The Girl in the Lime Green Top
It’s often the case when we play outdoor summer festivals that the colors of the crowd swirl together into a ruddy brown stew. Everyone’s tan, to start with, and then the heat and humidity seem almost to coax the dirt up from between the blades of grass and onto the bodies and clothes we see from the stage. The warm orange of the setting sun heightens the effect, further blending the ochre before us.
The last time we played Timber Lanes in Maquoketa, IA was no exception. The late summer afternoon was working its magic on the crowd. We played in the evening, so there was a lot of time to kill during the day, hanging around, people watching. Bobbing along in the sienna seas was a vision in bright green. A shock of blonde hair exploded above a spectacularly tanned and fit body, which was more than enough to catch the eye even in the swaying chaos, but it was her dazzling, bright green top which absolutely made the case that there was Something To See here. We all remarked on her. We spoke of little else as the afternoon gave way to dusk.
Beyond the stunning visual she presented, it was clear her spirit was exceptional, too. She worked through the crowd all afternoon, seemingly knowing everyone in this small Iowa town. Contact with friends and acquaintances—a light touch on the arm as she threw her head back for that laugh which came so easily, and for the luckier among them, long embraces upon greeting. I jealously imagined what soft wonders that embrace might reveal.
We took the stage and, until she disappeared for good, we watched her weave through the crowd. As darkness set in, her shirt, nearly luminescent, stood out that much more. At some point near the end of the set we lost sight of her for the last time. There was some small amount of sadness, an emptiness remaining. Only her mysteries lingered, forever to be left unrevealed to us.
Or so we thought, until we found her passed out in a pool of her own vomit in the parking lot.
The Recliners at Timber Lanes
Maquoketa, IA
Saturday August 7, 8:30pm-midnight
