Sunday 13 June 2004, am/pm …

I wake up to signs of more promising weather at last – but it’s still very humid! I’ll pack later; there’s no big rush. The most important job is to work on my long checklist of things still left to do …

At around eight, all set again, I go down for pre-brunch in the cafe.
A few other early birds are there already, chatting happily. 

After a while someone suggests a group photo, and about a dozen of us form up, with three or four taking turns to shoot. 

More and more Rudies begin to drift in for the sugary goodies, and I get back to work, finally completing my set of nearly fifty portraits for the special new Janismania Gallery. Then Janis and her gang arrive, and she spends much time signing the many extra T-shirts which Dar has organised for absent friends …

Around 10 am we migrate from the wet heat of the cafeteria to the much cooler (some say freezing!) restaurant. The Brunch is another excellent meal. And then the closing session sadly has to begin.

Beth kicks off, with a re-summary of her goals for the weekend, and how their achievement was dependent on three crucial things: her own kick-start and driving of the concept of Janismania (with Janis’ full blessing, and lots of help from her friends); Janis’ own personal commitment and huge contribution to such an unprecedented, even risky event; and the full and devoted collaboration of everyone attending. Beth tells us how delighted she is that, because all three ‘legs of this milking stool’ have stayed firm and fast throughout the planning and the event itself, all of her aspirations have not just been met, but greatly surpassed. 

Everyone gives Beth a huge round of grateful applause.

Now Janis perches up on one of the tables and takes the reins, thanking Beth, Verlann and all their hard-working helpers on behalf of us all. She reiterates her original reservations about our likely level of interest in the event, when Beth first suggested it, and her later delight at the way it was quickly taken up by the fans, to the point where she and Beth were able to ‘go firm’ and then make it all happen. She is particularly pleased that there have been no bad apples in the pile of attendees, and stresses how impressed she has been at the way everyone has treated her (and everybody else) with great respect and a perfect level of attentiveness. And she returns again to the subject of heroes, bravery and commitment. Without exaggeration, Janis clearly is, once more, deeply moved by the whole affair!

The mood lightens again. More door prizes! These have been cropping up from time to time throughout the weekend ... now there are several final ones to give away. Names are drawn from the tub, and various CDs, hats and other bits and pieces are handed out to the lucky winners.

Then comes a VERY BIG MOMENT. The draw for the guitar raffle is about to take place. Craig, who has tirelessly beaten the drum on this all weekend, reminds us that the beautiful instrument was freely donated to Janismania, but that since Friday evening the raffle has raised a staggering $1140 for the Pearl Foundation. Janis prays to herself that it will go to someone who really wants it, then plunges her hand into Randy’s beautifully constructed special box, and pulls out a ticket in the name of  … DAR!!
 

Dar’s shock is absolute. She really cannot believe this is happening ... and then her disbelief turns to a flood of exquisite tears. I sneak a cheeky photo of her sublime moment. Then she opens the case, and she and Janis admire her prize together, as cameras flash all around. Janis takes up her pen and carefully signs the guitar (in fact it looks as if she is writing a short article on it!), and then insists that Dar must take a quick lesson and play us a chord. After a couple of attempts to hold down those thick bass strings, Dar beautifully strums out a perfect E minor! Bravo, la nuova maestra!! 

Now, from the floor, the first of many new surprises is brewing. Beth is presented with a cash gift, collected from donations by all the attendees, so that she and Verlann can take a short break together away from their huge home responsibilities ... their first break, it turns out, in over six years. Beth is stunned and very grateful, and she resolves that this will allow them to travel to Janis’ imminent DVD shoot in Pittsburgh and spend a little money on themselves, just for once, without feeling guilty that it should have been used instead to buy things for their kids. A fine result!

Then Karen steps forward with a huge, brightly-wrapped package in her arms, and squares up to Ms Ian, who is looking a little perplexed. “Janis …” announces Karen in a proud and tremulous voice, just about retaining her composure in the intense excitement of this very special moment, “ … we may not be willing to give you the shirts off our backs ... but we CAN give you the jeans off our asses!!” 

