Picnic music: Deja Vu

I have been tired much of the day and almost didn't go to tonight's concert in the park, which would have been a shame as I'll explain later.

My eye bothered me last night. You know, the one that got poked by the tree branch. I woke up numerous times last night to drink water. My eye felt worse when I closed it. I think I scratched the eye lens and the scratch rubbed against my eyelid. I also felt the scratch today whenever I hadn't had water for a while and my eye felt dry. Thankfully my eye feels much better tonight. Bob and Jan told me they had felt their scratch for weeks when they had gotten a scratch on their eyes.

It didn't help that last night's overnight low was 63 - unusually warm for here. It is hard to cool the house down when it doesn't get cool overnight. Tonight isn't much better as it is still 61 degrees at 2 am.

Other than moving the cattle to my south pasture I didn't do much. I worked on my bicycle tire, checked the pocket gopher traps, visited Bob and Jan, and slept. I had to struggle to get energy after waking up in order to go to the concert. I was tired and it was around 90 degrees yet again - for an incredible 16th time this year. I thought about skipping the concert but finally willed the energy to get moving.

I rode my bicycle as I hadn't ridden it over week now. And exercise invigorates me which helped me wake up and be alert.

I arrived after the convert started, as usual. The band is Deja Vu. They play classic rock songs, and play them well. You gotta love a band who includes a song by Buffalo Springfield in their set. The lead singer is a woman with a husky voice. For the Buffalo Springfield song it sounded like Melissa Etheridge was singing the song. For songs, she sounded like someone else.

Somethings Happening Here

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

A radio station was giving away free cups of ice cream. After leaning my bicycle against a building's wall I joined the line.

I stood in line behind a woman who greatly reminded me of an ex-girlfriend. While she was alone in line, she had a ring on her ring finger, so I didn't engage in conversation with her. The last thing I needed was for her to sound like my ex-girlfriend. Then I know I've lost it.

Behind me in line was Scott Johnston, who owns and runs the Montana Radio Cafe radio station. I had spoken with him at a Picnic in the Park concert two years ago when Francis and Linda had visited me. He didn't remember me, which isn't surprising. As we stood in line I chatted with him about his radio station and the music and changes I had noticed lately. I also told him I missed listening to the station after he had lost power for almost a day after last Wednesday's storms.

I got a cup of huckleberry ice cream. Where is my Uncle Curt now that there is huckleberry ice cream?!

The ice cream was good, and when the line was shorter I went in the line again for chocolate chip ice cream this time.

As I was eating the second cup of ice cream an attractive blond woman came out of the crowd over to me and my bicycle and looked at my bicycle. She made some comment about my bicycle, of which I have now forgotten what she said. It was a positive comment, but my bicycle is 11 years old and has many, many miles on it. It looks it. I don't lock my bicycle when I go in many stores because... who would steal this beat up bicycle?

Anyway, we had a conversation about bicycling (she bicycles), hiking (she hikes), bears (we traded bear stories from Many Glacier), horses (she has one and rides some of the trails), Kalispell (she is a native), among other small talk. She mentioned some names like I should know them, and of whom I later deduced were owners/employees of a local bicycle shop. Initially I wondered if she confused me with someone else, which has happened here in Kalispell.

She appeared to be around my age, and during our conversation mentioned she was in her 50s. Ok, my age or older. But she looks darn good. Quite attractive. And no, I don't have a photo. You'll have to trust me on this.

Now, my bicycle is not all that. Obviously my bicycle was pretext to start a conversation with me. So... since our conversation went well I asked for her phone number. The problem is that neither of us had any paper or a pen. (I know, I should have listened to my uncle Larry). She went to someone else nearby to ask, and I turned to the couple I was standing next to, and had chatted with earlier, and we both came back with our names on pieces of paper. After exchanging the slips of paper she disappeared back into the crowd. How she noticed me, I don't know. I can't pick people out of a crowd.

I plan to call her in a few days or next week once I come up with a hike or some activity for us to do.

My Uncle Larry was right when he told me to attend these concerts to meet women, and had chastised me for missing the one concert at the start of the season. And here I was attending the concerts to just hear live music.

Then 15 to 20 minutes later a woman came and stood near my bicycle. When I looked her way she looked back with a look that she was open to conversation. What's going on here tonight? What's in the air? Is classic rock music concerts the place to meet women?

I am not in the habit of collecting numbers. And while this other woman had attractive eyes and a nice face, she weighed too much for my tastes. Since I am making that comment, you know she was fairly overweight. So I didn't talk to this second woman and concentrated back on the concert, of which I hadn't heard when talking with Colleen.

So it has been a different day for me. I better get to bed so I can hopefully get stuff done from my to-do list, especially if I am possibly going to embark on a new relationship as relationships sucks up time. And I still have the Goat Haunt trip and several trips with Brain to write up. Where does the time go?