Wake Me Up When September Ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

So it is a particularly dreary Sunday, and our hero is bored. But anything would be boring compared to the events of last night. Allow me to explain.

We’ll work our way backwards.

The day is Saturday, April 23rd. The place – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We see Maestro sleeping in the car. The ride in the car has been long, and he had a longer day. It was just a few hours ago that it happened.

He hears music. A dramatic rendition of 2001 a Space Odyssey rumbles as the arena darkens and the stage turns an ominous shade of violet. The audience is silent, taking a breath to prepare for what is about to happen. Suddenly the players come out, the audience roars – they have been waiting for this. They get in their positions, Billy Joe takes the center. Flash! The stage lights up and the music begins without warning. It is loud. It is fast. It is exciting…invigorating. They play new songs. Old songs. Songs that aren’t even theirs. The whole arena pulsates with energy. Lights, fireworks, flames burst forth from the stage. A large sign of color changing lights reads Green Day. They’ve been doing this for 16 years, and they are good at it. They leave the stage, but the audience won’t let up. They clap. They chant. Knowing from the beginning they would, the band returns to the stage. The audience cheers louder than ever. One of their first hits. One of their last. We Are The Champions (Queen makes its way into everything). Billy Joe brought it all to an end with a beautiful solo of Good Riddance. Perhaps you know it better as Time of Your Life. After that, it was over. We see Maestro walking to the car. The concert was unbelievable. Although the cover band left something to be desired.

Before our Hero has found his seat yet, they begin to play. The arena is already dark. Finding his seat is a chore. And what is this noise? My Chemical Romance the banner reads. Maestro has heard of them before, but he has never listened to them. This introduction to them ensures that he never will. Finally they leave the stage, the arena lights up. Random songs begin to play. The audience dissipates. Out of nothing less than sheer boredom, everyone does the wave a few times. A man in a large pink bunny suit goes on stage, beer bottle in hand. He drinks it. Then another. Whether or not there is really beer in the bottles is unkown. He dances to the songs playing and stumbles off stage. His presence seems random. It’s all part of the show. The arena is dark, the stage is violet. A familiar tune begins to play. We see Maestro sitting with anticipation. He hopes…he knows the main event will be better than the cover band, better than the majority of the day.

Our Hero gets out of the car. He walks. He eats at Joe Mama’s. He walks some more. He passes buildings. The architecture is interesting, but the city is not. Not today. The weather is grim. Is it rain? Snow? It doesn’t matter. Maestro’s trench coat is never quite warm enough outside. Far too warm inside. He enters the Cathedral of Learning – second tallest school building in the World. Doesn’t make it any more exciting. The shopping center known as Station Square turns out to be quite square indeed. There is a gothic church that is rather tall in its own right, But it is dwarfed between two towering office buildings. Beauty overshadowed by conformity. He goes to McDonald’s to satisfy a rumbling stomach. Not his first choice, but it’s all there is. His mother orders four apple pies. Two are ready. The cashier says it will be an eight minute wait. Too long. Maestro is two apple pies hungrier and his mother is one dollar poorer. He walks. The sky is darkening. There is a line billowing from the arena. The people standing in it are a very motley lot. Our Hero’s tan trench coat stands out among people who are, for the most part, dressed in dark colors. There are ticket scalpers littering the streets. They all ask if people have tickets they want to sell…or ones they wish to buy. Men scan the line, searching for people who want to buy tour shirts. How they obtained the shirts, nobody knows. The line slowly files in. Our Hero is frisked, as is everyone else. The seats are opposite the stage on the highest balcony. We see Maestro working his way up to the top. It’s been a long day, but the concert will be worth it. He has been waiting for this. It’s the reason he woke up this morning. Suddenly he hears music.

Our Hero wakes up. It is too early for a Saturday. He went to bed too late the night before. The week had been stressful, and he was too high strung. Maestro needed to loosen up. To relax. To forget about things. To stop thinking so much…or maybe to start thinking for once. He gets in the car. He is tired. The car ride will be long, the day – longer. Soon we see Maestro sleeping in the car.

So until I actually do save the world from backward thoughts, bad cover bands, long car rides, and longer days…

The Universe Can Wait

P.S. I forgot to mention (in my useless one sentence entries) that our Hero, Maestro…has…a…date…to…the…Prom! Kudos to Jessie Dvorzak, for being willing to put up with him for an entire evening. : P