car waiting to turn and big SUV in front of me backed up and smashed the front of my car. They got out, cursed a bit, and I said "where is your license plate?" Temporary tag under a layer of dirt. I wiped off the dirt and took a picture amd she yelled at me not to do that and they jumped back in the car and sped off. We called the police and they came and did their thing. Bad timing. We have insurance. No one is hurt. But it still bums me out. I can't drive at night with no headlight so have to split the drive and leave tomorrow instead of Monday. So many of you have "real" issues - this is minor in the big scheme of things but it still has me sad for now. Having a pity party before I hit road tomorrow and hope car makes it.

Edited December 6, 2015 by lookeyloo

[Joe Jitsu913]

A co-worker of mine has met Billy Joel on a few occasions. Co-worker's relative actually works for him.

[BOOgen3]

An addendum to the Fleetwood Mac stories. I first saw Fleetwood Mac on July 28, 1978 at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park (Buffalo) NY. The opening acts were Foreigner, Pablo Cruise and Bob Welch. The cost?  $12.00 whole dollars. Yes, I have saved ALL the ticket stubs from every concert or theater performance I have attended. At least they are small and compact nicely.

[RedPonyDriver]

I found a ticket stub to Van Halen dated 1980...it was 8 bucks! Back in the dark ages, I saw Foreigner, Journey, Styx (quite a few times), Poison, Tesla, REO Speedwagon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Cars, Dan Fogelberg, The Eagles...I skipped my senior prom to see Marshall Tucker and Molly Hatchett. 

[Love2dance]

Saw Billy Joel when Alexa was a baby and Christie was holding her near the stage. Best concert ever.

And now I need someone to say "there there, it will be okay" and I feel embarrassed even saying it. We have been planning a move to a new state for six months. Bought a house and work there is done. Current house under contract. Today, two days before movers come, we were in my car waiting to turn and big SUV in front of me backed up and smashed the front of my car. They got out, cursed a bit, and I said "where is your license plate?" Temporary tag under a layer of dirt. I wiped off the dirt and took a picture amd she yelled at me not to do that and they jumped back in the car and sped off. We called the police and they came and did their thing. Bad timing. We have insurance. No one is hurt. But it still bums me out. I can't drive at night with no headlight so have to split the drive and leave tomorrow instead of Monday. So many of you have "real" issues - this is minor in the big scheme of things but it still has me sad for now. Having a pity party before I hit road tomorrow and hope car makes it.

There, there, it will be ok. :) However, you have a right to your frustration. Moving is PLENTY stressful enough without adding a time stealing accident. Ugh! Hoping and wishing you have a smooth move from now on!

[BOOgen3]

I found a ticket stub to Van Halen dated 1980...it was 8 bucks! Back in the dark ages, I saw Foreigner, Journey, Styx (quite a few times), Poison, Tesla, REO Speedwagon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Cars, Dan Fogelberg, The Eagles...I skipped my senior prom to see Marshall Tucker and Molly Hatchett.]

In my stub collection, I also have one from 1980 for AC/DC for $7 and the Rolling Stones (with Journey and George Thorogood) from 1981 for $15. Just this August I paid $167 for a Jimmy Buffet concert, not to mention $40 for parking. I suppose JB has always been pricey, since the first time I saw him in 1987 I paid $28.

[GeeGolly]

I found a ticket stub to Van Halen dated 1980...it was 8 bucks! Back in the dark ages, I saw Foreigner, Journey, Styx (quite a few times), Poison, Tesla, REO Speedwagon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Cars, Dan Fogelberg, The Eagles...I skipped my senior prom to see Marshall Tucker and Molly Hatchett. 

Saw most of those and add to that J Geils, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, Grateful Dead, Steve Miller Band, Eric Clapton ... can't remember them all though. 

[latetotheparty]

The most expensive concert ticket I ever bought was $75 to see Van Cliburn with the Moscow Philharmonic, a scandalous amount of money in 1994 and totally worth it.  I had seen him when I was about 10 when he played at the Interlochen Music Camp in 1961 - my family used to camp at the state park on the other side of the highway.  We couldn't afford to attend his actual performance but anyone could hang out when he was practicing.  My parents were huge classical music fans and we found lots of excuses to hang around.  :)

 

Probably the most expensive concert I ever attended was Crosby, Still, Nash and Young when they reunited a few years ago.  My BFF took me for my birthday.  Like Stevie Nicks, Stephen Stills has lost a lot of range; they don't even try to perform Suite: Judy Blue Eyes anymore.   But they are still amazing performers.  I'm just glad I also caught them in the 70s.

[kalamac]

I'm seeing Taylor Swift with a friend tomorrow, because I'm her concert buddy (damn the Duggars for ruining the word buddy for me). $169.

[allonsyalice]

My brother wants to go see Billy Joel later this month (I had to ask if he was still alive) but I should see how much tickets are. The last concert I went to was last year a month ago. My ticket was 60$, but the lead singer called me "darling" and I almost passed out making the price 100$ worth it. 

[Barb23]

I'm seeing Taylor Swift with a friend tomorrow, because I'm her concert buddy (damn the Duggars for ruining the word buddy for me). $169.

My niece would be so jealous. She has made herself the unofficial fan club president of our area.

Lookey- So sorry to hear of your troubles. Hoping the move goes well. If my husband was at the Billy Joel concert you went to, he would have spent the entire time gawking at Christie. That is "his" lady along with Shania.

