My sister and I went to Clear Lake, Iowa to join in some of the festivities this past weekend.  One thing we did was go to a Symposium where people who had attended the concert in Clear Lake were to discuss what happened the night of the concert and what happened the next day when they found out about the crash.  One of the things that struck me was how some of these folks got choked up while they spoke about the show and their reaction to the news the next day.  

I find this interesting because it is another  sign of how people have changed over the years.  The teenagers who went to this show didn't have as much TV to watch, didn't have money like kids have today to buy records (or MP3's in today's language) by their favorite artists.  The artists themselves have changed, too.  At this show in 1959 Clear Lake, one could walk up to Buddy Holly and get his autograph and even talk to him for a bit.  This kind of accessibility is unheard of today.     I think the folks at the symposium felt more of a connection to Buddy, Ritchie and JP than what would be felt at a show today.  The artists, the audience and the world has changed.  

It's sad how things have changed - kids of my generation and younger will never know what it was like to live in an era where things were much more innocent than they are today. 

Something that was kind of ironic was that when we were walking in the field, toward the crash site memorial, there was a Cessna-type plane flying overhead - not related to anything we were doing, but pretty ironic.  

R.I.P. Buddy, Ritchie and JP - The impact you had on the rest of the world was huge.  You are missed.