Ahoy there! Anyone out there?

[Maple Al]

Hey Dude how do we know that it's your toe not one bought on the black market?

[ToddG]

Hey Dude how do we know that it's your toe not one bought on the black market?

we can get on a three way CB with PB and verify through my antarctic toe print records via my hypothermia studies back in the 80's. The fungal record alone should prove it's mine.

 Listening to: Toe Jam

[Australian fan]

I’m going to try to be positive but sadly I think the chances of TBGF next year are slim. Telluride is one of the mo st health literate places in US. The chance of them wanting to host large scale mass events until there is sufficient coverage of population would be low. Give the case ratio in US, I think there will still be need for restrictions in travel and public events for a lot of the year. By June it will be unlikely that there will be anywhere near universal vaccine coverage esp in US. Priority for vaccines particularly in early days will need to be most vulnerable and front line workers as it should be.

As for folks like us, we are not even allowed to leave the country ( in fact our state borders only open tomorrow for a lot of Australia). We just finished 120 days of remaining at home, only allowed I hour of exercise a day, no travel more than 5 kms from home. It has worked in our state - we are down from 725 cases a day to our 30th day Covid free. The only real defence is not mixing at all so the virus can’t transmit. We have to get the levels down as much as possible esp while the vaccine roll out progresses.

Bottom line? I’m desperately missing everyone  but the most important thing is I that I want to see everyone alive and healthy. It’s so hard to be this far apart.

Sorry to be such a downer ❤️ Thank god for live streamed concerts ( Greensky saved my sanity during winter) and self medicating.

Stay safe everyone, much love from Australia, don’t any of you dare do anything reckless! We will be together again in the canyon and the reunion will be wonderful.

Ps I too am very heartened by the thoughts of a vaccine and I am fervently hoping that it is successfully distributed. I want this pandemic to be over but mostly I want my community to be safe.  Let’s dance again

[mountaingoat]

I so wish our country would take those kinds of drastic measures to get this virus under control here but sadly that will never happen, nothing even close. We will just have to rely on the vaccine/herd immunity/time because most Americans don't tolerate inconvenience and restriction (this likely does not apply to most festivarians who I'm sure would jump through any hoops in order to be back in T-ride this summer!). Nor do I want to start a debate about social distancing and politics on this forum...so I digress.

In any case, I tend to agree with you Australian fan. As sad as I am about it, I just do not see how PB will be able to host an event of even half that size in Telluride by June. I just don't see it happening, even though I so wish there was a way. Even if the vaccine is widely available to many Americans by late spring, I don't know how they would be able to plan for a situation in which it isn't. But I'm happy to be proven wrong!!

I will say that I have hope that *some* live music and festivals might be a possibility by summer in a much more scaled back way than TBF. I could see Red Rocks becoming a possibility with vaccine availability in combination with restricted capacity. My hope is on a modified Greensky at Red Rocks weekend in September.

I am terribly sad about Telluride though. We had planned to take our kids in 2020 and now they will be older and closer to bratty teenagers by the time we can take them 

[BuckeyeDog]

I will be an optimist here. Prefer to wait until Craig makes it official. Not sure what may happen 6 months from now. 

[Australian fan]

I will be an optimist here. Prefer to wait until Craig makes it official. Not sure what may happen 6 months from now. 

Yes, that’s the best. It really is too early to say, crikey, it’s only December. I truly hope it improves dramatically.  Stay safe everyone, hunker down, keep the faith. Thank god for music

[ToddG]

Is it weird for anyone else that we're not talking lottery, and tickets? In normal times we'd probably just started getting lottery results and making plans for tickets. I know PB has their hands full with more logistics and a variety of things to even be able to have TBF 2021 if the conditions are right and safe. If rates continue the way they are going in the US there may be no one new to infect come next summer. I've been to a few outdoor events since May, where no one got or spread COVID. I think outdoor activities can be safely managed especially once vaccines are more available. Reports I hear are all saying by next summer there should be vaccines available for all who want it, plus millions already vaccinated starting hopefully this next month. I also hear the vaccine is no walk in the park, and has many side-effects itself. I'm joining camp positive outlook, and keeping my hopes alive. Two years of no festival is something I don't want to even think about.

