After what seemed like hours of waiting, they were all on, and my friend began reading the news from phish.com....it read as follows........... PHISH TO PLAY FOUR CONCERTS..... BASH!!!!! The phone drops and hangs up. I'm running around the house screaming at the tops of my lungs every word that came to my mind.  I regain my composure after 15 minutes (they could still be screwing around with me here). 

i call back and the rest of the information is read to me -- at this point i can hardly move, and the first thought that entered my head in the whole *oh my god this is real* phase was sitting there thinking of madison square garden 2002 and the lights going down and the place erupting like no other venue on this planet has ever erupted ever before and those 4 guys walking onto the stage--- i could no longer speak, so i muttered some final goodbyes and hung up the phone.

I was then inspired - I popped in 12.30.95 disc 2 starting with ya mar in my walkman and went to beach --- i then proceeded to write P H I S H in the sand in very big letters.  While all this is going on, i'm dancing around the beach singing at the top of my lungs, "BRAIN DEAD....AND MADE OF MONEY!!" and i could tell people were thinking "what the fuck?" But you know what -- at that point, nothing else mattered because now there is nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.

- Ernie