I read the stories on your site all the time. They always keep me
laughing and thinking and all that. I never thought I'd have a story of my own for you, but here it goes. I always told stories to my wife about my experiences at phish shows and how much fun it is to be there. I also told here how nice the phans were at the shows. always willing to answer a question and help out at the drop of a hat.

Well, she was able to witness first-hand just how nice they could be. We arrived at the meadowlands......a.k.a. continental arena for t he 2/24/03 show. It was my wife's phirst time and I was so excited for her. I could not wait to see her face when the boys hit the stage. it was extremely cold, so when we arrived early and couldn't go inside, we had no choice
but to leave the heat on in the car.

I went for a stroll to do some shopping and maybe run into a friend of mine from way-back. I was gone for a half an hour, came back to warm up, then went back out again for about 20-30 minutes. she didn't want to leave the car running so she decided to shut the car off and let the heat and radio to run. of course you know what happened next. I came back to get warm. I noticed I had a van with a guy and girl on my
left and a group of guys parked and hanging outside there car to my right.

I tried to start the car and got no response. I was worried to say the least. I thought we weren't gonna be able to see the show which I waited three months to see. no chance to see my wife's reaction and no chance to be blown away. I tried again to no avail. I then get a knock on my window. the guy with the van had cables and wanted to know if I needed a jump. do I?? does a bear poop in the woods?? yes, please!! that would be great. we weren't too sure how to match up the cables, so the guys on my right lent a hand. so now I had about 8 people all standing around helping and hoping for the best for us. we
got the cables lined up and gave it a shot.

BOOYAHH!! Battery is back to life. as soon as the car started the crowd that had gathered around my car let out a big yell!! woohoooooo!! I was relieved and laughing at the same time. I thanked them all over and over again. the guy with the van told me if I needed a jump again they would be there after the show. I was so appreciative I was almost at a loss for words. I couldn't believe how nice these phans were. 

My wife and I headed into the show and preceded to have a magical time. bb king and all that!! I watched my wife's jaw drop to the floor numerous times during the night. I kept thinking that we wouldn't be having this wonderful time if it weren't for the kind pholks in the parking lot. after the show, we left before I got to see and thank those people again, but I did leave them a thank you present.

If you are reading this guys, hope you got the thank you I left you. you have no idea how much I appreciated the kindness you sent my way that night. so to all who think the scene has gone down hill, remember there still is wonderful, helpful phans out there willing to help you out of trouble and lend a hand no matter how much trouble it might be for them. keep the peace and love and all that.

- Tommy