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Just Another Manic Monday: the Bangles on Tour

Me with the Bangles. Love this pic because I forgot to hide my braces & they don't look too terrible!

Time, time, time
see what’s become of me…

____________________

It’s the springtime of my life.

Seasons change with the scenery
weaving time in a tapestry

Won’t you stop and remember me?

-The Bangles,
“Hazy Shade of Winter”

Saturday I got to play VIP and pre-game the Bangles concert in Philly. Even better than walking past the line of peeps patiently waiting to enter the TLA, or noshing on freaking gigantic slices of South St. pizza courtesy of Lorenzo’s?

Getting to shake paws and rub elbows with the Bangles.

Oh, hai. Have you met my inner fangirl?

LOOK at those women. They haven’t aged a bit. (Or, as my husband said, “If you get a chance to talk to Susanna Hoffs make sure you tell her she’s still pretty hot.” DONE, babe. Check that one off my life list.)

Susanna Hoffs is tiny, by the way. I felt like a bumbling ogre next to her. Oh, and I’m dressed in 80s gear (neon pink tights, purple Chucks, asymmetrical lace skirt), so I look like an idiot too 🙂

Now, in my mind, which is a twisty and confusing place, every musical act has an equal and opposite musical act, and you only like one. So, were you a Debbie Gibson or Tiffany fan? Madonna or Cyndi Lauper? Go-Gos or Bangles?

I have always been very firmly in the Bangles camp, and I’m gonna have to say: they can still rock the house. Much more so, in fact, than the lackluster crowd who paid to see them; I’m pretty sure I was annoying those around me as I bounced and bobbed, and I don’t care. I’ll have time to be old and boring when I’m dead.

Antigone Rising opened, and those women can play some guitar. Is there anything sexier than a tough woman playing glass slide on a steel resonator? NO. There is not. Also, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never seen a female musician who didn’t have some seriously cut biceps. Coincidence? Or maybe just a lot of moving instruments around.

The Bangles played all the old favorites- ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’, ‘Manic Monday’, ‘In Your Room’, ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’; and they broke out some songs from their new album Sweetheart of the Sun that was just released last week. My favorites there were ‘I’ll Never Be Through With You’, which Debbi Peterson (who smokes the drums AND the guitar, thankyouverymuch) affectionately dubbed Stalker Rock, and a tougher, snarky song that had me jumping up and down called ‘Ball and Chain.’

(Yeah. I miss concerts. And being younger.)

All good stuff, nostalgic and yet still fresh and fun, and it basically left me thinking we need more girl bands that rock their own instruments. Who meld sweet harmonies and lovely personalities with kickass riffs. Know what I mean?

I don’t play an instrument, really. I can still play my first book and a half of Suzuki songs on the piano; they’re part of my muscle memory. I can read music, and pick out a few chords on a guitar. But I can’t pour my soul and my angst and my fire into song. I envy those who do.

Music is something primal. It’s something tattooed onto our collective consciousness; it brings a roomful of individuals together for the love of the beat. The best songs are the ones that feel like old favorites even as you hear them for the first time (Adele excels at these).

I think I’ve been inspired to urge Cass to take up an instrument. Happily, our public school offers music lessons once you hit the middle grades.

And maybe I’ll pick up a guitar again, myself.

Sigh. The arts in school!! They matter.

Have you revisited some of your favorite songs of your youth recently? Seen any of them in concert? (I know some of you saw New Kids on the Block when they came around. ‘Fess up.)

Do you play an instrument? Do your kids?

Me with @Valerie4012. My shirt shows The Misfits, the equal but opposite musical group to Jem & the Holograms.

Photo credit: I think both of these were taken by Jessica at Delaware County Moms. Thanks man!

And many thanks to the good folks of 95.7 Ben FM who bravely gave 20 Philly area mom bloggers VIP tickets to the concert, and to the Bangles for not making fun of my outfit, and to Jeff for watching the kids TWICE in one day.

October 3, 2011
Making a Difference: the Fresh Air Fund

Nature introduces children to the idea….
they are not alone in the world.
-Edward Hoffman

The Fresh Air Fund is looking for host families for next summer.

Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child. Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host.

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Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open, outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

What a wonderful way to make an impact on a child’s life.

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A recent survey suggests that when kids have more opportunities for meaningful experiences outdoors, they become more likely to value nature, engage with it, and feel empowered to do something about it.

There are plenty of studies pointing to the health benefits of nature time and outdoor play. So much so, that doctors are writing nature prescriptions.

But what keeps popping up in my brain is:

What a wonderful way to enrich the life of your own child.

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If you think you might be able to be a host family next summer, click here for more deets.

If you know someone else who might be a good fit, tell them about the Fresh Air Fund website.

Or make a donation.

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Now watch this video and tell me if I’m the only sap who teared up a little bit. Go ahead, I can take it.

And if you’ve had any experience with the Fresh Air Fund I would love to hear about it!

September 30, 2011
Professional Car Washes Save Water

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

-Thomas Fuller

When we first moved in to this house we heard peepers every night in our little vernal pool. (Spring peepers are tiny frogs with big voices; you can hear them singing here.)

The next spring I eagerly awaited the peepers, having learned what they were (city girl born and bred, I knew nothing of wildlife and its calls until I moved out here). And I heard them down at the creek at the end of our road, but I didn’t hear them in my yard. And I haven’t heard them since.

I’ve thought and thought about it, and my thoughts point to all the times we washed our car near that pond. All that runoff.

This specific experience was what prompted my firm decision to “go green,” and out of that this blog was born.

Now, I’ll start by saying that my instinct is to think that rain is enough to wash my car. I couldn’t care less about how my car looks. But my brother, a former mechanic, says that car washes are important to keep rust from happening and stuff like that— helping to preserve the resale value and whatnot. (Although I plan to hand my minivan off to my children as they start driving. This thing is probably never going to see a second owner.)

In most instances, the green way of doing things coincides with the DIY lifestyle, but car washing is one exception. Washing your car at home with a garden hose uses about 7 gallons of fresh water every minute, amounting to nearly 100 gallons of water in 15 minutes.

But car washes enrolled in the WaterSavers program (meaning they meet certain environmental standards) use 40 gallons of water per car, max, in conveyor and in-bay/rollover systems. Self-service washes in the program use 3 gallons of water or less per minute.

Given that there are over 110 million registered vehicles in this country, if everyone switched to professional car washes that’s a savings of a hella lotta water. AND, car washes in the WaterSavers program treat and recycle their water, keeping it from poisoning our waterways and spring peepers.

There are more than 800 WaterSavers car washes across the U.S. and Canada; check to see if there’s one near you.

Register before October 15th for your chance to win an iPad 2!

‘Fess up, now. How often do you wash your car?

September 29, 2011