Lay down

You've probably wondered why people hold up lighted cigarette lighters at concerts (or glowing cell phone screens, in venues where the fire marshal wisely banned open flames).

It goes back to Woodstock and it started with Melanie, the folksinger. As she told it, "I didn't go on until after Ravi Shankar. It started to rain. I finally got on. I went on stage, totally terrified. Right before, an announcer made an inspirational announcement about passing out candles. Somewhere in there, I absorbed all of that.



"And then, I had an out-of-body experience. I did. I really did. I left my body. I watched myself.

At some point, I was back in my body. I felt this incredible glow of human connectedness. I was not afraid any more. I sang my heart out for a half-hour. I did 'Beautiful People.' I was all inspired. I left that stage with 'Candles in the Rain' in my head. Because I was an unknown and went on that stage as an innocent, and I left that stage as an instant celebrity."



So we went from flickering candles at Woodstock to waving our cells at venues nationwide, and we give credit to Melanie, who passed away earlier this year at 76.