The L.A. Dime

Last night we went to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena with friends (and amazing cheese-gatherers) Laurie and Gary, plus 100,ooo other Angelinos.  With the whole world watching live on YouTube, we saw the the greatest band in the world play an epic and historic concert.  That was the third time I saw U2.  Pop in the ATL was fun, but eh… Then, I saw them a few weeks after 9/11/2001, and the raw emotional outpouring will be forever impossible to match. During “One,” they projected the names of all those killed across the crowd in the Staples Center.  On our faces and chests. An unforgettable moment.  No one could withhold tears.

The 360 tour can only be described as HUGE.  It takes 333 people five days to set up the stage.  Giant stadiums, giant stage, giant screen, and certainly a giant, iconic band that somehow perpetually remains cool.  There were senior citizens there, as well as nine year olds, and everyone in between.  All races, all creeds, all colors.  As I sat in wonder at the spectacle before me, I couldn’t help but imagine what it must feel like for Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry to look out a galaxy of humanity; 100,ooo people who paid on average $100 per seat, and withstood hours of traffic and inconvenience, to joyfully gather and see them play music.  What power.  What influence.  And the thing is, these guys — they absorb that power, that energy, and even that money, and they turn it into good.  I am no music expert, but in my very humble opinion, they rank with The Beatles as one of the greatest bands of all time.  Deny me if you will, but look at the volume of material, the albums, the hits, and then…consider their social influence.  Bono urged the crowd not to give up on them, that they still have a lot left to give. Witnessing the fun they have performing, and the passion they have for their music and their message, I have no doubt that I will be seeing the boys from Dublin again.

Photos courtesy of Gary.

Details about the logistics of the concert here.

To kick off this year’s Halloween festivities, we dressed Sophie in a lion costume (Thank you Wilsons!!) and headed to CA Adventure for Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat event. Sophie tolerated the costume ok and seemed intrigued by her tail but wasn’t too thrilled about the furry mane so we were lucky to get just a few pics of her with it on her head. She was very excited about all the music, lights and entertainment throughout the park and we certainly got a lot of exercise trying to keep up by running after her. She did a few rides, collected some candy and ended the night with watching the parade.

Many of you might have heard about the wooden horse that came home with us from Germany this past May. The horse was a gift my family got me when I was 3 years old and I loved dearly. Once I outgrew it, it got passed along to my younger cousins and some other close family friends. The plan was always to one day have it with us so my children could enjoy it as well. Well, after an excellent packaging job by my Uncle Peter, which required several rolls of bubble wrap and duct-tape (and a check-in at the “oversized baggage” counter) the horse now lives in our living room. Sophie has taken to it well and rides it quite a bit.

Another one of Sophie’s animal friends is Clifford, the big red dog. Given to her by Nana & Opa for her first Easter, she used to get very frustrated trying to pull it behind her. Over time she figured it out and now enjoys caring for him by talking to him, carrying him and cleaning him on a daily basis. Recently she’s even started having her dolls ride on Clifford.

Our destination this past Sunday was the Long Beach “Run Forest Run” Bike Marathon in which Brad, Pops and our friend Gary rode. After not getting a whole lot of rest due to some fraternity boys partying it up next to us in the hotel, they boys got going at 6am. Laurie, Sophie and I had an 8:30am start time for the 5k walk. Everyone had a good time and although there’s a bit of soreness going around today, plans are already being made for what next year’s adventure might entail.

While we were home for Julie and David’s wedding, we also enjoyed some much needed Riddell family time. Seeing all the cousins play together, meeting little Jack & Bishop for the first time and having even just a few minutes to catch up face to face with everyone was the best. Even though we stay in email communication, talk on the phone and even Skype frequently, there’s nothing better than all being together.

Pops & Mom-Mom took Sophie and cousin Sawyer to a pumpkin patch. That must have really left an impression with our little girl because she still talks about going to the “punkin patch” and every time we talk to or about Pops & Mom-Mom, she brings it up. Interestingly enough, every time we talk about birthdays or presents, she asks for Nana & Opa (who were here for her birthday not too long ago). It’s amazing to see how those little brains work.

Out little clan has done a bit of traveling lately to watch 2 couples tie the knot. The first wedding was for one of my college roommates Julie and her fiance David in Indianapolis. The ceremony was held in the fields of Brownsburg and the reception in a swanky restaurant in a downtown sky scrapper. We left Sophie with Pops and Mom-Mom and enjoyed our night out….including sleeping in past 6:30am on Sunday morning!

The second wedding took us to wine country back in CA. One of our dearest friends Jan found his perfect girl. Kerry shares his love for traveling, hiking, cooking, wine and family. Their wedding was a weekend-long experience that had us staying in a rented mansion on a horse farm, surrounded by nothing but beautiful scenery, blue fall skies and tons of laughter as we each shared in our favorite memories of their courtship. Brad actually had a very special role in this wedding — he was asked by the couple to be their officiant and without wasting a second thinking about it, Brad accepted and shortly thereafter became ordained by Ventura County as a Marriage Officiant (for a day). He wrote and rewrote, praticed, rewrote some more, got some input and rehearsed again. All the hard work paid off as Jan & Kerry seemed to be pleased by how it turned out and throughout the night, Brad was complemented by the other guests on a job very well done.

Brad and I were so touched to have been included in both couples’ special days and wish them years of health, laughter and fabulous memories. Congratulations Julie & Dave and Jan & Kerry!!