YOU TWO

“Some things you shouldn’t get too good at…like smiling, crying, and celebrity.” – U2

I’m going to be 37 next month.  Middle age didn’t sneak up on me – it’s been coming for a while.  Some indicators…my oldest daughter is 11 years old and starts 6th grade in August.  I rarely seek out new music – I’m happy with what I’ve been listening to for 20 years.  I enjoy routines more than spontaneity. Too many things to mention.

This all shouldn’t surprise me; sometimes it doesn’t.  But, sometimes it does.

Maybe I’m in this mood because I’m listening to U2 – one of my favorite bands – and having  small bouts with nostalgia.

Listening to tunes from The Joshua Tree album made me think back to the day I bought the cassette tape.  It was 1987 and I was 11 1/2 years old.  A friend of mine and I were dropped off at the local mall by his dad (RIP Galvez Mall – you live on in our hearts).  Times were different then and it was acceptable to be alone at the mall when you were 11.  Maybe it is now, too, although I don’t think so, but it isn’t for me to decide what is good for all families.  Just mine.  And, we haven’t reached that stage in the game with our oldest.

But, back to the story, my buddy and I simply jumped out of the car knowing his dad would be back in a couple of hours for us.  One of our stops that afternoon was the local music store.  My purchase:  The Joshua Tree.

To this day, that is probably one of the best $10 expenditures of my life.  I upgraded to the CD later on, but the exposure was worth much more.  Today I was ripping the CD into MP3s for my iPod…time flies, time flies.

I also converted some Poison, George Strait, Cure, and 311 songs into electrons.  It’s an eclectic mix of music, I know, but I’ve always appreciated a little bit of everything.  I’m the same way with most everything in life.

So, I’ll be 37 in a few weeks, and that’s good and fine.  I’m armed with music in the latest digital formats; I’m ready for it.

Also: my oldest daughter doesn’t know what a cassette tape is.