Both Ends Of The Rainbow

This past weekend I had hoped to experience both ends of the rainbow.  What do I mean?  Like most people I am a collection of contradictions and seemingly conflicting characteristics.  If you know me personally you are aware I love visiting the Abbey of Gethsemani where silence and solitude abide in plenty.  My plans were to get up Saturday morning and drive to the monastery to meet with friends, including monks, for what I find stimulating discussion about spirituality and the contemplative life. This was going to be the front end of my rainbow experience.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  Friday evening, I was cleaning up my kitchen when I discovered that I had no hot water.  I wondered why.  The hot water was flowing fine earlier in the day.  I went to check my water heater and it was leaking badly.  The floor in my furnace room was all wet.  I immediately knew I had a big problem.  It was late in the day but I managed to have a plumber come to my house.  He turned off the water to the heater to stop the leaking.  You must know that I am not a mechanical person by nature, and I am generally a failure as a handyman.  After some discussion we agreed the heater must be replaced but it couldn't be replaced until Saturday morning.  This of course clashed with my plains to go to the monastery so I had to cancel those plans.  The good news is that I now have new water heater and plenty of hot water.  The bad news is that it came at a substantial cost.

The other side of my personality is an aging hippie who loves rock and roll.  Yes, I understand that my inner monk/aging hippie personality seems like an unlikely pairing.  Somehow it works for me.  Originally, I was going to spend Saturday morning at the monastery and then attend a rock concert with my best friend on Saturday night.  He had won two free tickets from a radio station.  The bad news was that they were in the nosebleed section of a very large arena.  It is difficult to argue about free tickets, especially when the bands are Cheap Trick and Heart.  I first saw both of these bands in the 70's.  We drove to the venue and parked in the same parking garage where I parked in my working days. I had a minor heart attack when the attendant told me the parking fee was $25!  Once inside the venue I would discover the $14 beers.  My friend and I had already decided that we weren't going to sit in the nosebleed section and that we would simply find two unsold seats and then move around as needed.  As we were entering the venue I saw a sign that said the nosebleed section was closed and if you had tickets there you would be given a seat upgrade.  Hooray!  Believe it or not we were given a significant upgrade to seats three rows off the floor.  I couldn't believe it!  They were the best seats I've ever had in this venue.  Did I mention they were free?

Both of these bands are close to me in age so they are not youngsters.  Cheap Trick and Heart both kicked ass.  I thoroughly enjoyed their performances and they played most of the songs I wanted to hear.  When the show was over I miraculously slipped out of the venue and parking garage for quick access to the highway and soon was on my way home.  It was a perfect night and I had a wonderful time.  Long live rock and roll!  However, I still love the silence and solitude of the monastery.