I could go into details about what I mean by 'predatory' seating, but I'd just get pissed off again. Suffice it to say that when people can put their chairs or tarps in place for the evening concert at 8AM and then not sit in/on them all day until the concert, people do some pretty not-nice things to get in. I was in the Utah Phillips memorial when they announced the move. It would have been rude to get up in front of everyone and walk out.

Mostly I don't sit but watch from the back. (I've sat in the audience, but I don't do well in crowds-- especially not when it's hard to get out.) You can't do that when people who couldn't fit into the building are sitting outside the door as far back as they can see.

I know it's always been this way - it's always bothered me. As I get older, it bothers me more. I really wanted to go to that concert and I believe it might have been the high point of my weekend. I wanted to see Matt Watroba, Andy Irvine, Si Kahn, Le Vent du Nord and others. I would have been happy to stand at the back. It doesn't matter so much that I missed it, unless I think about it.

It pissed me off that Kendall wasn't allowed to perform at the Utah memorial. One of his oldest, best friends wasn't welcome when other folks got two turns up there. I guess they didn't have a lot of time to plan, and it was OK for all that, but it was really hard to take that they refused Kendall. Oh well.

Susan, the tent wasn't that hard to put up. I'd be better off if I took some breaks though, and didn't try to do it all at once. I felt like... do you remember those squishy rubber things you used to throw at walls and they'd stick a bit and climb down? One of those things - sticky and limp and sliding down a wall. Somebody always offers to help. Usually they know less about how to put up the tent than I and I want to strangle them, then take a knife to the tent. The guy who helped me this year was really nice. I was still half dead when I finished.

I used to ENJOY camping. We'd have a communal kitchen area and cook meals. We'd have communal booze and other stuff and folks would rove around the campground at night joining in with whatever music sounded good. These days (and this is just the way it is, not just Old Songs), people seem to look at you funny if you appear to want to join them. I'm guessing that's more my interpretation of things though. I miss the Woodchucks' compound.

Maybe I should do this in chapters.