I spend that night and most of the next day recovering on my trusty green Coleman camping mattress. I took it to Brushwood with me and now Ozzfest. I have spent more time on it in July than I have in my own bed at home. It becomes a source of comfort to cling to, as we get further into Ozzfest. Catherine's cats like both me and the camping mattress. The pet therapy helps when you've just dealt with few to many people and the Gryphemia is setting in. Gryphemia sets in when you have dealt with just one to many jerks, idiots, drunks or customers. It is cured mainly by vice and bathing. Chocolate, sex, shopping, pot, Schmirnoff Ice, screaming at the top of your lungs and my green camping mattress are some of the known remedies. Gryphemia was also a good reason to take a break from hennaing for a few minutes. It is best not to let it build up too long.

Pittsburgh

The Microtel is quite nice. The rest scares the hell out of me if I think about it in much detail.

LIGHTING THE GRASS IS ARSON. ARSON IS A FELONY PUNISHABLE WITH HIGH FINES AND POSSIBLE JAIL TIME. WE PROSECUTE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

This is one of the first things I noticed at 6:30am. I'm not up to noticing a lot but the lettering is large and the sign is in several locations. The message penetrates the fog but I fail to perceive it as an omen. Our booth set up is very quick and I am a little resentful of having to hurry up and wait. We are positioned near the beer, food, and restrooms. We figure that this is an ideal spot for traffic. It is hotter today and we are set up on the asphalt. Those dogmats are the best for lining up a butt gallery and for keeping you off the hot asphalt. We have a bit of a laugh that they are going to serve cheap beer in fishbowls at the stand near us.

A few hours later we aren't laughing anymore. People were drunk as they entered at 10am. People were looking for fights. I have never seen so many people in need of medical care, dental care, better nutrition, anger management classes, and a 12-step program. We are near West Virginia. Even if these are only a minority of the people of West Virginia and Pennsylvania I am scared to ever go near there again. "Aack phft!!!! I'm not goanna pay that much for somthin' that ain't permanent" says one guy with really bad teeth, really badly done tattoos, and really hideous breath. His tobacco spit misses the mats but many people's beer bowl slosh overs were direct hits. I'm happy to see him leave. I usually like seeing people's tattoos and checking out their body art and any story behind it. Many of the tattoos are black with an amateurish quality I later realize is probably a prison tattoo.