my first try at a bonnamemoir, hope you like it

6/22/06
Walking through the fields of Bonnaroo while tripping out on life became such a good feeling inside. It brought me back to younger days when I was less stressed out. When everything I looked at was still an opportunity. So, I walked from place to place at a steady slow pace, scanning the ground all around for the bodies of my trusting fellow Roo’sters, so as not to crush someone’s face with my foot. It was kind of like a strategic videogame. Anyway, I would watch someone’s awesome set until my brain hit overload, and then wander off in search of the next one. No worries at all for a while. I wandered an alternative reality where all of the things around me were incredibly good things. Beyond good, the reason we are all alive on this earth. Because no matter what ever happens, we can all always find a way to appreciate beauty, whether we like it or not. Beauty given to us by God, whatever the answer to that question may be. This is what I think, and though our thumbs may be a wonderful thing, this is not what makes us truly unique. That has everything to do with our soul. And for everything I saw at Bonnaroo, the place seemed to bring out the souls of everyone, out for a chance to play in the night, in the light, in full plain sight, yet completely out of view. Eden unspoiled. That was where I found myself, and that was where I was. So I decided to let everything go. I just went along with the flow. And do you want to know what happened? I suddenly felt like I was 100% myself. When you are first born I think that must be the way you feel, a thing that diminishes with each passing year of your life. The magic of Bonnaroo brought me back to that feeling again, but this time I was an adult, and as an adult I was able to understand everything I’d been missing, things we all are missing to some degree or another, and it all comes down to the reason we are all alive. Because life is beautiful, the gift we’ve been given to live.
So then, suddenly, it was definitely time to sleep, but I watched the sun rise that morning, (or most of it at least. It seemed to be taking forever. Since I already knew how it ended, I finally chose sleep instead. But now I have a few gorgeous pictures of the perfect pre-dawn sky, and the best one lives in my head. I will remember it forever.) I watched the sun rise and I went to bed. Then three hours later, I continued the quest. A lot of good things happened last weekend, but that’s all I want to say right here. Beauty in all of its forms, right down to the dirtiest smiling soul, beauty is life… thank you Bonnaroo. I’ll carry your magic with me for the rest of my life.