August 7- DD Concert- Bethlehem PA

I arrived in Bethlehem by noon. I should have taken a little bit later bus. I didn’t realize that there really isn’t much to do in that area. I had my lunch and wrote in my journal in a small park. I then went to Rite Aid where I got some Tic-Tacs.

   I looked in an upscale thrift shop then did some more sitting around and a bit of daydreaming in another area of that park.

   When I finally walked to the outdoor venue- Steel Stacks- I heard “Come Undone” DD was obviously doing a sound check. Part of me was thinking that maybe this was just on a stereo system at first. After that, I heard “Is There Something I Should Know?”

   I actually approached a girl in a Planet Earth t-shirt like I have but in blue and began talking to her around that time. We walked over to the fenced in area to try to find a spot where maybe we would be able to peek in to see DD but no such luck.

   I hung out with this girl, Jenny, and her parents before the show. They were so nice. Jenny also likes JT. I told her that I was ashamed about liking him and she said that I shouldn’t be.

   When her phone rang, I heard “Is There Something I Should Know?” as the ringtone. We were certain that they would be doing this during the show but that didn’t happen. So I guess that they don’t always perform stuff that is done during sound check.

   Jenny shared part of her chicken salad sub sandwich from Wawa with me. That saved me some money on dinner. I had only brought my lunch and some snacks and juice boxes with me.

     Jenny and her mother had good seats in the front section. Those tickets were all grabbed up by the employees of this venue and anyone who makes a pledge to its arts foundation; they were the first to go on presale.

   A small part of me is wishing that I had just made that pledge but that would have been an additional $100.00 that I would have had to take out of my auto repair fund. It is bad enough that I have been dipping into this for other DD stuff lately.

   It was cool that a couple of people who sat near me actually remembered me from previous DD concerts and events. Lori was the girl at the JT book signing who sent me some photos of it. The girl next to me was at the Wellmont and Central Park shows. I didn’t think that I was that memorable.

   Lori said that she would send me photos of this show. I felt bad that I didn’t say goodbye to her. I was worried about possibly missing the bus.

   I used my binoculars way too much during this concert, mostly on bassist guy. The lady to my left must have thought that I was obsessed with him. She motioned for me to move over so that I could get an even better view of him. That was nice of her.

   The show was good but it went by way too quickly; it only lasted for 75 minutes. Jenny and I didn’t care for the opening act, a girl singer. Her dad drove me to the bus stop. I am now Facebook friends with her.

   Unfortunately, I screwed up the bus schedule. I thought that the last bus to NYC was at 11:30 but it turns out that this is the last one from NYC to here. The driver said that the next one wasn’t until 7:30 a.m. and suggested that I stay at a hotel down the road.

   Thank goodness that a nice guy who I had been talking to while waiting for the bus offered to drive me to the Sands Resort Casino. I discovered that there was a 1:45 a.m. bus to NYC from this destination. That was a very long 2 hour wait for me.

   I did worry that the driver would say that I could not go on the bus because my ticket was for the other stop but luckily she didn’t. It’s the same line and the stop was not that far from this one.

   I was so damn exhausted. I think that I did fall half asleep for a bit during the ride. I had to wait about an hour for the first train to Linden at Penn Station.

   I went into Quick Check hoping to find a mocha Frappuccino. I was so happy that they had this. I took the cab home; I had just missed the first bus to my town.

   My brother was already awake when I got home. I was hoping to get a little peace and quiet before he woke up. I told him all about my adventure. I am sure that he thinks that it was crazy that I took a bus to PA just to see DD.

   I don’t remember when I first discovered that I had accidentally left the binocular case with the lens covers in it at the venue. I was very upset about this. I am too afraid to tell my brother about it.

   I found out from looking on Facebook that our childhood friend Cindy was also at this concert. Jenny had tagged me in a photo that she took at it. Cindy saw this and left a comment. I think it said “You were in my backyard.” She lives in Allentown.

    I did reply to this. We don’t usually interact on this site or elsewhere, except for birthday wishes. I haven’t seen her since her grandfather’s funeral in 1992.

   Even though I was upset about the bus fiasco, I was kind of glad that I didn’t get it right. If I had noticed that there wasn’t a bus until the next morning I probably would have never ordered a ticket for this venue.

    I am sure that Amy will say that she is proud of me for socializing at this event. I guess that I did an okay job of it but I was still feeling pretty anxious. I can’t see that I will ever feel comfortable doing so. That is kind of pathetic. I wish that I could be normal.