The place erupts with laughter! Janis, not yet comprehending, of course, slowly unwraps the huge parcel, and then her eyes light up as she sees Karen’s beautifully crafted denim patchwork quilt for the very first time.

Together, she and Karen spend many minutes admiring the top side, whose individual denim patches have been ‘signed’ by all the Janismaniacs ... in many cases, not just with a simple pen, but with wonderful, intricate pieces of 3-D embroidery or artwork reflecting many aspects of Janis’ career, work and personal life. Then Karen shows her the underside, which is a very different patchwork of soft materials, every one of them a unique pattern of Stars or music discs (Karen has visited just about every fabric store in greater Indianapolis to obtain this huge variety of star-patterns). Janis is speechless for a long time, then warmly thanks Karen and everybody else for such a very special surprise.

Then at last it is Janis’ turn to deliver a surprise, as she presents her own personal thank-you to Beth ... the beautifully framed, hand-written and signed lyrics to ‘When I Lay Down’, which everyone else had signed on the reverse, early on Friday. Beth is simply overwhelmed with joy.

And now Janis announces that she will be leaving soon, but she graciously invites anyone who still has an item for signing, or who wants a final photograph taken with her, to come and get it now! Lots of people take advantage of this final selfless gesture, and Janis gets busy again for quite some time. When it’s nearly all done, Dar takes up my camera again, and grabs a fine snap of me with Janis, which rounds things off just perfectly!

While Philip and the others complete the loading of their van, I finally drag myself back to my room to do a blitz-packing. Then, after being pleasantly accosted for last-minute photographs with Michelle and Rachel, I arrive back at the front hall, sweating profusely from dragging my heavy case all the way from the very farthest room at the top of the sauna bath (correction, accommodation block ) … and John the Ubergeek suddenly grabs me and says he’d like to film an interview with me – there and then! After allowing me a five-minute breather, he does just that. 

Looking back, I really don’t recall much about it - it was such a ‘surprise’ - but I do remember being asked to talk about my tribute book ‘A Few Old Friends’, and also whether I thought there should be another Janismania one day … and if so, should it be any different (in content, schedule, number of attendees, etc)? I think I concluded that, apart from wishing it could have lasted about seven days, rather than less than 48 hours, this one had been just about perfect! 

Now the van is all packed, and Janis, Philip, Tina and Nancy are ready to leave. They say their goodbyes to those of us who are waiting out front, and then we wave them off for a safe journey through to Pittsburgh for the first DVD shoot, due to take place in only two days’ time.

I’m going to spend the night back in downtown Indy, so I’m in no rush, and I’ll continue to stretch things out. I sit in the cool of reception and chat with John, Craig and Arron about the bunch of technical magic and hard slog which John will soon be performing, to turn all of his and Philip’s audio and video Janismania material into a professional package for public consumption ...

Meanwhile, two by two, or four by four, the remaining Rudies are departing. Dar finally hits the road for her last airport shuttle run, with her prized new guitar carefully stowed in the back of the car (but, she has suddenly thought, how will she transport it safely home on the plane to California, a few days later? "You’ll have to buy a proper case," Dave advises - of course!).
 

Finally, only four or five of us remain. Craig and Arron are still inside talking with John, and Marjan is relaxing on the smoking bench. Dave is out and about taking some final photos of the beautiful grounds of our weekend retreat, and after ordering my taxi back into town, I realise he’s made a smart move, so I go off to capture a few quick shots of my own. But the cab soon arrives, we say our final farewells, and I leave Dave and Marjan chatting happily out front as they wait for their own lift to the airport. My taxi pulls away, I turn around to give them a final wave, and physically, though never emotionally, Janismania recedes slowly into the distance.

But, of course, our persistent siren is following, unseen but close behind me. She’s pretty, or worse, and she’s calling out, as ever:

I sat back in my seat and watched the scenery go by, as the cabbie took an efficient, direct route into town. Within ten minutes or so, I was back at the very pleasant hotel I had left only two days earlier. That already seemed a lifetime away – and yet this extra-special ‘weekend’ had flashed past in the twinkling of a guitar pick.

