My computer died, so I've been using Shay's the last few days. Well, it didn't really die, but something is wrong with it.
Anyway.
I've been listening to some of the music Shay has on her computer while I check BigIron, craigslist, eBay, etc. I have over 7,000 songs on my iTunes, which I've come to find is a bit over saturated (as long as my music was backed up... I don't know that all of it was). Shay doesn't have nearly as much music, so this means my sample is smaller, which means I'm listening to some music that I haven't heard in a long time. "Somewhere Down in Texas" by Jason Boland was one of my favorite songs when I was at CCC Hastings, so we're talking 5 or 6 years ago.
It's always interested me how a song can take you to a certain time and place. For some reason, when I listen to this song, I think about driving home from town on a summer night, with some rain starting to fall, but my window down anyway, because I love having my window down. Rain be damned. I don't remember what happened that night, but I know it happened. I know it was raining. I know I was in a melancholy mood. In the summer when it's raining or it's humid out at night, you can smell the corn growing. I can remember coming off of the 281 overpass headed home and catching a whiff of the cornfield that was to the west. I remember the glare of the green light mixed with the rain on my windshield at the last stoplight before home.
The remembering makes me happy. This song makes me happy, even though it probably shouldn't (download it and you'll see what I'm saying). It makes me think about the kid I was, and the man I'm trying to become. It's cool to see how much I've changed and how much I haven't since that time in my life.
If my music survived, I'm going to comb through the library and make a playlist of songs that meant a lot to me 5 years ago. Then I'm gonna sit on my butt and drink coffee while I listen to it. Or maybe I'll go for a drive and listen to it.
Go find some music that defined you 5 years ago. 10 years ago. However many years ago. Get lost in it for a few minutes and remember a point in time that defined that music. Then tell me about it. I'd like to hear your story.
I've enjoyed watching you grow up, as well. You've changed a lot, but in a good way. I'm one proud person to be able to say that I might have influenced you in the tiniest way. You're a good man, Charlie Brown. By the way - Allen and I love going through old songs that we used to listen to all the time. They take us back to our high school dates, college breaks, and that little apartment in Lincoln that we loved right after we were married. Remembering is good. Living for now is good, too. We hope that someday Cael will look back on the songs we listen to now with a smile and remember rocking out to his favorites (even if it was in the living room in his underwear).
ReplyDeleteKeep on keepin on.
I'm sure Cael will remember. I remember rocking out to Steve Miller Band, Boston, and Dire Straits while reading my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles magazine when I was a kid. And yes, you influenced me greatly. I would say my writing (as poor as it may be :)) would not be here if it wasn't for you. Yay for English teachers that care!
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