Love is All That Remains
A day of emotion all around. I woke up yesterday to the Challenger disaster. On the news today, there was a montage of the debris, and one of them included a clip of a space helmet, charred, lying on the ground, and obviously devoid of anything human. It just brought it home for me. Another part of innocence lost. My thoughts go out to the families, even though they may never know of it.

On to other things. I can't believe I haven't posted since Wednesday, but things have been awe-inspiringly busy. Temp work, classes, getting internship work done, and now I am involved in the updates for a new edition of a book on E-Commerce (the "E-Commerce Legal Handbook, 2004 edition, for those who would like to know.) It is due to the printers in April, which seems like a far way off, except that the book is currently 1800 pages long, and that is with switching to a smaller font. I'm not updating all of it, far from that. I am helping with the updates on certain chapters. Although there is one chapter (not written by the chap I'm working for) that needs a complete re-do. I wonder if I am very good and do my work like a good little girl, if I can have a crack at it. Step one: do good job on current assignments. THEN attempt to take over world, um, I mean book.

In addition to all this, I had been given two tickets to see Neil Finn on Saturday night. But I couldn't get anyone to go with me. I had a number of people who would have gone, or at least said they would have gone, but already had other plans. So I already seemed to have a ticket going spare, but then I came home Friday at 6:30 from work/the doctor's, and discovered that I had won a contest by the local radio station. Two MORE tickets to the concert, plus the sound check party and a meet and greet with the man himself. More phone calls in order, but of course at that time everyone was out doing what they do. The next day, resigned to going myself, I got a phone call from my friend Sarah to say "what's up?" I told her. I invited her. She couldn't come to the meet and greet, but she could come to the concert. Fun!

The meet and greet was a blast. But first I feel the need to comment on the nature of obsession. Now, I am a fan of Neil Finn. A big fan. I own all the CDs, etc. I was happy to be at the sound check. I enjoyed meeting the man and shaking his hand. But that's really where it ends - I missed the last concert and while it would have been fun to go, it is not a symptom of failure in my life. When we arrived for the sound check and lined up, I noticed a few people at the front of the line who were settled in for the long haul. Chairs, blankets, bundled to the hilt. In my naivete, I assumed they were there for the same sound check I was. Not true. They were there for the concert, and the doors weren't going to open for another couple of hours. Later, when the doors did open, they made a MAD rush and pinned themselves to the front of the stage. Even though no one was behind them yet. I can't understand. It is a small venue. There's not a location in there you can't hear everyword and see everything. So why? I don't know. I suspect the answer lays somewhere between "because it's Neil Finn" and "why not?" and leans more towards the former than I can appreciate.

But anyway, on to the music itself. First off, the opening act. I was utterly captivated by him. Chap by the name of Rhett Miller. Performs as a man and a guitar, but there's some drum, etc backing on the CD. He used to be the singer for the Old '97s, which was another group I'd never heard of before last night. And he was wonderful! "I'm in love with a four eyed girl." - loved it. Highly recommend to anyone who likes word intensive folky pop. Turns out a song of his was on the telly show "Scrubs" this week, so maybe you've heard of him anyway.

Then of course it was time for more Neil, who was in fine form, playing more classics than songs off the album he was supposed to be promoting. Sarah was turned on to the music, and I was blown away by a song that isn't on any of the CDs, but hopefully will be on the next one. It is called "Love is All That Remains" and goes a little like this:
Those who turn on the news
Terrible insight has come
Waking dreams of our destruction
Love is all that remains

I saw you run for the gate.
We both ran out in time.
There is only one destination -
Love is all that remains

Who can tell what end will come?
Be tender now with your heart.
Is this what we came here to do?
A beautiful life to create,
Living proof of our existence.
Love is all that remains.

And there is a light for you.
We won't get left alone.
Along the river we slept
I can't help thinking of you.
Everything's turning to dust.
The living proof of our existence -
Love is all that remains.

Love is all that remains.

Tears came to my eyes, as it spoke to me on such a personal level. I don't know if it was crafted in response to the WTC disaster, but it sure could have been. I have my doubts that it was, due to the line about sleeping by the river, which to me refers to another Neil Finn song back when he was in Crowded House that was about the suicide of his aunt, who drowed herself in a river (Hole in the River, it's called.) but that is how it spoke to me as I continue to work through the death of a friend, and I coached this friend in rowing at an early hour of the morning, so it continued to work for me. Yes, I cried, but it is a more positive cry, a more positive direction, more positive emotions I have had on this subject since it occurred. Because when I think of my friend, I think of someone with an overbounding love for everything and almost everyone I saw him come across (granted, I saw him in a limited setting but this is how I saw it.). And that still remains. And it can remain with me as well. I can get up every day and create a beautiful life for myself, and more importantly for others. Of course, today it also seemed to speak towards the Challenger disaster as well.

Quoting song lyrics somehow strips them bare to me. I guess it is because it lses the full effect of coupling them with the music. The musical arrangement for this is in the vein of what to me Neil excels at - it isn't a ballad, but it is a slower take. For example, his classic "Message to My Girl." There was a certain hymn like quality to this track.

It is snowing. I love the snow! But it is time to do work. E-Commerce Audits ho!
Love,
Anne