Do to MRSA (Mer-sa), which is a staph infection, doctors had to amputate his right leg. After the surgery, he was wheelchair bound and fell into depression that lasted for years. S
Read MoreBONNAROO 2018: The family concert
BONNAROO 2018: Ahhh, the family concert... the family who see's Eminem together at midnight sticks together.
BONNAROO 2018: The American Flag
BONNAROO 2018: She showed vigorous support for America with not only her outfit, but also her blanket as she sat in the midst of thousands of people walking from concert to concert.
Some may disagree as they were taught not to wear or sit on the flag. Others may high five her, which is the Bonnaroo way.
"How do I look," she asked. The shutter shut, "Great," I quietly responded as she handed me her cellphone. "Would you take my picture with my phone," she asked.
Another shutter click and I disappeared into the crowd where I next came across a large shirtless man that had a "Lost Soul" tattoo across his stomach. He was carrying a unicorn... I will get to that photo later.
BONNAROO 2018: Tattoos and Unicorns
BONNAROO 2018: Never get between a large tattooed man and his unicorn. Never.
“Dreams are the playground of unicorns.”
BONNAROO 2018: Heading through the Bonnaroo Grounds
Be who you want and dress as you like.
“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.”
Bonnaroo and the crowds
He stood in silence as the stage set was changed while the commotion before and around him continued at Bonnaroo.
Bonnaroo, what else can I say?
Some photographs I take I will never have words for. I saw a lot of women in bathing suits at Bonnaroo because it was so hot outside. I guess some men like the European bathing suit style with a little American flare.
He has been to Bonnaroo nearly every year
He has been to Bonnaroo in Manchester, TN every year, but 2016. “I saw the Grateful Dead here,” he told me with a smile. Anxious to tell me more he continued, “I remember the first time I saw them in California, they were nothing like they are now.”
While the original group never performed as a whole at Bonnaroo, a band known as “The Dead” did in 2003. The '03 year marked year number 2 for Bonnaroo.
The group known as The Dead was made up of several former members of the Grateful Dead. The group was formed after Garcia’s death.
The original Grateful Dead group formed in 1965. They lost their lead singer who was a founding member in 1995. Jerry Garcia (Jerome John Garcia) was a lead guitarist and vocalist for the group that came to be known in the counterculture era of the 1960’s.
Drug use was far from hidden in the Grateful Dead. In 1970, the band was known to heavily use cocaine and later heroin. Garcia even had a $700 a day habit, which became widely known in the late 1970’s. The band actually held a heroin intervention for Garcia in 1985.
Garcia died at age 53 in 1995 at a rehabilitation clinic. He died of a heart attack. Approximately 25,000 people attended a memorial for Garcia in California 5 days after his death.
So, who is the guy pictured? Just a dude who loves music and once followed the Grateful Dead.
Bonnaroo: It is a Yoshi Flower kind of a day
Is that a leash or are you sharing a camel back water hose? Never mind, just keep walking – nothing to see here.
Barefoot and Burned at Bonnaroo
The sun can do some amazing things, one of which is make you appear to be wearing a tank top when you are not wearing a shirt of any kind.
"You don't know my mind You don't know my kind" - Dark Necessities by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Bonnaroo love
Did you know that scientist have done studies to prove that when two people gaze into one another’s eyes, their heart rates synchronize?
"If I know what love is, it is because of you." — Herman Hesse (German born Swiss poet, 1877-1962)
Bonnaroo: Sitting in the dimming sun
A 1980’s band shirt that read “Suicidal Tendencies” adorned his body as he sat in the dimming sun while people walked by. He would sometimes kick his half leg into the air to draw the attention of females who passed by, some stopping to talk others walked the other way.
Bonnaroo and the fake moon
Sitting under the man made moonlight at Bonnaroo.
"Moonlight mood when twilight is ending
You're in my moonlight mood and our hearts are blending
There on the same old wall that we used to know long ago
You walked there in a ribbon of moonlight"
-Frank Sinatra, Moonlight Mood
Bonnaroo: Love the dance
In the distance, a familiar disco tune came on. The three friends started dancing and the moment they shared will likely be long remembered.
“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey, Professor of Counseling and Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Bonnaroo: What is age?
All ages having fun in the "Silent Disco" at Bonnaroo.
For those who have never been, it is a massive dance area under a tent with no audible music from the outside. You must wear your headphones or the headphones they provide for you. If you wear their headphones you hear the DJ (he can be seen in the background).
"Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Centipede man at Bonnaroo
What were they saying to one another minutes before the performance of U2 at Bonnaroo? I have no idea? I could guess based on their actions after the short discussion I froze in time... It likely went like this...
Centipede man: Hey man, I can use this stuffed centipede to get us to the very front. What I will do is, hold it above my head and make it look like it is crawling towards the front and everyone will move out of our way. Are you in bud?
Bud: Nope, you are nuts
Centipede man: Watch this
Did it work? YES!
Kaleidoscope Addiction at Bonnaroo 2017
Outside the main entrance into the concert area of Bonnaroo 2017 sit two life sized kaleidoscopes. For those who enjoyed a little too much pleasure earlier in the day, your eyes can easily become glued to the multiple colors.
At 3AM on Saturday, he became glued.
Alone on a bike
By looking at someone, it is hard if not impossible to know their story.
One time, this 40 year old man jumped on his inexpensive Huffy bicycle and decided to ride it from Rhea County, Tennessee to Sturgis Michigan. The ride took him a total of three weeks to complete. I asked, “Did you ride alone?” He looked to the right and swallowed, “I did.” I inquired more, “Was it ever lonely?” He smiled, “Not at all.”
As for food, he simply asked others for money along the way. Amazingly, he never went without, sleeping on the roadside in a tent each night and staying in a motel if and when he had the funds to do so. The trip cost him a little over $500, but keep in mind he left with nothing. Only a bike, a tent and a change of clothes.
But, why the ride?
He rode the mountain bike to Michigan to visit his daughter on her third birthday after he broke up with his daughter’s mom the year prior. The mom then moved to Sturgis with their daughter.
After he stayed in Michigan for a full week, it was time to say goodbye. He got to peddling and headed for Ohio, a state he had never seen. From there, he decided it was time for a break and took a Greyhound from Ohio to Manchester, Tennessee where he worked for a moving company for two years.
One day, he plans to hike the Appalachian Trail with his younger brother who is 35. In case you are not familiar with the trail, it is about 2,200 miles long and yes – he plans to walk all of it. Someday.
“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin
Leaving Bonnaroo by foot
Leaving Bonnaroo 2016 may be the hardest part for some. Saying goodbye to an imaginary world of music, peace and love can be tough, I would imagine. The late nights and early mornings in song can be relaxing at times, and motivating when you don't feel like moving.
As I drove away I saw people hitchhiking and asking for rides. Where they all came from, we will never know. Did they all get along, mostly.
“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.” ― Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005)
Music brings all together
"I'm from Florida," he told me on Sunday. "I got here at 3AM on Wednesday... It was really, really great," he continued as he took his Gatorade bottle shower. He then talked about the concerts, the cinema, the people and how they all got along.
"Music is the expression of the movement of the waters, the play of curves described by changing breezes." Claude Debussy (1862-1918)