If only I were eighteen again

I'm sure you are all reading that and shuddering. I can hardly believe I wrote it myself. Let me explain.
Tom Petty was Tuesday night, after much anticipation. This was my third (fourth?) time seeing him at Star Lake (huge outdoor amphitheatre that has both covered seats and lawn). The last time I went, there was a little too much indulgence and things did not go well. I needed to purge these memories, and there is just about no one I would rather see in concert than Tom Petty. Shannon and I bought tickets in March, two days after they went on sale. We've been planning for awhile. And everything went totally according to plan!
We picked everyone up, got to Star Lake, grilled, drank, met up with everyone we needed to, and made it in on time. We even got to see a little of Steve Winwood.

A Tom Petty show is an interesting conglomerate of people. If you are even remotely a stoner in high school (or hang out with them) or if you go to college, I believe it is unofficially mandated that you memorize his 'Greatest Hits' album. This means he has a huge fan base, and that every song is essentially a classic. On his set list, there were 3 songs that I don't know every single word to. Other than that, it's like listening to my favorite Petty songs, but also dancing along in the grass with 25,000 other people who feel the same way. Zac and I had an interesting conversation about that concept, which went something like this:

Zac: All these people, they are all here because they all care about Tom Petty.
Me: Well, I'm sure they care about other people, too.
Zac: Yes, I'm sure they all have family and loved ones. I wasn't trying to suggest that they were soulless monsters.

You've all heard about my strange taste in men, so it should come as no surprise that the Tom Petty crowd is full of eye candy for me. Long hair, maybe slight hippie leanings with a dash of metal thrown in, and facial hair. It's like the required outfit for boys. And yes, I mean boys and not men.
The group standing in front of us were having a good time, just like us. I thought the one was cute. At some point, his friend turned around, and I was appalled. He was just a kid! I looked at the rest of them. No facial hair...and not in the clean-shaven way. How old was the cute one? My friend Brooke was just too curious and asked him. 18. 18!! That means that he had either just graduated from high school or was about to. He's never been to college, and if he drank in the parking lot, someone else had to buy him the liquor. Egads.
So what did I do? I made friends with them in the only way you can at a huge outdoor concert when 'Last Dance with Mary Jane' is playing. And then they kept us as friends during 'You Don't Know How it Feels'.

Afterwards, I felt guilty partying it up like that with someone that young, until I really remembered being 18. Then I just felt jealous. What did they have to do the next day? Go to their part-time Bruegger's job? What were they doing for the rest of the summer? I'm guessing it wasn't data collection and trying to pay down credit cards. I woke up the next day in my own apartment, and didn't do anything at all. I ate cereal for lunch and Thai food that I ordered myself for dinner. I watched TV, putzed on the internet, and read. I could've eaten ice cream for dinner if I wanted. I could've taken the car that I paid for somewhere. That made me feel a little better.

And then I listened to the Traveling Wilburys, and felt even better.



"Well, it's all right, even if you're old and grey. Well, it's all right - you've still got something to say." Believe me, I am far from grey, and I do have a lot more to say. Even if what I have to say is about 401Ks and buying a house and avoiding suburbia for the rest of my life. They'll grow up, too. I just hope they end up still having fun in 8 years.

Set list:
You Wreck Me
Mary Jane's Last Dance
I Won't Back Down
Even The Losers
Free Fallin'
Cabin Down Below
Sweet William
End Of The Line
The Waiting
Saving Grace
Face In The Crowd
Honey Bee
You Don't Know How It Feels
Learning To Fly
Don't Come Around Here No More
Refugee

Encore:
Runnin' Down A Dream
Mystic Eyes
American Girl