Concert in the Park ~ The Show

We got to the park in plenty of time to get a good seat and enjoy the sound check for the main act.
Note: "good seat" is on a hard wooden bench near the stage.  Many people brought folding chairs and set them up in front of the benches.  Others brought blankets or cushions to sit on.

As I said, I was somewhat concerned about going to this particular show for a couple of reasons:

- Last time I went to one of his shows I ran into a co-worker.  It turns out she is a fan, of the huge variety.  We ran into each other on the To Get An Album signed line.  I was considering contacting her before this show to see if she was going, but it occurred to me that I'd rather not have her looking for me in the (not very large, really) crowd so I didn't.  I didn't see her; I did send her an e-mail afterwards.  She was indeed there.

- Mr Paxton knows me.  I've been to his house (on business).  I could just hide in the crowd and disappear afterwards, but, well, I didn't.




So I had a great opportunity to out myself.  As it happened, I outed myself more than I had planned.  More on that later in the week.

In the past, I've mentioned the obvious: outing oneself is better than being outed.  Control of the situation means you've run through at least some scenarios in your head and your prepared.  Saying to someone "you know me.  I'm Jeff" is better than "Jeff?  Is that YOU Jeff?"  It's also better because you've chosen your target, not been chosen yourself.

If the co-worker was looking for me, she might be scanning the crowd and wonder if the woman near the front is really a woman and maybe decide she looks a bit familiar.  I think she'd be OK, but I also think she'd tell everyone we know which could affect future career opportunities.  Not everyone is as open as you'd wish.

Before the concert, I pointed out Penny Gross, who was on stage, to Mandy.  Ms Gross has been our district supervisor for close to three hundred years.  I think she came over on the Santa Maria.  She knows me too, but I didn't seek her out ~ she's OK but I'm not a fan.

When I mentioned Ms Gross, the man sitting to my left leaned over and said "the other women are Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer."  The names were familiar but I must have looked puzzled.  He said "do you know who they are?"  And I remembered and said "folkies.  They do a lot of kid shows."  He said "they do a lot more than just 'kid shows.'"  That was about the whole of our conversation until the show started and Tom mentioned something about the crowd being on the older side and the man said to me "we're not old!"  I said "I'm certainly not" and smiled.  Again that was the whole conversation.  A couple of times while I was singing along to a song my eyes met that guy's eyes and we smiled, but that was it.  I remember saying something else to him (age-related) during the show but forget what.

When the concert ended, a crowd started forming by the table by the side of the stage where Tom would be signing CDs.

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