It took me a long time to get back on the train

I think I have a new theme song. Until recently, well until tonight, it was Ben Folds Five "The Battle of Who Could Care Less." But tonight, I saw Phish with convivial friends, people I genuinely love. We danced, we sang; we played with little puzzle toys that we liberated from chocolate eggs.

The show was fantastic, the first half all mellow-groovy; the second set rocked a little harder. I kept thinking that I wasn't quite sure where, what part of my body did the music hit? It seemed to be in my legs, mostly; the knees, the thighs, the hips. I kept on catching a beat and it kept me moving. As the band played "Free" the glowsticks came out and there seemed to be a dome of lights over out heads. I didn't know glowsticks came in so many colors. The intensity of each set was this building thing that seemed to come in waves that I actually thought I could feel.

As always, the show left me feeling loose-limbed and genuinely groovy. I kept surprising my connective tissues as I'd move, but it always backed me up. The show ended with Rocky Top, just like my first show. During the choruses, Dave was happy to provide the melody to the high harmonies I was singing. I decided after it was all over that we needed to form a hillbilly band. He said he'd learn banjo and I pledged to take up Spoons and the washtub bass. There are plenty of openings!

After the show we followed our bliss to Ellen's; she gave us peanut butter cookies with milk chocolate chips, and they were so very good. Anyway, Ed was the designated driver, although he was also the one making the pink plastic Yoda talk. Yoda came with a hut, which seemed so very cool in the moment.

We ended up at Bob and Edith's, a diner on Columbia Pike in Arlington. You have to understand that Bob and Edith's is full of memorabilia from the Dallas Cowboys first set of glory days, back when Cowboy Tom led his team, when Roger Stauback was still throwing Hail Marys to Drew Pearson; back when Tony Dorsett was a young whippersnapper and Ed Jones was still Too Tall. Those were the days, man.

I had a tuna melt and fries, Ed had country fried steak and eggs; Em had crabcakes, corn and home fries, Dave had eggs, home fries and toast. Oh, she brought a whole stack of wheat toast. I thought it was beautiful even though it wasn't mine.

The pies in the cabinet were mighty tasty looking, though. Mmmm. Lemon Merangue. Next time.

"When I jumped off, I had a bucket full of thoughts
When I first jumped off I held that bucket in my hand;
Ideas that would take me all around the world
I sit and watch the smoke behind the mountain curl;
It took me a long time to get back on the train."

Some days it all works out. I feel like today was one of those days.

before - after