It's a strange September & already I know it'll be a weird October. Why? October is usually World Series time, Baseball! For New Yorkers, it's the Yankees or nothing. This time, nothing, not even the Mets. Why is it a bad September? Everything that meant anything in NY was lost. PINK FLOYD & YANKEE STADIUM. Do the 2 go hand in hand? Does it make sense? Yes. [Don't get me started on Yes!]
How is it that a city could lose 2 of the most beautiful stadiums in the world in one shot? Ok they are baseball stadiums. Apparently only football stadiums seem to be concert-friendly, since some dumb owners don't seem to trust our music with their lawns.[???????????????-well, if they put good music on their lawns they'd be able to trust us!]. The fact that not only Yankee Stadium is being destroyed but Shea Stadium as well is just demeaning. Both baseball fields, both on the opposite sides of the heart of NY, one in the Bronx [Yankee] & the other in Queens [Shea]. Two places no one would be caught dead in if it weren't for their landmarks.
I can't talk about Shea Stadium since I've never been there which is sad. I've sat on the outside & looked in, but I know how important it is or was to this city. Especially since the new one being built looks like a pile of dead bricks [if it's possible for bricks to be dead, they'd look like the new Shea, which isn't going to be even called Shea but after a crappy bank that may lose all it's money, poor Shea.!] You have to feel sorry for Shea, even if you weren't a Met fan. The fact is Shea is younger born in 1961. A kid! Yet bigger, wow than Yankee Stadium? No way? Way! ! Only 47 years old? They couldn't give it another 3 years to at least hit 50? Is it so torn up, it couldn't wait? Couldn't find some building Botox? [if there is such a thing, Yankee Stadium would never have taken it, it was too strong!] In truth it was only 44 since for 2 years it actually turned into the Yankees when their own stadium was under construction & they came to Shea for 2 years from 1974-1976. Ok, the Beatles played there. Billy Joel played there, they had more concerts than the Yanks ever did. So why destroy it? This one I'll blame on age discrimination & the money-grubbing banks who seem to be buying everything now instead of saving their money like their supposed to [is this a joke?] & we're wondering what's wrong with our economy? While the new one won't even begin to have a history since it won't be taking it's old name, it's a shame that the history of this particular place had not yet begun but did leave a special place in some NY hearts.
Now Yankee Stadium is a different story. It's tinier. But way older! 1923! 85 years old [83 if you wanna get technical because of their dumb refurbishing at Shea!] So this one couldn't be given another 15 years of life to hit 100. No Botox here! We could've taken it! Who cares? We gotta take it out now! Why? Babe Ruth built it. He didn't build it himself , they built it for him, so everyone could come see him. When the old older stadium was up it had a different structure, which is actually back at the newly semi-finished Yank stadium, which is opening next year. Yet when it was rebuilt in 1974, they change the outer structure completely but it was still the same place. You could say we had a giant face-lift, like the Statue of Liberty did [yet she's still looks crazy!] So it has a huge history, of prize fights, football, [which is hysterical to ever think that football was ever played here], sermons & concerts [same thing!].
A place I used to come with my uncle all the time to. He took me to my first game, where else could we go to see a game [Shea was too far so we can't go there, we were Yanks anyway], right next to my house. Yes, I've lived by this beautiful place & watched it slowly fade away from me & it's devastating. I lost my uncle in 2001 & I feel like he wants Yankee Stadium. So he's going to take it. That's ok. He seems to be giving us the old one back, maybe he wanted me to see what the old one looked like. It'll be tinier & more expensive since the money grubbers are taking over this one too for no good reason, but it won't be the same. I'll let you know David.....
Now what does this have to do with Pink Floyd? Richard Wright, Ricky to some. Keyboardist & basically the heart of the band. It was Syd Barrett & Rick who did all the vocals in this band before anyone else did!!! THEY WERE PINK FLOYD! As long as one or the other was in that band, it was Pink Floyd. It was Rick when Roger Waters left who sang all of Roger's parts & it was still ok. Because it was Rick. Ricky passed away this month, a couple of weeks before Yankee Stadium did. When I would go to see the Yanks I'd never been on the field. Till one day. Pink Floyd decided to come to the Bronx. What?? Are you kidding?? Pink Floyd in the Bronx? I dare them to get past the Deegan. [I would've had my uncle clear it for them, not only was he a very dangerous driver, but he was a gravedigger, he knew what to do with a body & he would've done it for me, he couldn't have cared less about Pink Floyd!] They made it.
In 1994 when everything sucked & the 90s were worming its sorry music onto this world Pink Floyd saved Yankee Stadium. I went to get tickets for the first night. First day of sale. Awesome. My friends were going to go with me [my girl D, see 'A Day In the Life...]. Cool. We get there, we hang, we see Debbie Harry walking in the back of the Stadium, cool, she likes Pink Floyd, awesome! We're in the Loge section. Cool. We sit, we can't see a damn thing. It's completely obstructed. Why? Their staging was insane. The seats were behind their screens & lights. How is this possible? A lady comes to us & asks if we like our seats? No! She laughs, it's ok, the box office made a mistake, follow this person & we'll show you to your seats. So we proceed to go down, down, the walk which took forever, seemed long [if you know any stadium you know this], we wind up outside. Wait we're outside? What's going on? Your seats are there. She point to the inside of Yankee Stadium on the field. I almost died! AAHH!!!! No way! it was so beautiful it was insane. Here I am in the field of Yankee Stadium seeing not a baseball game, not a show, but PINK FLOYD!! My Ricky. He was the one for me. My favorite & he was right there in front of me. He was the cute one. He still was & I got to see him in Yankee Stadium. Saw him twice, since I went the next day as I found friends who were working the show! Seeing him singing 'Wearing The Inside Out' & 'Astronomy Domine' was nothing short of mesmerising. Who knew you could have a sight like that in the Bronx? Now I lost both? Impossible. Ricky was Pink & now he's gone forever & I'm going to miss him & his beautiful voice.
Yankee Stadium is gone because there will never be another place like it, even though the new one is right next to it & it's actually just as beautiful & the construction going into it is actually caring about the history of preserving what the old one meant [which is more than I could say about the new Shea, which won't be the new Shea!]. PINK FLOYD is gone because Rick is gone, Syd is gone & now we'll never see anything like that again. If you don't believe me you could ask who's left yourself. If you know anything about what it means to preserve history in something as sacred as a stadium, or something that means anything to you, you know this is not going to happen. We also know that as of late, in rock bands, preserving history is the last thing our classic boys seem to care less about now. There wasn't a tribute more devastating than Roger Waters himself. A man he'd fought with for so long, that when they'd finally gotten back together & received a British Hall of Fame award. As they were accepting it & Rick was hospitalized at the time for eye surgery, Roger had said he wasn't in surgery that they'd actually eloped. How adorable. His website was taken down & he went on to explain why Rick was important to Pink Floyd. Even him coming to the realization that Pink Floyd will never happen again, after he'd wanted it more than we did, is more painful than you could imagine.
I'm glad & sad that I got to see Yankee Stadium for the last time. Rick Wright & Pink Floyd for the last time. Both at my house. I'm also glad, since Syd & Rick never really got to see each other after Syd left that they're finally together now. Probably wondering what my uncle is doing with a big old stadium in his hand & he's telling Rick that I was there when he played & used to take me there all the time & they're all hanging out. I just hope Ricky doesn't ask my uncle why he wasn't at the show.........
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
luv to Ricky, Yankee Stadium & my uncle David...
luv, Rozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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