And as if to make their own statement on this, the clouds were building again and the sky was rapidly darkening. Even as I was checking-in (to a fine “Welcome back, sir!” from the charming receptionist) I realised that my vague plan for another mid-afternoon walking tour of the city centre was likely to be scuppered by a big rainstorm, or worse. And when I checked out the weather station on my TV, that suspicion was immediately confirmed! But I then realised how tired I was feeling again … and so I spent the next three hours happily dozing on the bed, woken regularly by huge claps of thunder and torrential, gusting downpours. I thought several times of all my Janismania buddies who would be trying to fly straight home in those awful conditions. My concerns would later prove quite valid, as many of their sorry “homeward bound’ stories would later tell. Once again, I had been blessed with another very lucky break!

Around six o’clock, however, the skies began to clear rapidly, my stomach was demanding its first food since that 10am brunch, and I really was quite fancying my very first beer in nearly three days …
 

Sunday 13 June 2004, evening …

I walked downtown in the cool dampness. It was very quiet … Sunday evening after a storm is obviously not a time when Indies come out to play. I made straight for the Hard Rock Café, and with a couple of raucous kids’ birthday parties as an interesting background, I enjoyed two or three beers and a good meal while watching some great 1970’s re-runs of the ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’ on the video screens.

Then I headed on down to the ‘Slippery Noodle’ where I’d enjoyed that blues band so much the previous Thursday. This time a talented country/blues trio was playing. And not even an entrance fee! I listened to them for about an hour, but then I knew it was time for some more rest, and strolled back to my hotel. It was trying to rain again …
 

Monday 14 June 2004 ...

I was up and checked out by 9am. I had breakfast and ordered my cab, then off we went to the airport. The flight was on time, I had the same fine seat as before, and our departure went very smoothly. 

As we climbed up and away, I took a couple more photos -  first of Indianapolis Airport, and then Downtown …

We arrived at La Guardia at 1pm. My first task was to find a hotel. This proved easy enough, using an agency phone number on the back of my boarding pass holder. When I mentioned my preferred rate, they first suggested the very hotel I’d stayed on the previous Wednesday. No thanks! So then, as my final treat, I chose a much better one, on upper Broadway, and not a lot more expensive …

I decided to balance that extra cost by taking a shared minibus ride, rather than a cab. The bus took some time to arrive, and then dragged itself around three or four other terminals, slowly filling up. The very last person to board was a young woman in her early twenties, who took up the only empty space, next to me …

After a while we started chatting. She was Australian, and it was her first visit to New York City. I told her I’d been there several times before. She asked what I was doing in the USA, so I described Janismania. She had not heard of Janis Ian, but was impressed by the ‘event’ I had just portrayed. Then she said that SHE TOO was a singer-songwriter - and she was in NYC to meet with a record company and discuss the details of their planned release later in 2004 of a compilation CD of several female singer-songwriters. It would be her very first song release, following the success of her demo disc. She had just flown in from Canada, where she had done several public performance, along with her brother who is part of her band … and she was also going to sing solo at a wedding here in New York.

Finally I asked what her ‘stage name’ was ... and she said (wait for it) ... “Tanis”. That’s right ... just like Janis, but with a T! I asked if she had a web site. “Oh yes,” she said, “ it’s my full name … Tanis Alia.” Anagram and scansion freaks will note even more similarity to ‘Janis Ian’ and ‘Janismania’ … spooky! So, for anyone who is interested, you’ll find a link to her biography further down. You can link all over her web site from that page.

I wished Tanis all the success that Janis has had, encouraged her to pay a visit to Janis’ web site and buy a couple of CDs, and suggested that maybe one day she might hold her very own ‘Tanismania’!

Then, for the benefit of the rest of the passengers, none of whom had been to the city before, I described the route we were taking as we came in from the north-east and cut right across the top of Central Park. We dropped Tanis off first, then drove the few blocks to my hotel. I walked into the lobby and started to check-in. Then, from some way behind me, a voice called out: “Hi, Mike!” I didn’t respond ... it’s a very common name, and nobody I knew could possibly be here, could they? 

