say it aint so, i will not go

it's all over town. it's on the radio, it's on tv. i hear it in the office chatter, i pick it up in conversations at school. it's in my inbox, it's making headlines in magazines and the papers. reminding me...constantly...that the monster that is acl is about to commence...without me.

the love affair began in 2004. i bought hayden tickets for our birthday thinking the festival would be fun and something we would both enjoy doing together. we drove down from abilene that september weekend and were at zilker park from the first band on friday morning til the last sunday evening. it. was. am-a-zing. life. changing. fun. the first band we saw at 11:00 that fateful friday morning happened to be a little someone you may have heard of called...the killers.

we were ecstatic to hear that coldplay would be headlining the big show in 2005 but received another invitation to see just them with kara and zach the same weekend of acl. we didn't pass up the opportunity. we saw perhaps one of the most spiritual awakening shows of all time at the bargain price of $40. opening for them was rilo kiley. i so under appreciated them at the time. thus, we missed the infamous dust bowl that was acl 2005. it reached temps in the 108s and due to the drought, heat and crowds, the dirt mixed into the atmosphere making conditions almost unbearable. people wore bandannas around their faces in attempts to keep it out. i heard it didn't work.

then acl 2006 and 2007 were deliriously great and exhausting weekends. it was amazing how many people we would run into in the crowds of 65,000. i believe in the history of our acl, hayden and i only split once to watch different shows, and only because we got in a wicked fight due to frustrating conditions, poor choice of words, and short tempers. other than that, it was always us, and friends and family would come and go as they pleased. we stayed in our music trances, mesmerized show after show at the unforeseen talent and the ones we expected would blow our minds. acl is apart of us.

so it saddens me to not be apart of it this year. it was just too much of an expense. we couldn't swing it. it is also impossible to escape from the hype with the impact it has on this town. plus, the weather is GORGEOUS. it will be the coolest weather since it's dawn in 2002.

i will miss bargaining with hayden to wear sunscreen, hearing peaceful sounds of instruments and harmonious voices, the delicious austin food, the sweet tea, sneaking in snacks, the wristbands, holding hayden's hand as we sweat the day away, his kisses when he is so pumped from a show, the smiles, the bohemian atmosphere, running into random people, sitting on our blanket, falling asleep at 5 in the shade of my giant, the view of the austin skyline, and feeling special just because we were there.

i mean, i had mastered the perfect balance of hydration and sweating so i didn't use the porta-potty at all some days. but when i did have to, hayden would be standing ready with hand sanitizer to ease the blow.

so it is with a heavy heart that i reminisce and think of our fond memories. perhaps next year we will resume this becoming tradition. a girl can hope. i won't mention the names that we will not see, and the opportunities lost, that is what i am trying to cope with as i sit at my desk. there is a silver lining in that we are going to the UT game tomorrow. it's very austin-ish and at least an opportunity for some photos and memories. here's to hoping it is a good one.

cheers.