C H A P T E R     S I X
 
 
 

        At 4, the Chiefs of the Navajos and their First Ladies walked on
stage, dressed in all their finery. They welcomed the people of the
world to their Nation, and called upon the spirits in a short ceremony
to grace everyone and their effort. They gave account of all the great
work the fund had done so far, and was doing as they spoke, plus all
the things their Nation had gone through to make the concert happen.
Then they introduced the "Original Americans Band", put together
with members from all the Nations for the concert, who gave an
awesome half-hour set, drums everywhere, then the Chiefs turned the
concert over to Joni and Julio, who said just a few words and thanked
all the contributors, especially the anonymous givers of millions, then
introduced Billy Crystal, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Steve Martin,
Cosby, Leno, Miller, the Wayans, Carlin, Carrey, Letterman et al. as
the kick-off MC's. And that was just the boys. It was ON. It was what
the Rock Generation had all been for. And there were rumors that
something big was going to happen, besides the fund. Maybe even
mass arrest.
        Back at the ranch, our guys were all sipping on their mint juleps
out around the pond, listening on the radios, and even had brought
Kit's battery-powered TV out. Well, it was time to break out the
mushrooms. Kit brought out his stash and, what the hell, they all tried
some, even Ria a little bit.
        The MC's went on for about a half hour with the comedic
explanation of what they were doing, then introduced Bob Hope,
Uncle Milty Berle, Sid Ceaser, Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Carl
Reiner, Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis, Buddy Hackett, Rodney
Dangerfield and other institutions of comedy who carried on the
message; then they all introduced Joan Baez, who did a song, then
Judy Blue Eyes, who did one, then Carol King and Joni, who each
did several. Then it was all the 60's folk heroines and heroes: Dylan,
Simon, Garfunkle, Peter, Paul, Mary, Emmy Lou doing a Graham
Parsons song before hers, Ronstat, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young,
Taylor, Country Joe, Cocker, Santana, Clapton, then all the rest
came on, one after another, everyone staying on stage, and it got
bonky. Funky. Funk n' groovin'. And it was history. Even the
Kingston Trio did "Tom Dooley" and "MTA" or whatever. Then
Arlo did "Alice's Restaurant". Cher and Sonny did a couple of the
first ones, the Son Man still being here on the planet then. The
Smothers Brothers did two. Then Grace and the Plane followed
with "Feed Your Head", and Ray Charles came on to do "What'd
I Say", followed by a short set with everyone jamming in. It was
incredible, spontaneous and serendipitous.
        Motown took over as the day turned into twilight, and started
in on all the Motown stuff. Diana was leading all that, with the
Supreme Girls, and Smokey and Mikey, Stevie and James Brown,
the hardest working man in show business. Warwick and
Bacharach, the Rev Al Green, the Four Tops and all of them still
alive did their ole great songs. And Aretha and Roberta filled the
place with Soul.
        There were about a million and a half souls at the concert,
they announced. It was the mother of all concerts. A real crowd
sucker. And it had only just begun, the Carpenters sang. Buffalo
Springfield, CCR and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band transitioned
everyone out of Motown, after the rappers, then Clapton, Joni and
Bonnie Rait were introducing the old Black Blues artists - John Lee,
Muddy, BB and the rest.
        They went on a good time with the newer Blues guys, then it
was the women performers - Bonny, Joni, Emmy, Carol and Linda,
then Ricky Lee, Chrissy Hynes, Sheryl Crow and others. It was IT.
Jumping from the 60's to the 70's and onward.
        Then it was time for the BANDS as the eve flowed into the
morn. The Beatles, with Julian filling in for John, the Stones, the
Byrds, Kinks, Animals, Deep Purple, Grateful Dead and the Plane
all kicking that off. Yee gods!
        The performers were starting a concert song, just working on
the chords and melody that night, though words were coming to
the chorus. Jeezuz, the bands: Santana, Electric Prune, Moby
Grape, Canned Heat, Chicago, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Procol
Harum, Grand Funk Railroad, Doors, with Kilmer filling in for Jim,
Allman Brothers, Lynyrd, Frampton, Blue Oyster Cult and the
Moody Blues. There are not words for how it was. You either
were there, saw it or heard it or you missed it. Led Zep and Floyd
came on around 4, everyone jamming with everyone else. Luckily,
the stage could hold about a thousand. Well, you remember. Just
ineffable, wasn't it?
