Despite the washed-out benefit concert in Central Park yesterday, I have many thanks to give to The Black-Eyed Peas; I now know to always trust my intuition. I've been wrestling with my belief system in this regard for awhile now.
In May, I had heard that the band was going to give a (mostly) free concert in Central Park to help fight poverty in NYC, but you had to win tickets to be able to attend. I logged onto the dedicated site sponsored by The Robin Hood Foundation on the first day that it went live and typed in my information. The wait time was a week or so. I was up against 53,999 other potential winners.
That last morning (May 24) you would learn if you won entry into the concert came. My alarm, which is set to the radio, went off. Lo and behold, the song that was playing was The Black-Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling." My immediate gut reaction was: "I won the tickets!"
I logged onto my email account--no sign. I felt deflated as there was no indication of any confirmation. My gloom quickly dissipated--it was a slim chance in a city of 8 million people afterall. I did mention it to two friends in passing, laughing at the fact that that particular song was playing when I awoke. I was taking a stroll in Central Park with one of these friends and uttered: "I was sure I'd won," proceeding to sing the lyrics as we walked down a dimly-lit, winding path.
When I arrived home about an hour later, around 10:30pm, I logged onto my email account to get caught up on the day's collection of correspondence. There it was--an email from The Robin Hood Foundation. I had won! Four tickets no less! The song--in and of itself to boot--had indeed been a sign.
It made the lead-up to the concert all the more sweet. And then to learn that other acts like Debbie Harry and LL Cool J were also going to perform--need I say more?
I know there are a lot of irate New Yorkers out there who waited and got shuffled around like a herd of cattle (myself being one of them) last night, waiting for the gate to open to be able to get a place on the Great Lawn. Check-in had been delayed due to inclement weather. My sister and I were going together and had already gotten a leisurely start, so we weren't looking as haggard as some. After we were let in, a soft rain began to fall, a much milder version from earlier that day. It actually felt really good on my skin, as it had reached 100 degrees yesterday and I wasn't looking forward to standing in a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people in the stifling heat. The park also looked beautiful; the trees in full bloom, the grasses a vibrant green. As we slowly made our way, we were told the concert had been cancelled, learning later it was due to the lightning--which I can attest was plentiful (and strikingly beautiful). For me--hey it was free. I wasn't waiting for several hours like some people, so I guess I can take this viewpoint. I'll turn up for the re-scheduled performance for sure.
And will always be forever grateful - trust that feeling!
