Best Moment of 2005

I'm sure Dale will ban me from this blog in perpetuity for this entry, or at least rib me until I should be drenched in barbecue sauce, put on a roll with pickles and onions and served at McDonald's every two years. But I want to talk about this.

There were a lot of big moments for me this year, and a few more weeks to squeeze a few more in. But there was one moment that stood out from all the rest, and it's probably not the one you think.

Doctor Who, my all time favorite show, returned to television after 16 years this year. Luckily I was able to enjoy it because of an incredibly generous man in England who personally sent me all 13 episodes. It was amazing. But that's not the moment. My son and I walking around the Irish countryside - that was wonderful and something I will never forget, but that's not it either. Meeting up with the producer of our TV show? Nope. Returning to my old high school stage to the sound of wild, young cheers and applause. That was unbelievable, but sadly not the moment. The administration repeatedly falling on its face this year? No. Serenity? Awesome, but still no.

All of these were great moments that I was blessed to experience this year and there are a dozen more I'm not naming. But there is one, single moment that touched me so deeply that I will never forget it.

The moment the four-man Pink Floyd took the stage at Live 8, I couldn't breathe. I don't know that tears were coming down my face, but I know I couldn't talk for fear that I would break and be overcome with emotion. It was history. Pun intended, but it was like watching the Wall come down, to me. And you may dismiss me now as a Floyd loving fan boy, but there's more to it.

In my teens and twenties, I loved Floyd. Dale will tell you, I'm sure, about my "Beatles stole everything they knew about psychedelic music from Pink Floyd" argument. I know what I meant, but it's a stupid argument all the same. Now, though, I'm not much of a Floyd fan. I still have some albums that I pull out every once in a while. And I check websites for news. But lots of other bands and music have come into my life since then and they are only one of the many bands that I follow and enjoy.

It was just how HUGE that moment was. If you don't know the story of the Pink Floyd/Roger Waters split, here it is in a nutshell. It was probably the most venomous, wicked split in the history of rock. In the late 80's and 90's, the hatred in the two camps nearly blotted out the music that the group had made as a whole for 20 years. Floyd music had helped define who I was at 19 only to turn around and nearly trivialize itself with legal battles, acid spewing press releases and general anger lobbed back and forth at each other. Even 20 years on, they had little nice to say as late as last year.

After all of that, there they were, on stage, seemingly enjoying themselves. It was great from a fanboy stand point. But to Eric in his 30's it meant something more. It really showed me, as nothing else ever has, how music transcends all the shit that would bring it down. 20 years of hostility between people washed away with the first chords of "Breathe". I'm sure that later, after it was all over, the memories of those fights filtered back in for Gilmour Waters, Wright and Mas. But right there, for those minutes, it was like it never happened.

And it made me a believer again that change, real, global, earth shaking change, starts with people. There is no way that anyone can save a forest or feed the hungry or end a war if they can't even release the pain and anger of their own lives. It can't happen. Everything is down to people, face to face with other people. Did it shake the Earth that day? No probably not. But I'm sure there were others like me out there that felt that "shit, there are problems so much bigger than my petty, mortal squabbles. Look at these guys, they hated each other and still their belief in a cause washed a lot of it away." If any one else out there felt it the way I felt it - then the change has happened. Only bombs can make fast changes. To change the hearts and minds of the world, it needs to start small and spread like a virus. That's how the world will be saved.

I know that sounds lofty. And I'm sure that 4 old rock stars burying the hatchet on stage won't save the world. But, man, it reached into the core of me and rattled my cage. It reminded me of my ideals and belief system that I had mowed under for a long time. It reminded me of that pissed off kid who saw injustice and greed and corruption and hated it. That pissed off kid who has swallowed everything to become a tie waving member of corporate America, shutting up about politics because those people are so fucking touchy. Now those thoughts and that anger is there, tumbling in this older, wiser chest. I can't leave corporate America, but I don't have to believe in it and I can work to bring change to my little corner of it.

So that's it. The greatest moment of 2005 was watching Pink Floyd reunite and reawaked something of an inner activist.

Now the worst moment of 2005... there are lots of them... and one of the biggies is the greedy, asshole programmers at MTV cutting off the end of "Comfortably Numb" for a commercial. History interruptus. Fuckers. I hope some 22 year old got his shit canned for that.

Dicks.... whew breathe, baby, breathe.

Now if I could just get Dale and Slapstick back together for a good cause... HAHHAHAHAHA sorry... I couldn't even finish typing that without laughing... and I have a little pain in my left arm...oh God! Call an ambulance.