Back in April, when we passed through Charleston on our way back up the ICW, I was a bit alarmed by the fact that the supercute pair of platinum sandals I bought while shopping during the Second Sunday on King Street were European size 42. I figured it was an aberration — that the shoes weren’t really that big — explaining why they were marked down.
Alas, I was wrong. Seven months of wearing flipflops and Keens (when wearing shoes at all) has resulted in bigger feet.
Yes, Harriet has the same pair…. But hers aren’t the same size as mine anymore.
Not just longer, but with more relaxed toes. I thought that once I tried to corral those puppies in work-appropriate shoes, they might fall back into line. But after over 3 months of being back in the business world, I’m having to face the reality that it ain’t happening. Those toes got a taste of freedom, and will simply not be reined back in.
Most guys won’t understand, but I’m sure my female readers will: having to jettison a good percentage of my cute shoes is painful. I LOVE SHOES! And to send some of mine away (to a good or worthy home, no doubt) causes a bit of a pang.
And those are only some of the summer shoes to which I’m bidding farewell.
Lest you think that I’ll be replacing all of them … well, I won’t. Perhaps some strategic new acquisitions, but one thing I’ve learned as a cruiser is to live with less Stuff. And that requires clearing out things that are no longer useful, and sticking with essentials. Of course, I say that now….
One of the things I missed about living with my feet on the ground [see how I did that? that is what fancy writer-folk call a transition] is live music. We had the occasional opportunity to hear a local rake-n-scrape musician, or a bar band, here and there, but nowhere near the frequency or quality of shows I attend in “normal” life. Even as we were making our way home, I was scooping up tickets to shows. Not always easy when WiFi is patchy.
I was totally psyched to find out one of my favorite bands, Guster, would be playing at Merriweather Post Pavilion as part of the “Route 29 Revue” (here’s a representative Guster song, if you’re curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k-VAlIPzKg), and quickly bought tickets. But then another favorite, Pat McGee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwUP2HGP7HY) announced a show the same day at Ram’s Head on Stage in Annapolis. What to do?! I did what any fangirl would do: got tickets to Pat’s show as well. Lucky for me, Guster would be done by 5 p.m., and Pat wouldn’t start until 8:30 p.m. Plenty of time to get to Annapolis and change out of my Guster t-shirt (which, incidentally, is the only band shirt I own other than a few Jimmy Buffett shirts, and the only band shirt I’ve ever worn to a show).
I’ve often wondered how much performers can see from the stage, and even if they can see, how attentive they are to what happens in the audience. Well, Saturday I learned that they can and do.
We had 5th row seats for Guster. I call those grown-up seats, because for all the years Jimmy Buffett played Merriweather, we always sat on the lawn, rain or shine.
Great views of Guster.
Although they were well-received — audiences love Guster, even if they’ve never heard of them, and this was no exception — it wasn’t quite a Guster crowd The audience was waiting for Iron and Wine, Trombone Shorty, or Trampled by Turtles. So the fact that I stood for their entire show, wearing my Guster shirt, made me noticeable. And lead singer Ryan Miller gave me a shout out! Squeee!
Unlike Merriweather, the Ram’s Head is an intimate room, and audience interaction with the performers is inevitable (we’ve seen some pretty embarassing instances of fan affection gone out of control….) And Pat McGee was clearly aware of the amorous young couple right at his feet (and just in front of us), who left mid-show to … er …. get a hotel room. So during the encore, when the band unplugged their instruments and wandered into the audience, one of them used a vacated chair to stand on.
Pat McGee, right in front of us, unplugged.
Rick warned Pat to be careful of the napkin that the young lovers left behind, so Pat picked it up very gingerly by the corner before tossing it aside.
For us, another of the great things about Ram’s Head shows is that we can go “home” to Calypso afterwards, instead of driving back to our house. Which is exactly what we did. But it took me a while to fall asleep afterwards, since the endorphin buzz of Evapalooza took a while to wear off for me.
On the way home from Annapolis, we stopped at a produce market in the parking lot of the Easport Shopping Center. As I was inspecting the wares, I heard Guster’s Satellite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekt6PELAcEg) on the raido/Sirius/XM playing there, and absentmindedly sang along. Just like the 20-something cashier. We caught each other’s eyes, gave each other abashed smiles, and moved on.
Wonder if she has a t-shirt?
Calypso's Odyssey 