So many shows...

I've been asked a few times, how many Springsteen shows have you been too? Why have you seen so many, and why do you keep going?
As for the number of show, it looks like 60 to this point. And is you are wondering where, here is a link to show.

As to why, well the people are always great. I'm now starting to be one of the old guys with stories going back, so I get to spin my yarn to the youngsters!
But the biggest reason: I've never seen the same show twice. Even the shows I complain about, they are still top notch!

The birthing experience…

The birthing experience…

First off, everything ended up fine. As you can see from my previous entry, Rebecca and Mommy are doing well. But now I have to document the story of what happen in the delivery process.

As of November 7, Teri was scheduled to go into the hospital on the night of November 12 (a Monday) and begin the induction process. This we due to Teri’s blood pressure being high. The doctors felt that the baby was ready, and it would be better not to wait any longer and risk complications for the baby or mother. Teri was on bed rest at this point for about the past week.

Teri got a call on the morning of November 8, from the doctor’s office stating that there was going to be scheduling complications at the hospital on 11/12, and to prepare to come to the hospital on tonight. I had made arrangements at work that I would not be in on 11/9 and be out the next week. I took Teri to the hospital in the evening, her parents meet us there, they hooked up an IV, and Teri was set. I went home, Teri’s parents tried to pull this BS about staying that night with her, “…for what? Watch her sleep?”

I was back the next morning. I should have waited until at least noon, nothing happened. My sister Cindy came and went (smart move). Finally around 6:00pm they started to move things along some. Around 11:30pm Teri was near 10cm dilated, which is the size for birth. This is when she started pushing. She pushed for the next hour and a half. At which time the doctor didn’t see a lot of progress. She gave Teri the option to try pushing for another hour, which may or may not have made more progress or go in for the Cesarean Section delivery. Teri promptly opted for the C-Section. At this point, they offered to have someone in the operating room with Teri. She chose me! What was I going to say? Teri had been in Labor for the past couple of hours, and the whole lead up to Labor…

I got into the scrubs, they cleared the room where we had been the past day, and off we went. From my point of view, things weren’t too bad. Teri and I were behind a curtain from where all of the ‘action’ was taking place. I held her hand and gave moral support. And at 2:36am, the Rebecca came into the world. And I have to say, I was over whelmed with emotion. I think I was crying more then Rebecca. You can check out the slide show as the day progressed.

Now a word about the C-Section. A lot of people might think they know what it is, an operation to remove the baby as opposed to a vaginal (natural) birth. You cut the woman open, take the baby out, and sew her up. Not quite. Between the outside world and the baby are about 10 major organs, the liver, pancreas, large intestine, small intestine, etc. These organs need to go somewhere while the baby is being removed. No room inside to scoot them around, no, they are taken out and set a side. Yes, major organs are taken out of your body. The baby is removed (and all of its stuff). Then all of those organs go back in, like assembling a jig saw puzzle. In the end the hospital stay is 4 days instead of 2.

I stayed with Teri each night she was in the hospital. There is a chair that folds out into a bed that I slept on. It worked out okay. While at the hospital and being there with the various doctors and nurses examining Teri, I picked up on something. Women have little sympathy for other women. It’s like a one-up-man-ship type of competition. As an example; A doctor came and to check on Teri. Teri went through her symptoms and how she was doing. The doctor basically said, “Suck it up, I had all three of my kids by C-Section!” No sympathy what so ever. And there were a few other instances like this too.

Now we are back home and trying to figure out a schedule that works best. Teri is breast feeding. Rebecca sleeps fine during the day. And there really isn’t much for me to do with the baby. I hold her and change diapers when necessary, but other then that, not too much.

Van Halen, DC

The Fall Tour rolls on...

On tap for November 1, Van Halen at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

The Donk and I meet up and come down to DC for the VH show. For me it's handy to park and walk about 2 blocks to the arena. Saves money and parking is very secure. All in all a great show, and I'm glad we made it to this and the show last month in Philly.

The setlist was the same, but I had become more familiar with the set since seeing them, so I recognized a couple of songs I didn't know. Building up to this show Donk informed me at there was a disaster of a gig a couple of days before in KC, MO. From my point of view, this show was fine and the band seemed tighter then the month previous.

The plan was to grab dinner at Legal Seafood, but the place was packed! We waited a while, hoping a spot would open, no dice. We ended up grabbing arena food.

Since we've seen the show already (the Donk actually took in both shows in Philly), we made up a game, "Daughter or Girlfriend". Since this was a heavily geezer show, there seemed to be a bunch of older guys with younger girls. It was up to us to determine if it was the guys daughter or girlfriend. The next part of the game was to find a female at the show, not a daughter, under the age of 30. This proved very difficult. I guess it's just part of growing older...
Sitting next to me was a 40-something (maybe 50?) chick . We chatted a bit. She started out the conversation with saying, "...I need a beer!" And I'm thinking, "Well I ain't gonna buy you one!" She asked, "So when did you see Van Halen last? I saw them in 1984!" I told her, last month. It just wasn't clicking. But all in all, a good show.

Welcome to the World!

Rebecca Kathryn Young

Born on November 10, 2007 @ 2:36am

Weight: 8 pounds, 4.6 ounces Length: 19.75 inches