It's nice to see the forum come alive. Hope you all are doing your best!

[mountaingoat]

Totally weird..I think of the period between the first week of November and the solstice as Town Park lottery time...the annual stressing, negotiating, trading etc to make sure things are in place for June. And then the line-up rollout on the solstice always lifts my spirits in an otherwise dark, not especially favorite time of year.

I don't want to seem like I'm not optimistic. I am strongly holding out hope and my earlier post probably didn't sound very convincing in that regard. I completely agree in terms of outdoor activities. The science is largely supportive there. I will take any TBF option possible...the idea of two years gone is beyond my comprehension too and I don't really want to go there yet.

Happy to hear more encouraging words from all of you out there!

[MrEdyoulis]

Much support to Festivarians suffering from isolation and Covi-despair.  We have to be hopeful though as very promising vaccine test results are coming in all the time.

My fellow lab rats (I'm a pharm chemist) are working hard to fix this mess.

Take heart, take hope, take inspiration from our ancestors who faced worse calamities.

Heck, take another plate of Thanksgiving leftovers.  And TOE the line the Public health people lay out

 Listening to: Molly Tuttle "Olympia WA" from  "but I'd rather be with you"

[TellurideTom]

I'm hoping to be able to shout from the stage at my 40th festival and yell a howdy to all my festivarian friends.
Whether that happens in 2021 when I'm 75 years old or later, it doesn't matter.
With my latest diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma and CMML (Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia) I just hope I'll be able to attend another 5 or more.
I'm going to try to stay confident that it will happen. 

[ToddG]

I'm hoping to be able to shout from the stage at my 40th festival and yell a howdy to all my festivarian friends.
Whether that happens in 2021 when I'm 75 years old or later, it doesn't matter.
With my latest diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma and CMML (Myelomonocytic Leukemia) I just hope I'll be able to attend another 5 or more.
I'm going to try to stay confident that it will happen. 

Tom, I hope your doing alright. Thats a tough diagnosis. Are you seeking treatment or riding it out? Many positive thoughts from our house to you. And, we sure hope to see you sooner than later, but we'll take any time be it next year or beyond. Take care, and lots of love!


 Listening to: John McLaughlin Shakti

[BuckeyeDog]

Tom, same here, hope you are hanging in there. A vaccine is coming and we may even have a festival yet in 2021. 

[Festival Fred]

We will be taking the vaccine asap. Maybe as soon as April.

Shoot me up with both vaccines. Run Fred Run!

See ya at Bluegrass in 2021.

[TellurideTom]

I'm hoping to be able to shout from the stage at my 40th festival and yell a howdy to all my festivarian friends.
Whether that happens in 2021 when I'm 75 years old or later, it doesn't matter.
With my latest diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma and CMML (Myelomonocytic Leukemia) I just hope I'll be able to attend another 5 or more.
I'm going to try to stay confident that it will happen. 

Tom, I hope your doing alright. Thats a tough diagnosis. Are you seeking treatment or riding it out? Many positive thoughts from our house to you. And, we sure hope to see you sooner than later, but we'll take any time be it next year or beyond. Take care, and lots of love!

First round of chemo this morning with no real side effects so far. I have to go in every day this week for more treatments so we'll see how I feel at the end of the week.
Thanks for the positive thoughts. I'm going to stay positive as well. 

[MrEdyoulis]

Just got swabbed.  Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  Now the wait.  Might be a great parody song - "The Wait" or maybe not.

"Walked into the Testing site, was feeling existential dread

Just needed a neg result so I could clear my head

Hey Mister can you tell me

Are there enough ICU beds

He just grinned and bumped my elbow

"Keep your distance" is all he said"
(apologies to Levon)

Darkest time is just before the dawn.  Keep hope alive.  Visualize Town Park in June.  It WILL happen again.

 Listening to: "I Made a Lover's Prayer" Gillian Welch and David Rawlings