Wrong. “Mike!” the man’s voice called again. I turned round, and was stunned to discover it was WES - the only other Englishman who'd been at Janismania! He was just about to depart for Kennedy Airport, after suffering an awful plane journey the previous evening (long delays and re-routing due to weather). He had only arrived in NYC in the early hours of that morning, so he’d lost most of his entertainment and sightseeing time (on his very first trip to the States!)

So, how much more spooky was it, after I’d met the singer Tanis in the bus, for the only two Brits at Janismania to bump into each other again in the middle of New York? How many hotels are there in that city? What was the length of our ‘time overlap’ in that lobby? (Answer: ten minutes!). But nothing could surprise me now, after the events of Janismania! 

After a short chat, describing our recent individual travel experiences, Wes left for the airport, and I went to unpack. Then I sought out the nearest bar, five minutes’ walk away. And the barman was rather surprised to find himself serving the second solo Englishman to walk into the place that afternoon ... and both of them just back from Indianapolis! Hah!! 

After making another nice cheap phone call home, I took a gentle stroll around the West Side streets. At one point I found a tiny Internet place, and did a quick check and posting on the Message Board.

Evening was approaching now, so I went back the hotel to change, then took the fast Line 2 subway down to Times Square to see the lights and get a meal. Then I wandered happily around (for once, not trying to ‘achieve’ anything much!), and then discovered what must the world’s biggest Internet Hall (an ‘easyinternetcafé’) … and it was so cheap – just $5 for unlimited use for 24 hours! So I bought a soda and took a long relaxing break catching up properly with the Message Board. I’d be back there the next day too! Did I hear someone say ‘addict’ …?

Then I sought out a comfortable - no, very smart - bar, and enjoyed an excellent pint of Guinness and a bit of ‘rich kid watching’. But by 11pm I was very tired again. It would have been good to move on down to the Village, seek out some more live music, and maybe bump into a few of Janis’ old cronies and tell ‘em how she’s doing (!!) … but I wanted to get in a solid lump of sightseeing the next day. Regrettably, it was time to be sensible once again …

And so, after the uptown subway and a bit of TV channel hopping … to bed.
 

Tuesday 15 June 2004 ...

I was up by seven. I packed, left my bags with the concierge, and got a fine breakfast at a classic New York diner just round the corner. Then I took the fast train south again, from 96th St all the way to Chambers St. From there I walked down to the site of the World Trade Centre, and spent a long time just looking. 

I took several photos, then talked briefly to one of the policemen who had been there on 9-11, shook his hand, and thanked him and all his colleagues for what they had done on those awful days.

His reaction to this was not what I had expected: his eyes glazed over, and he barely managed to speak a quiet, sincere “Thank you, sir ...”
 

Then I crossed Church St and entered St Paul’s Church, made a small donation in recognition of the role the church had played in the rescue efforts, and took two more photos: one of the beautiful interior, the other of the quiet, sunlit front churchyard, with ground zero beyond …

I finally tore myself away, walked off up Church St, and came upon a precinct fire station, just as they were getting ready to depart on a call. After the fire-engine had noisily left, I spoke to one of the firemen left behind, and asked if I could make a small donation to the rescue workers’ fund. He said “Yes,” and I gave him a few dollars and thanked him and all his rescue colleagues. I was better prepared for his reaction this time. It was identical to that of the policeman …

I continued north, and soon came upon the reason for the call-out. Several huge fire trucks, plus ambulances and police cars, had converged on a side-street night club entrance, where an internal alarm was flashing. No signs of smoke or anything worse, but there must have been at least thirty men at the scene, and the firefighters were preparing to break in through the club’s expensive glass doors. New York City takes its emergencies very seriously …

I moved on, cut across to West Broadway, and found the perfect pub for a Guinness or two and a great burger lunch. I talked about the events of 9-11 with the friendly but no-nonsense barman, and listened to his particular story. And he too became surprisingly moved by my interest and my sympathy. 