        Back at Truchas, they had already done Kit's Window Pane
and were skinny dipping in and out of the pond until Julian and the
boys unveiled their home-made hot tub for a surprise, though
everyone by then knew what was under the tarp by the porch. And
it was filled with hot water out of the cabins. Then Kit announced
that it was Jessy's birthday - "four hours late!", Jess observed - so
they had that to celebrate with champagne, smoke, coke and crank.
Yep, they were all a trippin'. And Kit brought out the peyote as
they toked on.
        "This was the concert we all meant to have!" Joni yelled out
at the concert after a song ended, coming to the mike to do some
of hers and some of the Zep's and Floyd's with everyone out there.
The cheers were, uh, deafening and plenty. The music raged on
into the light of Saturday, everyone staying up on something, there
at Monument and around the world.
        At the hacienda, our three needed a nap around 6, though it
was really the call of sex. But they passed out after.
        The Gospel choir came on at daybreak for a short while, then
the 70's folk rock country and roll took over. The Beach Boys
opened for the Eagles and Saturday got rolling.
        Kit got one eye open while Jess was asleep and put in a
request to Pute to find a used Cessna Citation bizjet somewhere,
buy it and get it to Santa. Then went right back to sleep, their other
TV tuned into MTV at Monument. Evan and Stefi were passed out
there in the feathers with them. Flee was passed out with Juli on the
couch in Jul and Ri's living room, Phil and Essy on the floor near
them. Watching the concert, of course.
        Well, Jessica was twenty. She woke, then woke Kit, asking
for breakfast in bed. Their style. Later, they joined Jul and Ri and
everyone for breakfast on the veranda, which was an interesting
ensemble of food, considering their various states of chemical
balance. Josh called to wish Jess happy birthday, remembering from
graduation, and said he was coming out soon, which they were very
happy about. Then Jessy called home.
        The folks were proud of their girl again, enjoying the concert
that the girls had labored so hard on, Ginny still asking what the hell
was really going on, not having an address to send their gift to, for
one thing. Jess put Maria and Jul on with Gin, the conversation just
a bit trippy, before getting back on to say goodby.
        After that, Jul and Ria had a gift for Jessy, from Wallace, Junior
and familia too - her very own '74 Dodge pickup, gray of course,
that Julio drove out from the woods. Sonia and 'Milio were next,
giving her a simple Gold crown that they had made out of some of
their stash.
        "Awww, Gawwwdd..." Jess cried.
        Es and Phil had a super duper cowgirl hat for her, Flee and
Juli a beautiful "Indian" jacket and Stef and Ev gave her an awesome
cowgirl dress. Then they all chastised Kit that he didn't have anything
for her. And he kidded that he had already given it to her for
breakfast, to the "ooooo's". But they knew something was coming.
        They talked around the big log veranda table and listened to the
music from the Valley as they praised the morning, looking out over
the Mora. Then the kids brought up going to the concert. Meanwhile,
Kit had checked with Puterman, and "Zippy" had done his chore.
Cody showed the screen to Jessy: her Citation was being flown to
Santa that moment.
        "Happy birthday, majesty," he said, just adoring her beaming,
glorious face, despite her hangover. "This one's your's."
        "Cow...a...bunga," she bubbled with completely astonished
surprise, put her arms around him hard and kissed him effusively.
She thanked and hugged and kissed everyone else a lot, everyone
keeping her Gold crown from falling off when she bent over, Jess
forgetting she had it on. Then they worked on going to Monument
in HER jet. There wasn't room for everyone, though. Bummer. Jul
and Ria volunteered to watch the ranch, not minding a bit to stay,
though everyone wanted them to come. Wallace and the family
would stay with them, too.
        Kit called ahead to Monticello, Utah to check there would be
room enough there to park the jet, plus two Jeeps or whatever to
rent, then they sent Sundance the text for the Monument
announcement, and asked him to notify the governments that it was
time. And they took the Jeep to Santa.