[Satchels of gold]

LOL. I wonder if Lindsey Buckingham can cook!

Funny, I just saw Fleetwood Mac (well, not just, but not too long ago) at Madison Square Garden. Seriously expensive tickets, but I had to go. For years I'd been saying, somewhat facetiously, "Yeah, when Christine McVie comes back, I'll go to the show." She had turned seventy at this point and I felt relatively safe, and then goddamn if she didn't re-join the band. My sister and I took each other for a mutual birthday present. They were actually amazing. Stevie has lost a lot of her range but has more power than ever, and honestly I don't think any of the rest of them have lost anything at all. Awesome show.

Apparently everyone in the world had made the same vow regarding Christine's return, because they sold out the Garden in one minute, then added extra shows and I still barely got tickets. I hate Ticketmaster. So hard to get tickets. Billy Joel plays the Garden every fricking month (and really can't sing anymore) and I still can't get tickets.

Such First World problems, I have. :-)

I just saw Billy Joel last night, he is better than ever. I loved that he played the French national anthem and gave a little speech about not being terrorized and just living life as we always have. He ended with"fuck them!" And the arena went crazy. I really needed to hear that, I've been seriously depressed since this last mass shooting. I just can't bear to hear of any more deaths, then the awful aftermath of somehow tying it to poor Syrian refugees. I guess I have to accept that this is the new normal.

[Barb23]

Lookeyloo, I'm so sorry for your accident, and glad it wasn't worse. People get all freaked out about commercial airplane crashes, terrorist attacks, and other awful things (which it's OK to freak out about). But. Our chances of being in everyday car wrecks are off the charts compared to our chances of being involved in those other things. Ick.

 

Just yesterday morning I was driving to an appointment, and stopped at a light, behind several other cars, with no cars stopped behind me. The light changed but our lane didn't start moving right away. Not one but TWO oncoming vehicles (traveling fast!) nearly crashed into my car. It was so scary! The first, an SUV, was able to swerve into the lane to the right at the last few seconds, or it would have smashed HARD into my car. There was a car behind that one, and the driver must have stood on the brakes - I could see the smoke from massive rubber-burning. And then SMELL the burned rubber. Fortunately (1) the vehicles ahead of me finally moved and I was able to move up a little and (2) the second oncoming car was able to finally swerve over into the right hand lane. I swear, the difference between an impact and none, must have been a matter of inches. I had time to sit there and think, well I guess I'll find out how the airbag works and too bad I'll miss my chiropractor appointment.

 

I'm sure the drivers weren't paying attention. I'm glad there was no accident and I made my chiropractor appointment!

Wow, that had to be scary. Glad it didn't turn into a real accident cuz the way it sounds, you would have gotten the brunt of it. I had a close call 30 yrs ago & it upset me so bad, I could barely get the words out to tell my husband what had happened. I swear during the close call, everything turned into slow motion & my life flashed before my eyes.

[MarysWetBar]

LOL. I wonder if Lindsey Buckingham can cook!

Funny, I just saw Fleetwood Mac (well, not just, but not too long ago) at Madison Square Garden. Seriously expensive tickets, but I had to go. For years I'd been saying, somewhat facetiously, "Yeah, when Christine McVie comes back, I'll go to the show." She had turned seventy at this point and I felt relatively safe, and then goddamn if she didn't re-join the band. My sister and I took each other for a mutual birthday present. They were actually amazing. Stevie has lost a lot of her range but has more power than ever, and honestly I don't think any of the rest of them have lost anything at all. Awesome show.

Apparently everyone in the world had made the same vow regarding Christine's return, because they sold out the Garden in one minute, then added extra shows and I still barely got tickets. I hate Ticketmaster. So hard to get tickets. Billy Joel plays the Garden every fricking month (and really can't sing anymore) and I still can't get tickets.

Such First World problems, I have. :-)

Oh i wanted to see them so bad but couldn't justify the prices. I'm glad you enjoyed them!

[Wellfleet]

The most expensive concert ticket I ever bought was $75 to see Van Cliburn with the Moscow Philharmonic, a scandalous amount of money in 1994 and totally worth it.  I had seen him when I was about 10 when he played at the Interlochen Music Camp in 1961 - my family used to camp at the state park on the other side of the highway.  We couldn't afford to attend his actual performance but anyone could hang out when he was practicing.  My parents were huge classical music fans and we found lots of excuses to hang around.  :)

 

Probably the most expensive concert I ever attended was Crosby, Still, Nash and Young when they reunited a few years ago.  My BFF took me for my birthday.  Like Stevie Nicks, Stephen Stills has lost a lot of range; they don't even try to perform Suite: Judy Blue Eyes anymore.   But they are still amazing performers.  I'm just glad I also caught them in the 70s.

 

Priciest for me - $125 to see Phantom of the Opera in the early 90s in Toronto. Went with my Mom to a Saturday matinee, had dinner afterward in a marvelous Toronto restaurant. Wish I could remember its name. Afterward we said we should have stayed over in a big hotel and made a weekend of it. Hair, facial, nails, massage, Sunday brunch - the whole nine yards. But we drove back home to the southern shore of Lake Ontario that night - just 2 hours. My Dad was beginning to have his COPD problems and Mom didn't like leaving him overnight without someone else in the house.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Wellfleet