Song Sung Blue ... P-U!!!

I was up by 5:30am just like I was supposed to be. However, I was still tired after only 5.5 hrs of sleep, but otherwise felt pretty good. I had to prep coffee since neither of us did the duty the night before. Despite a forecast calling for sunshine, a glance towards the dark sky revealed lingering clouds – the first in weeks. I completed my exercises by 5:50am and then leashed up Ykraps for our ritualistic morning walk. The temperature was moderate – about 64 degrees. I was a tad glum about the day ahead until I remembered this was Neil Diamond day. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to see him for several years. Tonight I would realize my wish. Shortly after returning home I delivered Mindy’s coffee. It was just after 6am. That’s right, we’re back into our school day routine. After some time on the PC, coffee, and meditation I readied for my run. Then, after a quick stretch, I dashed out into an otherwise dark cloud covered morning. I ran four miles with little, if any, mentionable discomfort. For this I was grateful. Back into our school day routine, Mindy was already up and preparing my eggs when I returned from my run. I took over cooking my eggs after seeing that Mindy was struggling, essentially running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Whether it was a case of over sleeping or simply being out of practice, I wasn’t sure. After finishing my own eggs, I fried one for her. As Mindy prepared to dash out the door with Bella I asked how Jacob was getting to the bus stop. All I knew was that his bus wasn’t coming until 8:30am for the next few days. Thus far, we hadn’t discussed the details. Apparently she was expecting me to run him to Crissy & Kenny’s at 8:10am. Glad I asked. Mindy & Bella headed out just after 7:30am. I headed up for a shower soon after they departed. I was ready by 7:55am. We walked down to Crissy’s at 8:10am as suggested. I felt uncomfortable, not knowing if Mindy actually made contact with Crissy regarding the matter. Crissy was just pulling out when I walked up. She said that Mindy had just called her and that Kenny was in the house. Crisis avoided. I hustled off to work in the Trooper minutes later. Work was frightfully busy. I headed to Auto Zone and Home Depot come lunch time. At Auto Zone I bought a replacement headlight bulb for the Trooper. I had no interest in driving with a burnt out headlight. At Home Depot I bought a treated 2X8X12 and had it cut in half. However, the first board I picked up and had them cut wasn’t treated. Oops! I didn’t realize this until I was about to check out. Once I realized, I went back and got a treated board and had it cut to the same specifications. In addition, I picked up 20 lag bolts & three bags of concrete. All of this was for my wall project. Back at work for the last three+ hours of my day. It was a quick afternoon. I didn’t leave the office again until 5:45pm. Mindy was already back at school doing parent conferences. Rene was at our home watching the kids. As soon as I got home I got crackin’ on chores. I prepped tomorrow’s coffee and cleaned up my lunch containers. Rene, meanwhile, was out on the deck reading. I eventually made my way out and chatted with her for a while before walking Ykraps. Leaving her alone to her reading, I left with Ykraps and then returned for more chores. Mindy asked that I help with some laundry. In addition, I carried the two 2X8s that I bought earlier around to my work area. Next, I went out and replaced my headlight bulb. Thanks to Ken, a buddy from work, I was able to get it replaced with only minor cussing. J It was now 6:45pm and all of my chores were complete. I went back in and played on the PC updating my blog. It was just about 7:30pm when I overheard heard Rene talking with Mindy. Apparently Mindy was almost home. We left for the Neil Diamond concert within five minutes of Mindy’s arrival. The show was slated to begin at 8pm. It was 7:40pm when we headed out. The Schott’s a quick and easy drive from our place – a straight shot down Trabue to Lane Ave. What we didn’t expect or plan for was a huge traffic jam just west of the venue as hundreds of cars vied for the final few parking spots. Plus, we ended up having to park all the way up by Ackerman Rd. Lucky for us, they were providing shuttle service to the Schott. We found our way in and past security by 8:20pm. I had my small digital camera in tow, but was told absolutely no cameras allowed by the gentleman helping concert patrons board the shuttle. I asked Mindy to bury it in her purse and then hoped for the best. Turns out, they only performed a cursory glance into her purse and missed it. Wahoo! Our seats were close to the stage ($120 a piece). Ouch! They were a Father’s Day gift so I didn’t know it at the time. I could hear Neil singing even before we found our seats. I was more than a little bummed that we were late. From the outset, I could tell something was amiss with his voice. And by the time we sat down in our seats it was clear that he was having major voice issues. In fact, it was so bad that I was down right disgusted. I mentioned as much to Mindy, who, I think, took it personal, at least at first. However, I was grateful for the tickets, but still bummed that he sounded so bad. I could not bring myself to applaud like many of the blue hairs still did. He sucked! What’s worse, he made no effort to address his obvious lack of a voice with the crowd. I felt cheated. And as we later found out, so did many, many others. Somehow we endured the entire show. It was the least I could do to show my wife respect for buying these expensive tickets. It became a joke as the show went on. We couldn’t believe the old folks acting as if nothing was wrong. By the second hour, he wasn’t even singing at all. Instead, he was lip syncing. He did the “talk sing” thing a little too. I was thrilled when the show ended as we eagerly headed for the exit and then the shuttle back to the bowels of the parking lot. On the shuttle, Neil’s poor performance was all the buzz. We were happy to hear that we weren’t the only fans soured over the matter. I told a bunch of blue hairs how good Alice Cooper was the night before, and for only $25. I also promised to draft a letter/email letting Neil know that I wasn’t fooled. Sadly, the most exciting event of the evening was how quickly we got to our car, out of the lot, and onto the road home. Rene was resting when we got home. The kids were already tucked into bed. After a little socializing Rene departed and Mindy & I headed up to bed.