        Kenja was waiting in the FBO office for them. She had flown
Jess's ship in from Denver, and would get them all checked out on
it. They had just enough seats for everyone, and Jess took the
captain's seat, Kenj the right, Kit behind Jess. And birthday girl was
totally in joy with her jet, still wearing her crown, as they went
through all the controls and procedures.
        The girls flew them over the concert on the way into Monticello,
and Kenjy came with them as they drove to the outskirts of "Rock
City". Concert Central. The Magic Music Metropolis. They parked
about half a mile from the butte they had landed on just nights before.
Jess had left her crown in the Citation.
        "Is that our 'butt'?" Jess whispered in Kit's ear. He nodded as
they felt each other's butts and walked around some, then put their
blankets down on the edge of all that humanity and gazed around in
the amazement those already there had already experienced. They
could see the stage, but had a better view from the huge screen
about a hundred yards away. People were still arriving and filling in
around and behind them. And they all were listening to the 70's rock,
roll, folk, blues and country through the rest of the day, sipping on
the juleps out of their cooler, and wine and Frogs and such, eating the
strawberries, grapes, nuts, seeds, cheese, sandwiches and stuff they
had brought, toasting Jessy's 20th with every new drink.
        Robin Williams and Billy Crystal came on to MC a little more.
Then the Pure Prairie League, from Cincinnati and Northern
Kentucky, came on stage and did "Amy", Kit telling about meeting
Amy at Jack's, and that story about Elaine. And Craig Fuller, up on
stage, was telling the city that they knew there were new performers
in the crowd and that everyone was welcome to audition.
        "Hey, there you go, cowgirl," Flece chuckled, "hell, you know
those guys!"
        Jess sushed her, remembering again her conversation with Kit
back at school in April, and gave him a big hug and kiss, telling him,
"I can wait, darlin'. I waited ten years for you. I can wait some
more."
        "You're too good, maj," he confirmed.
        Everybody on stage was working on the concert song between
sets. And the girls and Kit were feeling the juice - looking at each
other with wide-open smiles, hugging and kissing a lot. They had
done this! And were about to start the "thing". Powerful feelings. Kit
was in heaven just seeing her so happy. They had had a little gonja,
too, on the way from the airport. Feeling extra, they mightily were.
And their new neighbors were in awe of their own luck, sitting near
probably some of the most beautiful women there in the whole Valley,
if not the dang titleholders themselves.
        The concert kept rolling on through the afternoon, right into the
eve. It was everybody. Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, Haggard, Jennings,
Mellencamp and the Boys came on, Dylan again, Petty, Harrison,
someone filling in for Roy, the Original Americans again, then all the
folk heroes and heroines again; and Crow, Black Crows, Eagles, Byrds,
Clapton, Nix, Lennox, Mayall, Segar, Loggins, Messina, Fogelberg,
Newman, Campbell, Collins, Lewis, Benatar, ELO, EL&P, ZZ Top,
AC and DC, Johnny Winter, Van Morrison, Rush, Donovan, Boston,
Steppenwolf, Bryan Adams, Van Halen, Talking Heads, Bette Midler
doing Janis, Aerosmith, Jackson Browne, Heart, Tull, Yes, Stewart,
Bowie, Cars, Motley Crew, Bare Naked Ladies, Kiss, Alice Cooper,
Steely Dan. Fark. You name 'm. They were a there.
        Then there was that superset from Springsteen, Billy Joel, Sting
and Elton. The late 70's, early 80's. Shute, it just goes on, on and on.
They were all jamming together, too, all the Motowners doing
background, yeah, then the jam did some more Motown. Singing and
playing all the classics, then working the concert song, they all were.
The crowd was starting to get the song too. Then Santana came back
on and restarted the Latin! WOW! It was "spectaculous! Supermeister-
est! Primoramafull!" the girls were cheering.
        People had tents, umbrellas, blankets, sleeping bags, tarps, lawn
furniture, even small teepees the Navajo were renting. The booths had
all the food and bev that was needed. There were first aid stations. It
was well in hand. And donation booths. The fund had broken through
half a billion, it was announced by Joni, to a roar. The influx of people
had died down, though, at least as far as our three could see. And that
was a little downer. Their people power was on the wane.

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