The Web is awesome!

As a reference librarian I was making use of the web long before most of you. I thought I'd take a moment to share some of my smarts. Perhaps more than the rest of you, but maybe not, I would venture to say, cautiously, that I value the role of artifacts (or, perhaps, one could say, relics). The web now gives us a chance to preserve valuable artifacts, in a digital format, and allows the great mass of humanity to grasp these historically significant keepsakes in their fingertips. Well, not in actuality, but it is the next best thing. In my humble opinion, nothing aids recollection better than a visual reminder. I read somewhere that smells help bring back memories. That might be true, and I'll leave it to the laboratory scientists to argue about that. But, and here's my point, even if it is true that smells help bring places and moments back to us, I wouldn't want to reexpose myself to most of the smells associated with the fabulous rock and roll shows I witnessed in the 1970s and early 1980s. I seem to recall that the restrooms reeked of urine, since less patient fans often relieved themselves in sinks and garbage cans and bathroom corners. All in all, I don't want to stick my nose in a big plastic bag of urine just so I can recall the thrill of seeing Rush. But, I can reawaken memories by visiting some of the wonderfully detailed and carefully curated websites that preserve set-lists, ticket stubs, and other "you were there" artifacts from now distant (but legendary!) tours. One great site devoted to the preservation of what might be called a people's history of Rush, for example, features every tour date ever played by the band, with set lists, ticket stubs, fan's photos (from the actual concerts!), and other fantastic artifacts. Imagine my thrill when I found, preserved on the web, a listing for and a facsimile of a ticket from the April 3, 1980 concert I attended at Chicago's International Ampitheatre. Look here: http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/tours/80apr3_collage.htm. They have a set list too! I had forgotten the show ended with a Neil Peart drum solo. Of course it did! Once I saw the set-list, preserved there on the web, it all came back to me. The drum solo was 12 minutes long, and worked the crowd up to an almost tribal level of excitement. Neil ended the solo with a mighty strike of his gong. Spectacular! Thanks for the memory!