It turns out that the hardest part of touring is parking the car. I’ve been in CT for a full week and I’m still spinning. The brakes are engaged and below the deafening screeches I feel the anticipation of stillness, but not before a loud, jerky drawn-out stop.
So I’ve spent the past few days weeding out – you can see above I’ve been tackling the front of my mom’s house. I also spent a day purging my belongings. Now all of my clothes fit nicely in one suitcase. The Goodwill pile makes the wheelbarrow above look like a handful of dandelions by comparison. After getting rid of so much stuff I still had… so much stuff. It’s eye-opening to realize how little I really “need” – my perspective has changed having lived out of the car for the past six months. Of course the book collection is still embarrassing, but these things take time. (On the subject of weeds, I recommend this article from last Sunday’s Times).
Independence Day has been swirling around my head a lot this week, too. I have always loved the Fourth of July because it’s really the only summer holiday, and the only holiday involving fresh berries and a picnic at the beach. It has felt different in recent years, though. This year especially. I’ve never been a big fan of fireworks – something about cheering at explosions in the sky while people are being bombed to oblivion in other parts of the world doesn’t feel right. I don’t mean to ruin your barbeque. I understand the importance of acknowledging our nation’s independence and the people who made/make that independence possible. But we have a lot of work ahead of us and I don’t know about you, but it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by all of it.
With this in mind, I just posted a live version of “Atlantis” along with a few other downloads at the Virb site. They were recorded at KRFC in Ft. Collins two weeks ago. Here are also a few pictures taken between Colorado and home. Home, by the way, is going to be back in NYC starting tomorrow! I found my dream apartment within hours of being back, and I’m both thrilled and terrified by the prospect of being in one place for a year. Of course I know better than to think that I won’t be traveling sooner than that… I found out last night that “Atlantis” is one of five finalists in the Great Waters Song Contest, so I’ll be playing Great Waters Music Festival in New Hampshire in a few weeks. I’m going to try to stay local for the rest of 2008 so that I can recharge and tend to the waves crashing in my head.
