Up until this past Sunday, one of the most prominent items on the main page was this:
The Chubby Checker Countdown: It is now 50 days until the Chubby Checker show. Click here if you need the excitement explained.
It was sitting right above the Rocksnobs Disclaimer, and those of you who are new to the site may have been confused. Before I tell the story of the long awaited Chubby Checker concert, I must first explain why it was such an event. The link from the counter led to the article about last year's Blondie show. It all started with the Blondie show. The mysterious appearance of Chubby Checker sent me and my friends into giggle fits, and we didn't stop giggling for weeks.
But then things got really strange.
Exhibit One: The newsflash dated 08-13-02.
Less than six weeks after Joejung, the New Guy, CEB, and myself were traumatized by Chubby Checker's seemingly random appearance at our free Blondie concert, I have gotten news that Chubby Checker now has his own concert date booked. At the very same free festival. That's right, he has a date set for July 6, 2003. What? Did his appearance go over so spectacularly well that the promoters just had to secure his services this far in advance? What is going on here? Will he be selling steaks next year? All I know is, at the suggestion of that delightful LCG, there is now a Chubby Checker counter on the site. Count along with me as I breathlessly await the return of Mr. Checker.
Exhibit Two: The newsflash dated 08-14-02.
Oops! Yesterday I introduced the Chubby Checker Counter, and it started at 328. It should have started at 327. I mistakenly included the actual day of show in the countdown. It is fixed now.
I don't mind telling you that I actually sat down with a calendar and counted the days until July 6, 2003. (I counted in weekly increments of seven-I'm not completely insane.) In fact, as we speak, my 2002 calendar is still hanging on the wall, and every Saturday is marked with how many days it was until the show.
I would also like to point out that I updated that counter by hand. I didn't call up any script that would automatically knock down the number by one every night at midnight. Oh, no. Every night before I went to bed, even if I didn't have anything else to update, I took the counter down a notch. Except for the nights I was too tired to turn on the computer. I wasn't too worried about getting hate mail about it. "The Chubby Checker Counter went from 320 to 318! Slacker! What kind of fan are you?" Although I got no hate mail about inaccuracies, I would occasionally holler at LCG about the existence of the counter.
Me: "Well, I would love to hang out and watch VH1, but I have to go home and update the Chubby Checker Counter! That's your fault, you know."
LCG: "You didn't have to take the suggestion."
Me: "But it's funny!"
LCG: "Then quit your bitching."
Exhibit Three: A portion of the newsflash dated 09-10-02.
The Chubby Checker Counter has dipped below 300! Soon I will be doing the Limbo Rock!
Exhibit Four: The phone call from Joejung.
Instead of losing momentum, the whole situation just snowballed. This time, our source of excitement was Chubby Checker's birthday.
Exhibit Five: A portion of the newsflash dated 12-19-02.
The Chubby Checker Counter has dipped below 200!
I was delusional enough to think that people other than my friends cared, but we thought it was funny, so I kept it up.
Exhibit Six: An email from CEB in February.
More acts were getting booked for the festival, so we started planning for even more fun.
Exhibit Seven: Paranoia sets in, sometime in May.
I started wondering, what if Chubby Checker goes over so well that he gets instantly booked again for next year? Am I going to have a site that has a perpetual Chubby Checker Counter? What if he is such a smash hit that my counter starts even higher than 327 this time around? If he does get another show, will I be able to live with myself if I don't count it down? Is this going to happen every year? Why are all of my friends crazy, and why do they encourage me?
Exhibit Eight: A portion of the newsflash dated 05-29-03.
I talked to CEB last night, and he told me that he isn't sure if he is going to see Chubby Checker or not. He's the one who updates me with all the latest Chubby Checker news and he is thinking of not going?
I was crushed. For a couple hundred days, CEB was never short of enthusiasm for the whole Chubby Checker mania, and he wasn't going to go? Who was going to keep me entertained? You know, besides Chubby Checker.
Exhibit Nine: The big day arrives, 07-06-03.
The Chubby Checker Countdown: The Chubby Checker show is today.
Exhibit Ten: The newsflash from the day of show, 07-06-03.
4:30 P.M. I just took a call from CEB. "I expect a full week of Chubby Checker articles." He cannot make it to the show and is counting on me for the full story.
Not only was I without CEB, I was without LCG as well. They both had to miss the show for good reason, but I was still disappointed. The pool of five merry Chubby Checker concert attendees had gone back down to the original three, and that is where it stood as of the show date. I'll tell you about the actual show very soon, and you will be able to fully enjoy the story, now that you know the back story.