We spent the next several days wandering from venue to venue taking in as much music as possible, and when I say "we" I mean Bob because I don't think anyone needs to see twelve or more hours of music in one day. He thought he'd died and gone to heaven. I took in a couple hours a day (some favorites: Particle, Railroad Earth, Particle). The rest of the time I slowly broiled in camp (because it was blistering hot) trying to remain dehydrated so I wouldn't have to go to the honey buckets, but drinking enough beer so that if I had to go, I wouldn't mind too much. I made new friends and read my book which at the time and without any irony whatsoever happened to be Ep. I The Phantom Menace. Some guy saw me reading and I heard him yell to his girlfriend, "Hey there's someone else here reading" (no, I'm not making this up) so this woman comes out to meet me and see what I'm reading and I have to hold up my book and say with complete seriousness, The Phantom Menace. (I wanted to buy Attack of the Clones but it was only in hard back.)

Truthfully, I had a blast and would seriously consider doing it again but probably not this year. The music was great and we met tons of super fun, happy people.

AGOURA CHARGERS CLASS OF 82

In June 01 it was 10 years since I left L.A. and it's been at least 5 years since I've even visited so this trip was the ultimate trip down memory lane.

I booked myself to fly into Burbank, which along with Arcata, CA and Schiphol (Amsterdam), is one of my favorite airports on the planet. But of course there I am at the self check-in kiosk at PDX and it keeps telling me, no: check with an agent and I keep stubbornly trying to check in. No, my flight has been canceled. Is this how this trip is going to go?

But they rebook me into LAX and then I can take a shuttle to BUR to pickup my killer rental car deal. But first our shuttle ends up picking up the oldest lady on the planet, 97 — she told me and then her companion helper who was probably about 85 and wobbling around with a cane, and it takes all the people in the shuttle (also PDX BUR refugees plus the driver) and like 4 people on the ground to get these ladies into the van, secured and so we're on our way and we get out of the airport and then to Sepulveda and then finally we're easing into the traffic on 405 north and a call comes in — no one loaded any of the luggage onto the van. So of course the driver, fabulously well-mannered ESL guy and the companion have to argue about it — like that's going to help now.

So we have to go back and we're all tangled up in Sepulveda traffic and bumper to bumper and about this time the 97 year old lady says, "I was just thinking about what I would do if I had a plate of scrambled eggs with sausage." (It's like, 10 am.) Tell me about it lady. So we have to pick up the luggage at some sort of transport shuttle station which is basically 3 feet off the runway so while we're waiting to sort this all out (because of course the luggage isn't just waiting there for us) we've got jumbo jets lifting off and folding their wheels close enough to rattle our teeth.

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PHOTOGRAPH: Pam instructing Kathleen on the pin free bun. Photographer: Bob

This page was made on December 20, 2002. Featured artist: 3 Doors Down. Featured beverage: wine.

Posted: 12.20.02
http://www.pamrentz.com/pampage/xmas/v12/p2.html