If I could
have a super power, I would have the ability to be in two places at once. Most
recently, this would have come in handy so I could enjoy my
adventures in New Orleans for Jazz Fest while simultaneously being in
Pittsburgh to cheer on my boys at their games that weekend. It was
very bittersweet to read the texts from my wife about one son’s pick 6 and
the other’s game-winning RBI double. But, if being in two states at the
same time is too far-fetched, then I would still have longed for this same
superpower while staying in New Orleans . You see, I learned very quickly
that at Jazz Fest, there are too many great musicians and too little
time.
The closest I
have ever come to being in two places at one time was the unique instance
when my friend Dan W. and I attended two (2) MLB games in the same day, but in
different cities. Game 1 was a matinee in Cleveland and Game 2 was a
night game in Pittsburgh. I recognize that one cannot get so lucky all
the time and everything seemed to align that day. This thought made me
think of the phrase “Fear of missing out” or FoMO which according to
Wikipedia is "a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding
experiences from which one is absent". Although I do not believe
that I have a clear-cut case of FoMO, there are a lot of things that I would
like to do over the course of a month, week and even 24 hours.
Almost every
day of the week my boys either have activities or there is a concert that I am
interested in attending. The low-tech part of me actually jots everything
down by hand in a personal calendar. If I am able to attend the event, it
receives a check-mark and if not it receives an X. With the boys’
schedules, work and life in general, I do not nearly place as many check marks
as I did in previous chapters of my life. My wife even pokes fun at me
that I take so much pride in placing those check marks. Bouncing around
the city and making different plans is still feasible, but no longer ideal.
I know that
when I was touring with bands, two shows in one day was not out of
the norm. A typical day on the road might include a record store
promotional gig in the afternoon and then playing a club in that same city
later that night. The band never performed the same set, and I always
hoped that fans would want to see both shows. As the summer concert tours
continue to get announced, I wonder if fans ever think about trying to attend multiple
shows in one day. For example, today - Friday, June 1 there are
five heavyweight concerts in the greater Pittsburgh market: Dave Matthews
Band returns to KeyBank Pavilion, Justin Timberlake is performing at PPG Paints
Arena; Frank Turner (along with The Menzingers) headlines at Stage AE; Mavis Staples opens the annual Three Rivers Arts Festival and local heroes Code Orange return
for their show at Mr. Smalls Theatre.
It is still
TBD as to which show that I will be in attendance for . . .
Thanks for
reading.
