Plans
These two shows at the Silver Legacy casino in Reno had been on the band's announced schedule for a really long time. I remember meeting people in Tunica, Mississippi back in March who were already planning to be here, and had already bought tickets! At the time, when I was asked if I was coming - Me? Reno? No - don't be silly. Then the summer tour with Bad Company came along, and I went to several shows on that tour, including a couple of long distance trips. Reno in September? No - can't do it. Then I went to a couple of shows later in the summer. As late as the Vermont Expo show on August 26th, I was still saying nope - I'd love to make the trip to Reno but I just can't. Well... you know that stuff they say happens? Well, some of it happened to me that last week of August, and I decided I could really use another couple of shows - they are my therapy sessions. Also, I had heard from some pretty good sources that the band would not be touring the US on a large scale in October and November. So, no reason to save pennies. With friends urging me on, the trip started to look really attractive, and a couple of days later, I had amazingly good tickets for both nights and an offer from a couple of friends to share a hotel room with them. I still couldn't afford air fare at the rates listed, so I went to Priceline.com and offered a ridiculously low amount of money. To my shock, they accepted it! By this time it's August 29th - and I guess I'm going to Reno!
Next thing I know, it's September 11th. It started off as a perfectly lovely morning, with people on mailing lists and bulletin boards wishing Tommy a happy birthday. A few hours later, the email slowly became messages of "Have you guys heard this" - "Is this true?" Those first tentative and incredulous messages turned to shock, pain, and the horrible acceptance that this was real and was actually happening. Next came the phone calls and emails and hugs to and from those people without whom your life is not your life. In my own extended circle, there were some endlessly long waits to hear from loved ones and some eerie stories of too-close calls, but thank God, no one lost. Still though, I felt and still feel the pain of that unimaginable day.
A few days later, as the reality that the earth was still turning began to set in, I realized that in about a week, I was booked to take a cross-country flight out of Logan airport in Boston. Ironically, I almost never fly out of Logan, since Manchester, NH is much closer. But at Priceline, they ask if you'd be willing to fly out of an alternate airport to increase your chances of an airline accepting your price bid, so I thought, why not? I put a check next to Boston, and sure enough, that's the itinerary that was accepted. At the time, it looked great - one layover instead of two, a much better price, and the drive to Boston wasn't that bad. But now...
I put a lot of thought into what I would do. I wasn't really afraid to go. Nervous, apprehensive, sure... but not afraid. None of my family or friends were terrified and begging me not to go. Some people had cancelled their trips, but a lot of people, including friends I hadn't seen in a long time, were still going. Also, a Styx show is my form of therapy and stress relief, and I certainly could use both of those. Finally, all things considered, I decided that the right thing for me to do was to go.