Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Once again. my #NaBloPoMo post is coming in under the wire. I spent hours today – HOURS – updating my listing of all of the LGBTQ+ folx elected in Pennsylvania, dating back to 1992. But an update doesn’t count.

This morning, I heard ‘O Valencia’ by The Decemberists while I was making coffee. It has been a long time. However, I was immediately transported back to 2009 when Laura and I saw them at The Byham in Downtown Pittsburgh. I did not know we had front row seats.

While I am not an avid live music fan, that was a transcendent experience -being almost immersed in the stage. The picks, the set list, the sweat, the proximity to really cool artists. I loved that show.

I was still new to my job. I was 38 years old. Laura surrounded me with music – at home, in the car, at night, she reveled in the classics but was devoted to new music. So I learned a lot about new music. There was always music. I bought her a kitchen radio for Xmas, organized a group gift to install a CD player in her car for a birthday, then I bought her a vintage record player for another Xmas, and then a retro radio with Bluetooth that I had shipped from London. I bought her first set of wireless headphones, got two different iPods for her.

Picking out actual music was futile because she always bought it right away. I didn’t love going to concerts, but I could make sure she had the tools to listen to music at home and in her car. And I encouraged her to review shows for the blog so she could access even more. It isn’t that I had a ton of money for these gifts, I had to plan and clip coupons and look for deals. Some things were refurbished. But it was important to her – music. So creating access to music was important to me.

I even gave her the chance to interview Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls on the phone – it was definitely an OMG experience.

So today for a few bars, I was back in that space. I turned to look at the crowd and thought “this is amazing.” And it was.