It all evens out I guess. The Boy has had amazing luck at the concerts he’s seen. He’s been in the crushing front row for The Raconteurs, PUSA and Silversun Pickups. He was so close and so “into” the Cage the Elephant songs, he was handed the microphone and sang the chorus to one. He’s seen The Dead Weather, AC/DC, System of a Down, Live/Collective Soul/Blues Travelers, Matchbox Twenty and Elvis Costello.

Every show has been terrific so I should have seen this coming. Last night we saw The Meat Puppets, Mastodon, Queens of the Stone Age and Soundgarden. A show The Boy has been dying to see, primarily because he’s a rabid QotSA fan. To be honest, we would have preferred more QotSA and less Soundgarden but all in all the bands were outstanding. The Boy’s experience…not so much.

The Boy is fair skinned so riding three hours to the show in a convertible meant we needed to refresh the sunscreen periodically. About an hour from the show we hit a rest area and dug out the spray sunscreen. He closed his eyes and I sprayed him down. Apparently some managed to get in his eyes. I figured it would wash away in a short while so we drove on.

It didn’t get better. It got worse and the only relief he could get was keeping his eyes closed. We got to the venue loaded our gear for the hike into the show. The Boy was nearly incapable of walking without a guide. We staked our spot and I started first aid on his eyes. We had no rinse but I was sure a little water could do the trick. No luck. Someone near us offered their saline. No luck. Two hours till show time so I decided to hit the first aid tent.

At this point I’m carrying The Boy’s contacts in a bottle cap and he’s lying on a cot getting a saline rinse from an EMT. No luck. I thank the EMT and we head to the water bottle refill station, stuff his head underneath and flush. No luck. We move to a shaded area and I hike to the little general store up the hill for Visine. No luck.

A guy grabs my arm and asks what’s wrong with The Boy. I briefly explain. Turns out, he’s a nurse and a hell of a nice guy. He triages The Boy but ultimately, no luck. He’s lying on the ground, tears streaming down his face and The Meat Puppets start playing. The Boy stands, grabs my elbow and we hike back to our spot. The Boy lies on the blankets, eyes squinted shut and listens to a great set of music.

Mastodon’s set was next and The Boy is still miserable. The set ends and they’re setting up for QotSA. The sun is setting I’m feeling so bad for him I actually start to tear up too. He’s going to miss it all; the view, the performance, the amazing. The band starts playing and The Boy sits bolt upright and attempts to put his contacts in. His determination is almost painful to watch. I can see the pain increase as the dry, dirty contacts are forced into bloodshot, burning eyes. No luck.

Halfway through the performance, the pain starts to subside. He’s now able to keep his eyes open but his contacts have long dried out and he’s blind after about three feet. Our seats are football field from the stage so all The Boy can see is glowing light where the stage should be. Soundgarden played their set. I point to the stage and say, “Chris Cornell grew his hair back.” “I hope you didn’t just point.” The boy responds. Through it all, he never lost his sense of humor. I just wish he’d been able to keep his sight.