EMERGENCY AUDIO RESPONDERS

Since there are so many entries for this one day AND it is the Solstice, I am posting all Solstice recordings on this entry. Just click on the time of day to listen.
SOLSTICE SUNWATCH ARCHIVE
Many, many thanks to all of you who sent in recordings on the solstice in response to my distress call. I am very grateful. This was so perfect and wonderful and appropriate. It was worth limping around Newark, NJ indefinitely waiting for a ride home. Thank you again!

DEC21 NOON Barbara Held Andora Mountains, Spain NOON
DEC21PM Thea Farhadian. Sesenheimer Str. 1. Berlin, Germany 3:54PM
DEC21PM Bun Ching Lam. Paris, France 4:54PM
DEC21PM Raylene Campbell. Montreal, Quebec 4:11PM
DEC21PM Georgina Lewis Boston, MA 4:15PM
DEC21PM Lyn Goeringer Providence, RI 4:18PM
DEC21PM Monique Buzzarté City Island, New York 4:23PM
DEC21PM Al Margolis. Chester, NY 4:31PM
DEC21PM Betsey Biggs. 14th Street. New York City 4:31PM
DEC21PM Jenneth Webster. Brooklyn, NY 4:31PM
DEC21PM Alyce Santoro. Truth or Consequences, NM 5:51PM
DEC21PM Vince Rubino On an Airplane somewhere above Eastern Washington time?
DEC21PM Caterina De Re. Seattle, WA 4:04PM
DEC21PM Chris DeLaurentis Seattle, WA 4:21PM
DEC21PM Krys Bobrowski and Chien Wong. KAZ Berkeley, CA 4:54PM
DEC21PM Beau Casey "Soulstice" Berkeley, CA 4:53PM
DEC21PM Paul Stepahin. The Exploratorium- Seed Swap and Bell Ringing. San Francisco, CA 4:53PM
DEC22AM Wendy Suiter. Mt Keira. New South Wales, Australia 5:44AM

WINTER SOLSTICE SAGA

67 hours door to door from New York to San Francisco
TaDa! That must be some kind of record. Although I know there were 1000’s, maybe 10’s of thousands of people who slept in the airports these past few days leading up to Christmas. My sister and I would have been two more of them. Fortunately for her, when Lisa learned her flight was cancelled she went back and stayed with my father and rerouted herself through Philadelphia. She had to wait two days but she hung out with my Dad and watched TV and got stuff out of the refrigerator when she wanted a snack.
For more details of the saga, click here. To jump to the end, read on:
It really turned out to be a very wonderful thing. A huge blessing. The absolute finality of not being able to leave New York on time. The falling down and hurting myself. The main things I was concerned about missing were the Seed Swap and Solstice Bell Ringing and my audio contribution to the December Sunwatch project. The Exploratorium event went on without me. The Seed Swap was fun and successful. And the bell took on a life of it’s own. Norman brought the Honda and the big bell over to the museum and rang it outside in the parking lot in the pouring rain. Inside the museum, the Explainers rang the two big bells that they usually ring only at the end of the day. (One of those bells is the one I drove around the country in 2006). People who were gathered in the theater rang bells and shook their keys before wandering out to join Norman in the parking lot. Thank you everyone who made this happen and especially Norman and Liz. I was sorry that I couldn’t be there but unbelievably happy just imagining it happening. What happened next was unexpected and honestly has changed my life in ways I don’t really understand, but I am forever grateful and appreciative.

When I had arrived at the hotel, it was 5:00 in the morning on the 21st. I knew that I wouldn’t make it back for the Exploratorium event and I knew that I would be unable to record my sunrise or sunset observance. And I was very tired. I should have just gone to bed, but instead, I sent up a flare. I sent an email to everyone that I had originally invited to participate in the daily recordings. I should have been more selective, but I wasn’t thinking clearly, and my computer was running out of battery power. What I wanted to convey was that I wouldn’t be able to record on the solstice and wondered if anyone would be willing to do so in my place. I should have simply made the request and left it at that, but I explained my situation and it seemed more dire than it actually was. Because my phone had already died, I was unaware of how many people called and left messages for assistance and it wasn’t until I woke up and checked my email that I realized how many people so generously and quickly responded to my cry for emergency audio. I had no idea how many exceptionally generous and wonderful people I know. I was and am overwhelmed and humbled.

Thank you all for your kind and immediate offers of assistance and for the many fabulous solstice recordings you sent in on such short notice. That was beyond luck. These Solstice Sunwatch recordings are more and better than anything I could have possibly done and they would have never happened under ordinary circumstances. If I had to point to a single moment from this past year in terms of gauging the success of the dailybell2008 project, this was the moment. Thank you all; truly, from a part of myself I hadn’t known existed.

Happy Holidays. And “It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings”…