the buzz

picture a rolling patchwork lawn of quilts and sleeping bags, colorfully reminiscent of classic woodstock photos. also imagine a golden mountain sunset behind a stage of black evening wear, the silhouette of cellos, the shimmering of brass as brilliant as the last straight rays of the summer sunlight. i would have been shocked at this sight earlier this winter when we were cold and believing that we might possibly be the only people in all of montana. but here they all were, at least 20,000 of them, picnicking and glowing in the sticky warmth of the afternoon sun. helena raised $100,000 for this years "symphony under the stars" and this free event was far from lacking sophistication...although montanans never dress up, they serve local microwbrew ipa's instead of aged wine, and it was surrounded by mountains instead of organized in historic musical hall in a trendy urban landscape of fine dining and martini bars! there was an instrument petting zoo, encouraging children to not only examine and touch the instruments, but also giving them a once in a life time free reign to play these authentic symphonic caliber instruments, the cherished secondary appendages of classical musicians. i had heard a few days before the event, when i was invited as part of sarah's birthday celebration, that buzz aldrin would be signing autographs somewhere on campus. i hadn't realized that he would be narrating the symphony, that i would listen to the deep and slow voice of this old man, confidently standing as tall as his aging body would permit, his white tuxedo juxtaposed to the background of black. before he walked on stage, the national anthem played, the older men in the crowd singing along proudly of an america they remembered that had once inspired children to grow up to be astronauts. covered in goosebumps i realized that i was in the crowd of something great, something really very special, riding the coat tails of one of the proudest moments in our country's history. i wished my mother was sitting next to me, her being infatuated with all things relating to space and astronauts and the symbols of all things good about america. if i would have known what was going to take place on saturday night, i would have arranged that she be there next to me, wrapped in a blanket and her eyes fixated upwards with the wonder of a child. and buzz aldrin,now this is a real man! just his presence commanded respect, his voice invading each hard and cynical part of my being,turning me instantly into a gushy, uber-emotional mess of a deep patriotism that my generation has really never had the opportunity to know truly, basking in awe and music under a starlit sky. and then dr.aldrin, this crowd's surrogate father for the evening,dramatically summoned our focused attention, making us promise silently that we would continue this legacy of space exploration, that we literally follow in his monumental footsteps. and so, the symphony "under the stars" truly takes on a much deeper (or cosmically higher) meaning when the man narrating the event has actually walked on the moon. and fitting for this evening, it ended in fireworks that arched and dropped dramatically over our blankets.