as soon as i walked in to get in line i saw three people i recognized. the keith richards guy, the johhny ramone guy and some other guy i never knew the name of. they seemed to recognize me. the air was buzzing with a feeling like finding an old favorite shirt and having it still fit. it was awesome! I walked in and saw people i hadn’t seen in over fifteen years. a few i was nervous about but as soon as our eyes met it vanished.

we laughed and looked at photos of each others kids. some people had thier kids there. my daughter would sooner have slit her own throat than be a part of our pathetic past.  i got tears in my eyes several times looking around at the sheer joy of everybody there. the bands were awesome. that new math singer was easy on the eyes of this “older woman”.  when laben came out to sing riverview we instinctivley lined up to do the dance. i haven’t danced that much in a long time. i stayed out real late-past midnight! Abilene was cool but got too crowded for me. i got sober 11 years ago so i don’t really go to shows or bars much. the thought of a drink didn’t even occur to me as i basked in the stage light. my feet moved on their own. i was dancing for joy.

the summer of ’82…MTV came to Rochester. We had never seen anything so cool. I came back from sophomore year at SUNY Fredonia to work at Kodak. This guy my sister, Beanie( a Scorgies regular) knew from St. John Fisher came and sat down at our table and announced we would be working together in Bldg 9. I remembered him from Halloween 81.  He had gone as some guy named rock and roll Joel and was totally rude. I hated him immediately. whatever…By June 18 we had shared our first kiss as he dropped me off after the Comateens show. We have been married for almost 20 years.

Anyhow-every night out started or ended at Scorgies that summer, and usually we never left. It was dark and woody. the other side never really got the same seasoning. It was too bright. I remember: George, Planet Claire, the Keith Richards guy, Luke Warm, Jimmy Jazz, doing the Riverview dance onstage with the Cliches, dancing to Radio Clash with Andi, Beanie and Affee downstairs, innumerable bathroom trips in various stages of intoxication, Angelo pouring beer on himself, Rudy Valentino using a drumstick on his guitar during a solo with the Majestics (that was later), Joe “king” Carrasco, the Press Tones. I remember being smushed in front of that tiny stage during a New Math show and thinking this is it, man. I didn’t think life could get any better. We were the coolest.

Aug 8 that summer Kelly Grant got killed by losing control of her car and hitting a tree on 490. We drove past the accident on our way home. I knew somebody had died. I found out the next day it was her. She had looked so pretty that night, standing in the amber light. she had on a striped blouse and knickers. People were waiting for her at her house for the “after Party”. It was a horrible week as we staggered through her wake and funeral. I still look for the tree every single time I drive 490. There is a cross there now. My daughter is named Kelly and she is 17.