Pray For Our Pastors

BEFORE AND AFTER 8

I didn’t get a chance to go to the Live8 concert on Saturday (Amy and I were at her parents’ in New Jersey for the day), but as a Philadelphian, I am proud that it went off as well as it did. It probably won’t surprise you that I was holding my breath about this, given Philly’s reputation for not-so-sterling incidents while on the national stage. (Remember when part of the stage fell on top of Sandra Day O’Connor a couple of years ago?)

This time, before, during, and after, Philly represented well. In the days leading up to the concert, it was all people were talking about. Co-workers and classmates of mine were making plans to meet up at various places. The morning of, I took a bike ride deep into Wissahickon Creek and stopped for a breather next to a man brushing his dogs. As I was leaving, he asked me, “You going to the concert?” I realized then how big this thing was for the city, that it would bring everyone together like that.

Again, I was outside of the city during the concert, but by all accounts, the concertgoers conducted themselves superbly. There were no major unruly incidents, people helped each other to water and aid stations, and a whole mix of ages and races partied hearty.

As for the aftermath, I made sure my run this morning got me to the Ben Franklin Parkway so I could see the carnage of several hundred thousand revelers from a couple nights before. Only there wasn’t any carnage. True to Mayor Street’s promise, the streets were so clean you couldn’t tell there was anything major just 36 hours before. I’d never seen so little trash on the Parkway, quite frankly.

As I neared the Art Museum from City Hall, vendors and event people were setting up for yet another concert, the one that always precedes the big fireworks show on the Fourth of July. I whizzed past the people dutifully setting up stages and sound equipment and booths, crossed the Spring Garden Bridge back into West Philadelphia, and headed home, proud of my city for hosting such a great global event, and then doing such a good job of cleaning up afterwards, and then getting it all set up all over again.