So – the Cop, the Firefighter and the Barman. Three hard, tough guys … yet each of them almost in tears as we spoke, and each giving me a warm handshake of gratitude as we separated. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that modern New Yorkers are cold, self-centred people. Sure, they became a little like that some years ago, following the ‘village friendliness’ of the 60’s. Listen to Janis’ song ‘Here In The City’, written in 1974, for her own take on that, which includes an amazing presage of 9-11 (see the above extract). But they’ve recently grown up very quickly. Listen to Janis’ ‘Heart Of A City’ and ‘Save Somebody’, to complete the picture …

I pressed on uptown, picking up Avenue of the Americas and following it right up to 34th St. There was no time to go and look at the Empire State Building again (my first tour of it was way back in ’79), but I picked up Broadway, found my Internet Hall, and took a peek at some of the Message Board’s early “End of Janismania  / My awful trip home” messages! Then I hit the subway at 42nd St / Times Square, and took the train back to the hotel for my luggage.
 

I jumped in a cab to go quickly down to the airport bus terminus at Grand Central, but the mid-afternoon traffic was building, and although I’d allowed lots of time, I was beginning to get concerned about being late for my flight. Then, I found the buses were only running every 30 minutes or so, and there was already a very long line, and the rush hour was rapidly descending. You know, NYC REALLY needs a proper direct train service between JFK and Manhattan!! So, it was decision time … and I got straight into another cab (this had became a very expensive afternoon!). We took a while to reach the midtown tunnel and get through it, then things went smoothly till about five miles from JFK, when everything slowed down to a crawl. My cabbie made lots of cheeky lane changes and bypasses to try to get me to Terminal 7 as quickly as possible, but it still took a worrying age ... 

We finally made it with a little time to spare (though I wondered how all those folks in the bus line must be feeling, stuck in standing traffic a long way behind me), and I checked in. I asked nicely for an aisle seat, and although there were none left according to the computer, a helpful assistant worked same magic and I was allocated one  - in the very front row of Coach once again. Excellent! And maybe there would be another upgrade waiting for me later …?

Time to relax, grab a beer, then go on board. No mention of an upgrade. With only fifteen minutes to departure time, I had a quick word with a flight attendant, in case my nephew had managed to leave them a message as I’d hoped. But she warned me that the plane was probably completely full, and soon returned to confirm this … so no upgrade was possible. I didn’t care ... I had the best seat in coach class, with bags of leg room, and it would be quite a short flight to London, with a strong tail wind.

My companion on this final leg of the journey home turned out to be a friendly, very experienced African lady doctor, who was travelling back to visit her family. She had recently migrated to the USA with her husband (also a doctor), and planned to join a family care practice on the East Coast (after passing her US re-examinations later this year), and later set up her own practice. I wished her a happy new career and life in the States …

I sneaked only about an hour’s sleep during the flight, around midnight Eastern Time ... but when I awoke it was approaching 6am BST and we were only 45 minutes from landing!
 

Wednesday 16th June 2004 …

My re-entry to the UK was smooth – the passport queues were not as long or slow as they might have been, and my luggage arrived safely. I retraced my earlier steps, taking underground and surface trains, and then a final taxi … and I opened my own front door at 11am, PRECISELY 7 days after I had closed it!

Then I needed 24 hours to get over the lack of sleep and the jet lag …
 

17 June – 16 July 2004 ... 

When I was alert again, I started learning how to use the software that came with my digital camera (it’s the first one I’ve ever owned, and I only bought it a few days before departing for the USA). 

Once I’d mastered uploading and organising the 200-odd photos I had taken, I set about building the fifty-strong Janismania Gallery. The next day, I uploaded seventy other photos to Something Timeless. 

I then started writing Chapter One of ‘Marching On Indiana’. And here (nearly four weeks later), with Chapter Ten, the story finally ends!
 

As I close, may I just say MY own thank-yous once again to Janis and everybody else associated with Janismania, for allowing me the privilege of meeting you all, and sharing in everything we did together over those three very special days.

Mike
 

And lastly … here’s a consolidated list of web site links associated with my Janismania adventure:

© 2004