Eddie dedicated Forever Young to ME!

Ampersand Drive wrote:

I joined the message pit so I could write this. I have been a 'fan' for about 15 years, and I have seen pearl jam play almost 40 times, for the first time in 1996, Augusta, ME (I don't know why it has taken me this long to join the message pit, but... Hello, my name is ed. And sorry for the long post)

That show last night was something else, and I still cannot find all the words to describe it. It was something incredibly special and meaningful. As BlackCorduroy (hereafter referred to as BC) and her friend said after the show as we were talking, 'It was Spiritual.' And it truly was.

Both our stories and experience from last night may be a little 'biased,' but for anyone who has grown up with this band, or has felt that same type of inspiration and meaning from what this band has put out, these upcoming shows that Eddie is doing, offer something so intimate and beautiful, that if you can, please please please go and be apart of it. If you don't have a ticket, go down anyways. Things sometimes have a way of working themselves out. And if you have tickets to both nights, consider giving one night to someone without. Maybe someone who is like BC or me...

I stood next to 'BlackCorduroy' and her friend in line before the show as we were waiting for Eddie to arrive. When he did arrive, our chance to talk to him was conditional on no one in the front of the line doing something 'stupid' so much thanks to the people who came before us. He got to me before he got to BC. I handed him both a cd, with songs that I had written, and a 'childrens' story that I had written.

I began playing the guitar only recently, and only play and write stories when things don’t work out in the lab. I am working towards a Ph.D. in Soft Matter Physics. The songs are mostly about war, and the story is really about ____, disguised as a cute children's story called Sally and the Dolphins (I don't want to give away the ending in case you read it).

For someone who began as a suburban teenager who found himself vs. the world, and a junior high school student taking his first class in vitalogy,..., the idea that I would be able to someday hand Eddie Vedder a cd of songs that I had written is something that is still utterly incomprehensible. I told him that if that cd sat on a shelf never listened to, it could not take away how much it meant for me to be able to give it to him. And it can't.

I, in so many ways, am not in the same place I began. However, over these past 16 years, no matter what I have found myself engaging in, there has always been something about this music that has resonated with me. And that message has continued to change and reflect in many ways my present state of being, my awareness, and my understanding of my place in it all. And that continues today. What BC did by giving him that letter, was to put down on paper how many of us have felt and continue to feel.

I am not trying to tell a story about how amazing this evening was for me, or even BC. We had a chance to speak with and be recognized by someone who has in many ways, meant such a great deal to our lives. I sat 4 rows from the stage (thanks tenclub). And after the show, I, a soft matter physicist, got to hand to one of the world's leading historians, Howard Zinn, my attempt to tell history through a children's story.

What I am really trying to say is, BC told me she didn't know if she should give out her letter or keep it in her pocket. I didn't know if my recording was worthy of passing along. At any point of us standing in line, with our knees weak, overwhelmed with this sense of awe and respect, we could have each come up with fifteen different reasons to just pull our hand out of our pocket empty, shake hands, smile, say hello and thanks. But we didn't.

And BC got to have one of the more beautiful songs ever written sung to her by Eddie Vedder. And he got some tangible representation of what his and the band's music and message has meant for a whole hell of alot of people. You didn't have to be four rows away to recognize that that letter meant a great deal to him. So for many of us, who have felt and continue to feel that is an incredible privilege to have inspiration at the push of a play button, or the drop of a needle, thank you BC.

And maybe to reiterate some of the sentiments that were written on a yellow piece of paper, this idea of finding yourself engaged in things that are largely different from a seemingly complacent norm is something that is special. It is meaningful and so very important to be more concerned with votes cast for a congressional representative, or a senator, or even a president, than the next american idol. There is so much going on in the world right now that our children or our children's children will someday look down upon.

There is so very much that we can do, and the time to act is now. And I think that if we were to act, and bring about some tangible change, that might be a good argument for Eddie Vedder to come play a show for us. I mean I certainly can't speak for him, but from the 30 seconds I got to talk to him, I think he would. Maybe if BC would be so gracious, she could write the letter for us.

Anyways, if you want a copy of the story ‘Sally and the Dolphins’ (in case you get bored, its a quick easy read) you can get it at

http://www.sundancecity.com
or
http://www.myspace.com/ampersanddrive

BlackCorduroy wrote:

I'll post a picture once it is complete.