U2 and you, too
God, I love Bono.
I am so glad my husband Jason introduced me to
the band U2. You might say they came along part and parcel when I married him.
Many teens find solace and inspiration in music during those challenging years,
and for my hubby, U2 was his guiding light. He says he basically had a shrine to
them in his bedroom growing up in Phoenix, AZ. And, of course, the prerequisite
wall-to-wall posters that many of us had to stars of all
stripes.
We went to the Vertigo concert
last night in Portland, Oregon and it was like a whole colesium full of liquid
love juice. And I'm not exactly Miss Let's Go Out And Rock All Night Long
anymore. I mean I'm pushing 40, I've got a (very demanding recently)
three-year-old, and I've come to realize, later in life, that I was actually
never really cool. I pretended, of course, but the effect, if there was any, was
completely artificial. I was relieved to see many uncool people attending the
concert. Many of them kids (who don't care about such silly things as coolness)
attending with trés uncool parents, and not really seeming to
mind.
When Bono came out onstage--and
what a stage it was--the place just pulsed with love. And it wasn't
crazy-fan-adoration of a person who is all charisma and no heart. In my opinion,
it was a case of a lotta love going out meets a lotta love coming back at
ya.
That man, that Bono guy, he sure
does a lot of good in the world. Jason said he was named person of the year with
Bill and Melinda Gates.
AND, as per my
last entry, U2 did an impromptu tribute to John Lennon. You could tell it was a
spontaneous decision because Bono had to call the band back to do it. Hey, what
can I say, me and Bono, (and a whole lot of other people) we think alike.
;)
Which brings me to another point. It
may seem uppity comparing myself to an icon like Bono, but you know what, why
not? What about comparing Bono to you? He was once just a kid in Dublin with a
whole lot of Chutzpah and zero musical experience. He answered a flyer at his
high school that Larry hung up looking to form a band.
Did you know that at the time that
they came together, Larry, the drummer, was the ONLY ONE with genuine musical
ability?
I mean, come on. What are we
waiting for? Let's get outta here and go hang up a
flyer!
Pick up an instrument, any one
you want. Sing your note. Like in one of my favorite Rumi poems called "Each
Note":
Go up on the roof at
night
in this city of the
soul.
Let everyone climb on
their
roofs
and sing their
notes!
Sing
loud!
[end
poem]
The story of U2 is a parable for
us all.
What do you want to do? What do
you want to be when you grow up or next year or right now for crying out loud?
U2 didn't wait. They didn't say, Geez,
we're just a bunch of blokes from Dublin with no experience, who cares what we
think?
Uh-uh. They picked up some
instruments and made a joyful noise. And they're still making it. And thank
goodness because there aren't enough people in the world with the self esteem of
Bono.
People used to think he was
arrogant. People thought he was too big for his britches. Come on. We should all
be so arrogant.
Posted: Tue - December
20, 2005 at 10:59 AM
