First concert???

OK. This has come up several times in conversations the last few weeks (most recently in the comments at State of Grace)
so's I gotta ask:

What was the first big concert that you attended? (NO, your visit to see an orchestra in 6th grade does not count!! Think Rock, Think Pop,... if you must think country...)

For myself, I was between 6th and 7th grade and The Beatles were on their second (and large) tour of the US. They played in The Mistake By The Lake. My best friend Ginny and I were in the upper level seats somewhere in left field. The stage was centered in the stadium with several trailers in the outfield where the performers stayed.

We planned to sleep over that night, which made life easier for our folks. One drove us down to the stadium in the afternoon, and the other set picked us up afterward.

Why do I think that now parents would shudder about leaving 12 year old girls off in front of a stadium for 3 hours or so at a concert?

Whatcha Doing Today? Run some errands, straighten the studio and start playing with the ideas I had about those triangle shapes from August.

What's on TV Tonight? Studio 60.
Steps? 10,247

Tags: concerts, Beatles

Stop the Violence Camp

I live near the city of Richmond, Ca. Since we moved here, violence in Richmond has been a regular part of the local news. Over the last year or two, numbers have increased to nearly one homocide per day.

Increased police presence did not reduce the numbers.

Marches and protests and weekend activities did not reduce the numbers.

Starting last Monday, residents decided that enough was enough. They wanted to take back their city and face the gang members and drug dealers who were destroying it. So they took a remarkable step: They are camping out.

Residents have surrounded the most dangerous part of town (The Iron Triangle) with tents, lawn chairs and campers. These residents are living outside on their streets making their presence highly visible.

And it's having an effect.

Since the campaign, there has been no homocides in the entire city. Today is day six; first we'll see how successful this is for the remaining 24 days. Then, the real test... what happens when the camp disappears.

Whatcha Doing Today?
What's on TV Tonight?
Steps?