Concerts in the Park: Then & Now

I’m headed to the City today, for a free concert in the park. There will be bands all day and night, with fireworks after. We’re timing it so we can see Steve Winwood, followed by Santana. Going to an outdoor concert in my midlife years isn’t quite the same as going in my distant youth…

Then: Throw on a broomstick skirt, a halter top, and my ratty old Birkies.

Now: Change outfits at least five times. Settle on my usual bermudas and a t-shirt, with coordinating Chacos.

Then: Throw sunflower seeds, a doobie, and a bottle of Boones Farm in a backpack.

Now: Carefully pack a bag with SPF 150 sunscreen, bug spray, chapstick, ID, a health insurance card, emergency contact info in case I’m unconscious from the heat, a book to read while the bands change gear, money for bottomless lemonade, Benadryl for the bugs that get through my spray shield, pistachios, and a small plastic bag with two frozen bottles of water and some chocolate covered espresso beans, so I can stay awake.

Then: Wander the park making new friends, stop to chat with small children, play music under a shade tree with some guy named “Renegade,” get my hair braided by “Willow” in exchange for a backrub.

Now: Stay on the blanket, in the territory claimed earlier in the day by friends. Don’t leave the blanket except to (a) get a blooming onion or more lemonade, (b) make one of many, many trips to the port-a-potty, or (c) shove my way down to the stage to take several blurry, unrecognizable pics of the bands. Read.

Then: Stay till long after the last band is halfway to Kansas City. Maybe head for western Nebraska to spend a few days with Renegade.

Now: Hope my ride will be ready to leave ten minutes before Santana’s done, in order to avoid traffic congestion. Be home, slathered with aloe and asleep, by 11.