a'tris

Sunday morning my power went out. I suppose it was only a matter of time until that happened. Virginia received record-setting amounts of snow over the last couple of days and I’m surprised that the weight of it didn’t cause more trees to attack our power lines sooner. Usually, when our juice runs out, the power company is able to dispatch a team pretty quickly to address the issue. It doesn’t work that way in this kind of weather though. The roads are still a mess and I can only imagine what the brave men and women who ventured onto them were confronted by. Thankfully, our electricity was restored yesterday afternoon (just in time for the big game!) so I only had to spend a day and a half wearing six layers of clothes… It was nine degrees outside yesterday. How ridiculous is that? I thought by traveling to the south to work on new material I’d be able to escape this madness. Guess I was wrong. Hey, at least I got to catch the game!

I have to say that I’m really glad the Saints won the superbowl. As I watched the game, I remembered touring through New Orléans during the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina. Even then there were reminders of the devastation wrought by the hurricane everywhere you looked. I vividly recall the first sight I saw as we turned into the city: a parking lot of abandoned cars, overturned and mangled by the vicious winds. There was a thick layer of dirt and grime covering every inch of that place and it gave me a really sinking feeling. But, despite the tragedy, the people there were extremely resilient. We made some great friends in New Orléans and I’m so happy for them and for their team. New Orléans has come a long way since Katrina and I believe this win will mean a lot to them symbolically.

I wish that I had a digital camera when we were in New Orleans. There are a lot of memories I would have liked to have been able to record. I turned twenty-one while we were there and we played three shows on my birthday. Since I’m a triplet, I thought that was pretty fitting. The guys and I crashed in a record store that night. The couple who owned the place had lost everything but their store to the hurricane but they still generously let us stay. When they learned it was my birthday, they also insisted that I keep a lapel pin they had of a Fleur-de-lis as a gift. That pin has now become a symbol of luck to me and I‘ve worn it at every a’tris show since.

Thinking about Katrina makes me really grateful for what I have and reminds me of how fortunate I am. Even though I’m surrounded by a wall of snow, I have it pretty good. Kevin from Eleetmusic wrote a great piece recently called Our Problems Pale in Comparison. I’d encourage you to check it out by clicking here. Kevin’s made it really easy for you to make a donation to support relief efforts in Haiti. It goes without saying that the people there really need our help. I hope that, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll consider kicking in.

Stay warm!

-Mason