NYC....2

“All in all...just another brick in the wall”... This line resonates with me so much more strongly that it did back when I first saw “The Wall”, on video tape, in my son’s apartment in Savannah. We watched it with his roommates, all students at SCAD, and did all we could to insure that we were “comfortably numb” as we allowed our minds to be totally spent on the magical imagery. Flash forward, 20-some years, and here we are at Yankee Stadium with The WALL, in real life, just slam-bam right in front of us. Oh, not to forget, we’re at Yankee Stadium. Now, just breathe all that in for a quick minute, but don’t breathe too quickly if you prefer unenhanced breathing. We come in and find our seats, just behind 3rd base, look out at the stage right in the middle of outfield and just try to take in the whole scene. There’s "The Wall" and speakers and other big boxes which I have no idea about their purpose, nor do I care because, really,what does it matter? By the time the concert started, the stadium was pretty much filled, and that’s a whole bunch of peeps, y’all. From the second the concert began until the second it ended, I was in the world of Roger Waters and it was like being on an emotional roller coaster from some weird planet that resembled earth, but it was so painful, you just hoped maybe it wasn’t earth after all. The imagery was beyond amazing and it totally pulled me right into the vortex and I’m still not sure it's set me free. It begins with war and a war plane comes flying from the 3rd base bleecher seats right into the stage. You know it’s not real, where you are, but you know it’s real somewhere and you feel like one of the people who were there where it was real. And you go to the story of the bricks in the wall and you get it, you really get it, and now in 2012, quite a distance from 1987, it all makes so much more sense...and how sad is that? Throughout the show, there are images of war and photos and videos of people who are so harmed by the wars....on both sides. Do you know the video with the little girl, who is in her classroom, and her dad, who has been in Iraq, comes into the room and her face goes through so many emotions when she finally sees him? And, the little boy, who accepts the American flag at his father’s military funeral? How does this not break your heart?And, the faces of innocent Muslims who are dead simply because they are Muslims. It shows the many faces of evil, but it also shows the many faces of love. I left there so full of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Not conflicted about war being wrong...I will always believe that. But, with an internal struggle of what can we do, what can we not do, and is it really worth all the effort because, essentially, we’re doomed anyway. So, having, finally, somewhat separating myself from “The Wall”, I feel I can finally share it because.....I refuse to believe there’s no hope for us. This concert shows us the evil side of who we are and, I think, Roger Waters does this in hope that we see it, believe it, and vow to make a change. Call me Pollyanna... naieve...dumb...whatever...I do believe we can do better. I will have to say that this event was an experience of a lifetime and I will never forget it and will always be grateful to my son for giving me the opportunity to be there. Just to let you know, the magic of the night didn’t end there. We took a cab back to our part of town and stopped by the corner pizza place to grab a bite to take back to the apartment. We decided to just stay there and have a little pizza and wine. While we were there, a terrific thunderstorm rolled in, and we saw the most incredible lightening dancing in between the tall buildings of NYC. I had seen this many time in movies and on TV, and here I was experiencing it in real life. All I can say is....Amen.