I was just farting around on the internet today while LB slept, and my playlist on facebook was playing. It came upon a song, "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. There are certain songs that remind me of certain people and certain places and certain times, and this one is by far my favorite.
When I was a kid, my whole family would go up to a particular lake every summer. And my dad had Paul Simon's Graceland album on tape (CDs weren't popular yet... can you imagine?). We'd all pile into our big blue diesel van and trek up into the mountains to the lake. My dad would play that tape over and over, and that song reminds me of everything up there.
It reminds me of the 50s-kitsch ice cream parlor with Frankenstein. It reminds me of Uncle D's cabin. It reminds me of kneeboarding, skiing, and tubing. It reminds me of nighttime boat rides to the ice cream stand across the lake. It reminds me of Funspot- a cheesy place, but to a kid, it was the most awesome place in the world.
It reminds me of playing games with my sister and brother. It reminds me of videotaping us lip-synching Michael Jackson. It reminds me of grilling and melting marshmallows with my dad. It reminds me of talking about astronomy with my Uncle D. It reminds me of reading good books with my mom. It reminds me of playing heated games of Catchphrase with both families.
So now every time I hear that song, I think about all these things and how they made me feel. And as I type this, sitting in my kitchen in Hawaii with the windows open, I want to be there, even though it's November and frigid. Just because I love those memories.
*Which songs are the music of your life?
1 comment:
Classical music. Anything classical! I am currently living in the polar-opposite world from music so now whenever I hear classical music I feel a knot in my throat. Whatever happened to those days when I'd wake and sleep to that music all around me?? Sometimes I think it's too hard of a road to get back there, but then I hear the music and I know it's not a choice... it's a necessity.
Also... once you're back on the mainland, you can have Squam back... it's waiting for you!
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