Brian Wilson and The War on Terrorism

I remember where I was on 9/11. I was at student staff training at my alma mater, and when I woke up that morning, I was scared because I had slept in. One of our staff trainers had knocked on my door and I was pretty sure I was going to get chewed out, but I was instead informed that training for the day was canceled and that I might want to call family and friends to see if they were okay. My sister lived in Brooklyn and my best friend was in Pennsylvania, and since I was fuzzy on the details, I was scared out of my mind that they might be hurt. They were fine, and finally it was time to start processing everything else associated with the day.

It's been 7 years since, and perhaps Rudy Guliani and Alan Jackson are to blame for why I've been desensitized and apathetic lately about 9/11, but I don't think I'm alone. No one really cared about the Oliver Stone World Trade Center film and I think the majority of us only really think about the aftermath of 9/11 when we're at the airport and we have to take off our shoes to get through the security checkpoint.

So on 9/12/2008, Jessica, Kirsten, Makenna, and I headed to the Hollywood Bowl to catch Brian Wilson perform with the LA Philharmonic. We didn't share stories about how 9/11 affected us or where we were on the day, Jessica just told us a story where she was at a bar the previous night and how there was a moment of silence, and how after the moment of silence, Neil Young's "Keep on Rocking in the Free World" came on the radio and how she thought the coincidence was hilarious. After that, we went back to our normally scheduled activities: filling our ice chest with cheese, crackers, and other snacks to go along with our two bottles of wine, as we headed to watch Brian Wilson and his band perform.

We were fortunate to be in the last row of our section and at the end of the bench because we were going to stand up for all of Brian Wilson's set. We were by far the youngest people at the show that didn't accompany their parents. The lady sitting next to me told me that we "were too young to like the Beach Boys" but that she "loved our energy" as we got tipsy and danced for the duration of the show. I think she tried to dance with me at some point and all I could think in my head was "half your age + 7, lady, get away from me", but whatever. We heard "California Girls", "Wouldn't it be Nice", "God Only Knows" and "Surfer Girl". He didn't have a lot to say between songs, but he let the music speak for itself. He then broke out the encore of "I Get Around" and "Surfing USA" as the fireworks went off. It was an amazing climax to a beautiful evening. Not only were we having a great time, we found ourselves with a great deal of pride in our country. Brian Wilson's love of California is unparalleled, and honestly it's quite infectious. We left the Bowl seeing what he saw, the beach, the freeways, everything in a different light. If everyone could see Brian Wilson perform with fireworks going off in the background, everyone would be in love with this country, full of pride, full of the American spirit and ready to show the world that we are not going to live in fear. He may not be able to bring back the loved ones we lost on that tragic day, but he can help us remember how to love our country and for that, for everyone at the Bowl that night, Brian Wilson won the war on terrorism.